Global Policy Forum

By Ewen MacAskill

The US is fighting behind the scenes in New York to water down UN proposals aimed at overhauling sanctions policy.

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, set up a special committee last April to examine sanctions policy after a string of failures over the past decade, especially over Iraq. He was particularly concerned about the humanitarian impact of sanctions on civilian populations.

The committee, which is due to report next week, is to recommend a shift towards so-called "smart sanctions" that are more clearly defined and better targeted.

But the US, which is intent on maintaining tough sanctions against Iraq with the backing of Britain, will almost certainly succeed in cutting out two key recommendations: one setting a time limit on sanctions and the other introducing majority voting on sanctions committees. Critics of sanctions claim they usually fail to undermine the targeted regimes, and that the criteria for imposition and the lifting of sanctions are too vague. The UN committee, which is chaired by Bangladesh's representative at the UN, Anwarul Chowdhury, tries to address these concerns.

In a draft copy of its report the committee says: "Sanctions regimes, in particular the security council resolutions that enact them, must be carefully designed, clearly establishing their goals, identifying the targets, tailoring the type of sanctions imposed so that they are adequate to the situation, specifying clear criteria that need to be satisfied in order for the sanctions to be suspended or lifted." Other recommendations include: targeting the finances of leaders rather than the general population; greater punishment for countries found to be breaking sanctions; and a carrot-and-stick approach which would see a gradual lifting of sanctions in response to partial compliance with UN resolutions.

Echoing Mr Annan's concern about the impact on civilian populations, the committee recommends: "Sanctions regimes should be, therefore, designed to minimise the potential for adverse humanitarian impacts and to maximise the ability for humanitarian goods and services to reach civilian populations."

The committee also recommends that "food, medicine and medical supplies be excluded from sanctions regimes".

The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, signalled on taking office that while he agreed there were too many sanctions in place, he wanted tighter restrictions in the case of Iraq. The US, while agreeing to most of the committee's report, wants to cut out a proposal that "sanctions be imposed for limited periods of time, taking all factors into account".

Iraq is demanding a timetable for the lifting of sanctions in return for agreeing to allowing UN weapons inspectors into the country. The US is also opposed to a proposal that the UN sanctions committees, which oversee the embargoes, should "consider majority voting for reaching decisions either of a procedural nature or related to humanitarian exemptions".

Decisions at present are by consensus: if the reform went ahead, Britain and the US would face the prospect of defeat on the Iraqi sanctions committee. Meanwhile, the US has ended its long-running dispute with the UN over funding. The Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to release $582m (£400m) that the US owes in back dues. The US withheld the money until other countries agreed to take a bigger share of the finance. Before Christmas, Richard Holbrooke, who served as the Clinton administration's UN representative, brokered a deal to reduce US dues for the first time in more than 28 years.