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

by *CBD

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.

                   * Center for Balanced Development (CBD)