United Nations Sanctions Against Iraq: The Destruction of an

September 16

http://www.cbdnet.org/trends/sanctions.htm

United Nations Sanctions Against Iraq: The Destruction of an Entire Population

              The United Nations Organization was established with the ostensible purpose of bringing about peaceful
              resolution to international conflicts, for “solving problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian
              character,” and for “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for
              all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

              The UN Security Council played in 1990 a decisive role in mobilizing the coalition that ultimately pushed
              back the Iraqi army that invaded Kuwait. After the defeat of Iraq in the Gulf war in early 1991, the
              Security Council passed the resolution that set economic sanctions on Iraq prohibiting trade in all
              “non-essential” commodities. Trade sanctions turned out later to include such items as paper, pens, and
              ink, all essential for education and human development.

              Nine years of economic sanctions have devastated the Iraqi population, and brought untold sorrow and
              misery to ordinary Iraqis, particularly the most vulnerable. Latest statistics about the socioeconomic
              conditions in Iraq, furnished by UN organs such as WHO and UNICEF, reveal a horrifying picture of the
              sorrow state of affairs inside Iraq, and compelling many members of the UN, as well as countless civil
              society organizations, including CBD, to call for the end of sanctions, and to question the propriety of using
              economic sanctions against an entire population. The severity of the sanctions regime has forced two
              senior UN officials to resign in protest of the inhumane conditions brought about as a result. The
              representatives of US and UK, under pressure from close allies, and in response to international criticism,
              introduced in 1997 an oil-for-food plan. But as latest statistics reveal, the plan did very little to rectify the
              situation.

ECONOMY

              Recent figures show that the Iraqi economy is in shambles. The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs
              estimated that over 4 million Iraqis, constituting
              20% of the population, live in extreme poverty. The purchasing power of the local currency has been
              greatly reduced. By 1997, the exchange rate between the Iraqi Dinar (ID) and the US dollar has droped
              from US$3 = 1 ID in 1990 to about US $1 = ID1,500 in 1997.

              The drastic reduction in the purchasing power of the Iraqi Dinar, coupled with the destruction of the
              industrial infrastructure during the 1991 war, resulted in the complete collapse of the Iraqi economy. The
              GDP per capita has been reduced from $3500 to $600 and the current salary of public workers now
              averages about $3 to $5 per month, compared with $50-100 prior to 1990.

              While food received through public rations is not sufficient to provided minimal nutrition, soaring food
              prices makes the food sold on the market inaccessible to most Iraqis. At least 80% of a family's income is
              spent on food.

HEALTH

              The Gulf war and later the UN sanctions have tremendously reduced Iraq’s ability to provide good
              sanitation. Water treatment plants lack spare parts, equipment, treatment chemicals, proper maintenance
              and adequate qualified staff. Plants often act solely as pumping stations without any treatment. “The
              distribution network, on which most of the population relies, has destroyed, blocked or leaky pipes. There
              have been no new projects to serve the expected population increase over the past seven years.”

              Combined with the reduced accessibility to nutritious food stuff by most Iraqis, the lack of good sanitary
              conditions have led to sudden rise in health problems, particularly among children and the elderly. “The
              increase in mortality reported in public hospitals for children under five years of age (an excess of some
              40,000 deaths yearly compared with 1989) is mainly due to diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. In
              those over five years of age, the increase (an excess of some 50,000 deaths yearly compared with
              1989) is associated with heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, liver or kidney diseases. With the
              substantial increase in mortality, under-registration of deaths is a growing problem.”

              "Malnutrition was not a public health problem in Iraq prior to the embargo. Its extent became apparent
              during 1991 and the prevalence has increased greatly since then.” UNICEF reported that 18% in 1991 to
              31% in 1996 of all children under five suffer from “chronic malnutrition (stunting); 9% to 26% with
              underweight malnutrition; 3% to 11% with wasting (acute malnutrition), an increase in over 200%. By
              1997, it was estimated about one million children under five were [chronically] malnourished.”

EDUCATION

              The destruction of the education system as a result of the Gulf War and UN sanctions has been extensive.
              Decline in school enrollment is on the increase. UN sanctions are so watertight and unsparing that even
              school supply does not escape. The most basic school supplies, such as blackboards, chalks, pencils,
              notebooks and paper (designated as "non-essential" by the Sanctions Committee), are inaccessible.
              Further, 84% of all schools need rehabilitation.

OIL FOR FOOD PLAN

              The oil-for-food Plan that was meant to ease the suffering of the civilian population, has not been effective
              in achieving the desired goal, and has brought very little comfort to the Iraqi population. In addition, there
              has been serious complications and bureaucratic maneuvering in its implementation. Although the Security
              Council resolution that established the Oil-for-Food Plan (SCR 983) “is meant to provide US$210 million
              for each six month period of the Phase I and II, only US$80 million (i.e., 20%) had been received ” by the
              end of the first six months.

              The UNICEF 1998 report made it abundantly clear that “Oil for Food plan has not reduced widespread
              suffering, nor provided supplies in full, in a timely manner.” "The Oil-for-Food plan has not yet resulted in
              adequate protection of Iraq's children from malnutrition/disease. Those children spared from death
              continue to remain deprived of essential rights addressed in the Convention of Rights of the Child."

              The continuation of the sanctions, despite their inhumane effects on the Iraqi population, raises serious
              questions about their usefulness and propriety. There is no evidence that the sanctions have contributed to
              the weakening or de-stabilizing the Iraqi government. To the contrary, the sanctions have contributed to
              weakening the Iraqi population and have destroyed whatever remains of the civil society of Iraq under
              Saddam’s regime, thereby making the possibility of popular mobilization against the regime more difficult if
              not impossible.