"One should try to delink the humanitarian discussion from the disarmament discussion," Hans von Sponeck said.

"And if you do that, maybe you can introduce a longer-term vision into this whole business of how 23 million Iraqis are being treated," he told a Tuesday news conference.

Von Sponeck of Germany has drawn criticism from the United States and Britain for advocating an end to the nine-year old U.N. sanctions imposed against Iraq after it invaded Kuwait.

Lifting the embargoes is linked to an accounting of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Key Security Council are deadlocked on how to ease the sanctions in exchange for Iraq allowing arms inspectors back into the country.

Iraqi newspapers reported von Sponeck was called to New York because of his comments on sanctions. But he told reporters "I am here on a routine regular visit and will go back to Baghdad in early November."

Von Sponeck is in charge of the so-called "oil-for-food" program under which Iraq is allowed to sell $5.26 billion worth of oil every six months in order to buy food, medicine and other supplies to ease the impact of the sanctions.

The program that began in December 1996 involves agreement from Security Council members of item Iraqi imports. The United States has accused Iraq of sloppy administration of medicines and inadequate attention to nutritional needs. Baghdad says Washington is holding up approval of vital goods.

Von Sponeck said his operation in Iraq had now drawn up detailed lists of medicines on hand and in storage. But he said that supplies often arrived in isolation from one another, such as a vaccine but no syringes.

But he contended hat 88 percent of the goods arriving in Iraq were being distributed properly.

However, von Sponeck said that no matter how well the program worked, it still left ordinary Iraqis impoverished, with an average annual income of about $500 compared to $3,000 before the sanctions.

"It is not adequate," he said, adding that basic needs such as education were badly neglected, with Iraq spending some $200 million a year compared to $2.1 billion in 1989.

"Life is more than about physical needs and if we want to see a healthy new generation become a reality, we have to urge everyone...to maximize investments in people," he said.

Von Sponeck echoed Secretary-General Kofi Annan's criticism on Monday that Security Council members had increased the number of "holds" on contracts for goods Baghdad wanted to purchase, in part because technical information was lacking.

The United States, followed by Britain, is responsible for most of the delays. Annan said 572 contracts worth about $7000 were awaiting approval.