By NGO Working Group on Iraq
September 23, 2002
H.E. Sir Jeremy Greenstock
Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom
Dear Mr. Ambassador,
We have been concerned for some years about the humanitarian impact of Iraq sanctions. We have a special concern at this time about the effects of the Security Council's oil export pricing mechanism and the great reduction in Iraq oil sales that has resulted from that policy. We are concerned that the income shortfalls to the Oil for Food Program threaten serious humanitarian consequences and we note that according to OIP (17 September) there are 1,217 approved contracts worth $2.21 billion without funds. Mr. Sevan, in his 1 August letter to the Chairman of the 661 Committee expressed "grave concern" about the situation, which he concluded would have "very serious consequences on the humanitarian situation in Iraq." We are alarmed at this and we believe the Council should work towards a speedy resolution of this matter.
We understand the concern that led to the current mechanism, namely, evidence that the government of Iraq was inflating oil export prices in order to skim off funds for its own use. The current pricing procedures, originally put forward by the UK with support from the US and others, were designed to stop such skimming and appear to have done so. Reportedly, Iraq has stopped its skimming. Regrettably, however, oil exports have continued to decline and funds for humanitarian imports have declined as well to a dangerously low level. While a number of factors influence Oil for Food revenues, including the government of Iraq's decision in the spring to stop oil exports for one month, as well as world market price fluctuations, there is general agreement that the pricing mechanism is itself responsible for a large reduction in program revenue.
We understand that the Council has made little progress in resolving this issue and that discussion of options, including the draft French Paper on Oil Pricing of 21/06/02 to the 661 Committee, remain at a standstill. We are concerned that the current debate around Iraq's compliance with UN resolutions and US-UK proposals about the use of force, may push the oil pricing issue further into the background. But we urge that it not be forgotten.
We would like to understand your own position on this issue and your thinking about the humanitarian consequences. As a follow-up to this letter we will call you to ask for a meeting on the matter. Among our concerns are the following. Is there a way to evaluate the humanitarian consequences of the shortfall in oil revenues in the current phase? Is there a way to revise promptly the mechanism to allow an increase in the amounts available for humanitarian work?
We urge renewed efforts to reach a viable solution to an immediate problem without jeopardizing other concerns of Council members. Progress now has potential for a rapid positive effect on the humanitarian situation of Iraq's people. Certainly there must be reasonable measures that could be taken to address the negative consequences of the current mechanism.
We look forward to the opportunity to discuss these urgent matters with you and your colleagues as soon as possible.
Respectfully yours,
Jack Patterson, Quaker United Nations Office
John Rempel, Mennonite Central Committee United Nations Office
for the NGO Working Group on Iraq
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