Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-01-Speech-4-009"
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"en.20010301.1.4-009"2
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". – The Presidency has just explained the background to the recent air raids. I do not wish to go over the same ground so let me just say that I agree fully with the assessment of the situation which we have just heard. I agree very much with the distinction, which I thought was nicely made, between the first efforts to create a common foreign and security policy and the ambition that many have for a single foreign and security policy. I also agree very much with what was said about the differences between Member States on this issue.
I would like to say a few words about the wider picture. I would like to say a word or two about the sanctions and the efforts to improve the miserable lot of the Iraqi people. We all agree that the stalemate over the Iraq sanctions and the suffering which that stalemate has caused is extremely unsatisfactory and we should do all that we can to avoid it continuing.
We must bear in mind, however, that the sanctions were put in place originally for a purpose. As a result of the Gulf War the UN Security Council established through a number of resolutions that Iraq should dispose of all weapons of mass destruction and that this should be verified by UNSCOM, the UN Special Committee with responsibility for dismantling Iraq’s arsenal of weapons and maintaining a monitoring programme to ensure that it was never rebuilt. Until this was achieved it was agreed that Iraq would be subject to various economic sanctions though exceptions were allowed for essential humanitarian supplies. Although they could have done it straight away, back in 1991, the Iraqi Government did not take steps to set up an arrangement with the UN before 1995, when Iraq agreed to the ‘oil for food’ facility as set out in the UN Security Council resolution that year. The ‘oil for food’ facility has since then been extended every six months with improved conditions. In principle the ‘oil for food’ facility should provide basic humanitarian aid without recourse to outside assistance. However, the management of the programme and cooperation with the Iraqi Government in implementing it, is not effective. There is no shortage of funds available to the Iraqi authorities through the ‘oil for food’ facility to buy food and medicine for their people. It is the Iraqi regime which has chosen not to do this, not to use the opportunity offered to them by the international community.
The issue of sanctions, worsened of course, when UNSCOM was expelled from Iraq in November 1998 and it took a year to agree to a common approach to deal with this problem. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution No 1284 in December 1999 which allowed for a suspension of the sanctions against Iraq following arms monitoring. However Iraq did not accept the resolution and resisted any cooperation on verification of dismantling of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has not therefore complied with the UN Security Council resolution, a point made I recall in the European Parliament’s resolution of April last year.
We have now reached an important point in our dealings with Iraq. The sanctions which have been in place for 10 years have clearly not achieved their desired objectives. They are perceived to be exacerbating the humanitarian condition of the Iraqi people. The recklessness of Saddam Hussein and his regime has resulted in malnutrition, ill-health and widespread degradation of the physical and social infrastructure of the country. This policy will have consequences beyond the present which will be borne by future generations of Iraqis.
These dire circumstances have brought into focus the plight of the Iraqi people and the problem of dealing with a regime which is as ruthless as it is reckless. We all agree that there is clearly a need to re-think the whole Iraqi issue and to identify the best course of action to take. The new US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has said as much.
We must not lose sight of the basic objective. We must make sure that we will never again give Saddam Hussein the means to pursue aggression against his neighbours, or indeed against his own people. The sanctions remain in place but we should look at how we could make them more effective in pursuit of the basic objective. We want to focus on the Iraqi leadership and their weapons, not on the Iraqi people and Iraqi society. The international community should explore the possibility of replacing the present sanctions regime by, what is called in the jargon, “a smart sanctions programme” and other appropriate measures whilst seeking to ensure that weapons of mass destruction are not manufactured.
The suffering of the Iraqi people is very much a concern of the European Union. Since the Gulf War in 1991, Europe has been the major donor of humanitarian aid to Iraq with over EUR 250 million. For the last two years, the European Union has provided assistance of between EUR 8 and 10 million on an annual basis. For 2001 the amount may be somewhat higher at around EUR 12 million. The assistance, through ECHO, focuses on provision of clean drinking water and health facilities, with special emphasis on institutions for the handicapped, for orphans, and with emphasis as well on street children. The ECHO assistance is provided through international non-governmental organisations and through the appropriate UN agencies.
The Commission welcomes the resumption on February 26 and 27 in New York of the dialogue between the United Nations and Iraq. Although no significant breakthrough has been reported from the two-day meeting between the UN Secretary-General and the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is encouraging that there is an agreement for further talks. Signals should be sent to the Iraqi Government of the importance of continuing the talks and of reaching an agreement with the United Nations that allows the improvement of the economic and humanitarian situation in Iraq, while at the same time respecting the various UN resolutions on Iraq, particularly on the question of weapons of mass destruction."@en1
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