Iraq Says US, Britain Suspend 124 Contracts for Food

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, September 20, 2002

Iraq Says US, Britain Suspend 124 Contracts for Food

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A total of 124 contracts for food signed between Iraq and other countries within the United Nations oil-for-food program have been put on hold by the United States and Britain, a Trade Ministry source said on Thursday.

The contracts, valued at 528 million US dollars, were suspended by US and British representatives at the UN Sanctions Committee, although there is a surplus of money in Iraq's account, the official Iraqi News Agency quoted the source as saying.

The US and British policy of blocking contracts for food and other humanitarian materials is "in contradiction to their assertion that the smart sanctions will facilitate the flow of food and impose restrictions on dual-use goods," the anonymous source added.

Iraq has claimed that over 1.5 million people, mostly children and the elderly, died due to the decade-old sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded its neighbor Kuwait in 1990.

As an exception to the sanctions, the UN oil-for-food deal, in effect since 1996, allows Iraq to export oil and use part of the revenues to buy food, medicine and other essentials to offset the impact of the sanctions.

Iraq has often blasted the UN deal for its inefficiency and the large number of shelved contracts.

To reinvigorate the sanctions regime, the United States and Britain proposed a goods review list, which was passed by the UN Security Council on May 14 to allow Iraq import civilian goods but prevent it from acquiring items with potential military use.

The 300-page goods review list has been meant to expedite the flow of civilian goods to Iraq as items not on the list can be imported by Baghdad freely.

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