http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion1/stories/010120/5032737.html

UN sanctions devastate Iraqis, especially the most vulnerable

Patricia Hartnagel
Freelance

It has been 10 years since the end of the Persian Gulf War. In 45 days, Iraq was bombed into the Stone Age; the effects were extreme and extensive. It is estimated that well over 100,000 people died. Eighty per cent of Iraq's water, sewage and electrical facilities were destroyed, and the resulting oil fires caused massive contamination of the air, water and soil.

As devastating as these immediate effects were, however, they did not loosen the grip of Saddam Hussein. Because of this failure, coalition forces led by the U.S. and Britain turned to economic sanctions to rid the world of the "Butcher of Baghdad."

What are these sanctions and what have been their effects?

In early 1991 the UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing economic sanctions on Iraq that prohibited trade in all non-essential commodities.

Ostensibly, the sanctions were established to cause discomfort for the Iraqi people, to turn them against Saddam Hussein, and to prevent the importation of any components that could help Hussein rebuild his arsenals.

The reality, however, is the most comprehensive sanctions regime in modern history and includes items that would be deemed essential by any normal measure.

What are some of the items that have been banned under the sanctions for the past ten years? A small sample includes: books, eyeglasses, hearing aids, toothbrushes, light bulbs, children's clothing, matches, desks, detergent and toilet paper.

The decade of sanctions has had horrifying effects on the Iraqi civilian population, particularly its most vulnerable. The United Nations estimates that 1.5 million Iraqis have died of sanctions-related causes; most of the victims are children and the elderly. Four to five thousand Iraqi children die each month from malnutrition and preventable diseases.

Malnutrition was never a problem in Iraq prior to the Gulf War. It was heavily dependent on imported food, but had the wealth to maintain a healthy, nourished population. Now malnutrition is a public health problem, particularly among children. UNICEF has documented substantial increases in the percentage of children suffering from acute and chronic malnutrition and stunted growth. This affects the current generation of children, physically and mentally, and will have widespread implications for generations.

Because spare parts and materials for repairing the infrastructure are banned, the Iraqis cannot provide adequate sanitation. Water treatment plants lack the equipment, chemicals and spare parts to function properly. Often they serve merely as pumping stations, without providing any water treatment whatsoever.

Iraq's health-care system prior to the Gulf War was of the highest standard with universal access. Damage to hospitals and medical equipment and the lack of medicines have had a catastrophic effect.

Preventable diseases cannot be treated due to a shortage of antibiotics and basic medicines. Cancer victims (adults and children) cannot receive consistent treatments due to severe shortages of medicines. In Baghdad, a cancer ward with patients in the final stages of cancer had only a shared bottle of aspirin for pain relief. The sanctions classify many medicines and vaccines as "nonessential" or of potential use in weapons of mass destruction.

The combination of crumbling sanitary infrastructure, severely reduced access to nutritious food and the lack of medical equipment and supplies has caused suffering that is totally unacceptable -- and illegal.

International law prohibits collective punishment and the punishment of innocent civilians. Such actions violate universal principles of human rights under the 1977 Geneva Conventions.

An entire population is being destroyed. Iraq is not Saddam Hussein. Iraq is a country of individuals enduring extraordinary hardship and death because of their leader. There is no ethical dimension to this foreign policy. U.S. Secretary of State Madelaine Albright says that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children are "worth it" to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Incredibly, Canada supports and contributes to this effort.

The Canadian government has sent two ships, HMS Regina and HMS Calgary to the Gulf to enforce the blockade of "nonessential" commodities. Moreover, they have spent $1 billion of our tax money on this ongoing war against the Iraqi people.

Many nations are speaking out against the sanctions; we must pressure our government to do the same. Canada must provide a strong, humanitarian voice to end the deadly sanctions against the Iraqi people.

Patricia Hartnagel is an Edmonton artist and peace activist