January 24, 2001
In a letter to the UN secretary-general, Iraq has called for exerting the utmost possible efforts to secure approval of the Iraqi humanitarian initiative to extend aid to poor Americans. The following is the text of the letter:
His Excellency Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, New York:
I would like to refer to my letter, dated 16 January 2001 - Document 54/2001S - in which I officially informed you of the decision made by the Republic of Iraq for purely humanitarian reasons to allocate 100m euros from its suspense account at the United Nations for the poor US citizens, who mostly live under the poverty line and who obtain their daily food from the garbage bags and live in the open air or in cardboard boxes at best. Feeling the suffering of the wretched and homeless US citizens has become the duty of every fair person with a living conscience.
On behalf of the government of the Republic of Iraq, I reiterate my request to you to exert your utmost effort to secure approval of this humanitarian Iraqi initiative as soon as possible. Please inform us when this is done so that we can begin consultation and coordination with you on the best way to expedite the delivery of this humanitarian aid to the poor citizens of the United States. Please have this letter circulated as a UN document and accept my greatest appreciation.
[Signed] Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf, foreign minister of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad, 23 January 2001
