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UN Security Council Renews Iraq Oil-for-Food Plan
The United Nations Security Council decided late Tuesday, December 5, to renew the UN oil-for- food program for Iraq for another period of six months beginning on December 6, 2000.
In a resolution unanimously adopted, the Security Council allowed Iraq to draw US$600 million from its oil revenues to import spare parts and equipment for its dilapidated oil industry.
The Security Council expressed its readiness to consider, in the light of the cooperation of Iraq in implementing all the UN resolutions, allowing a sum of 15 million dollars to be used by Iraq to pay the arrears it owes the United Nations.
The Security Council urged UN sanctions committee on Iraq to review Iraq's applications for importing humanitarian goods in an expeditious manner, to decrease the level of applications on hold and to continue to improve the approval process of applications.
The council requested the UN secretary-general to make the necessary arrangement, subject to its approval, to allow funds up to 600 million euros, the equivalent of about 525 million dollars, to be used for the cost of installation and maintenance, including training services, of the equipment and spare parts for Iraq's oil industry.
The council also requested the UN secretary-general to prepare a report before March 31, 2001 for the sanctions committee containing proposals for the use of additional export routes for Iraq's petroleum and petroleum products.
The current phase of the oil-for-food program expires at midnight of December 5.
The oil-for-food program, which began in late 1996, allows Iraq to sell oil under UN supervision to buy food, medicine, oil spare parts and a host of other goods in an effort to ease the impact of the UN sanctions.
The United Nations imposed stringent sanctions on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The sanctions cannot be lifted until Iraq is clarified to be free from weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq halted oil exports Friday after it failed to get an agreement on the pricing formula of oil exports for December. Iraq last week proposed the lower prices to compensate buyers of its oil for a surcharge of 50 US cents a barrel and wanted the funds paid directly into its account not controlled by the United Nations.
The United Nations sanctions committee on Iraq rejected Iraq's proposal, saying that it did not reflect a fair market value. It also asked Iraq to propose a new and fair pricing formula for its consideration.
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