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Britain Urges Lifting Iraq Sanctions
In a major policy shift expected to get U.S. backing, Britain has proposed lifting U.N. sanctions on civilian goods entering Iraq but toughening enforcement of the decade-old arms embargo against Saddam Hussein's government.
The British proposal, which is being incorporated into a Security Council resolution, was developed in consultation with Washington and is part of a broader review of Iraq policy by both countries, a British official said Wednesday.
If approved by the powerful Security Council, the British proposal would mark the first significant easing of sanctions that have been in place since the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait in 1990.
Britain said it got a positive response to the proposal from the three other council members with veto power, France, Russia and China, as well as from Iraq's neighbors.
The United States and Britain seek to prevent Iraq from reviving its weapons-building programs while ensuring that sanctions don't hurt Iraqi citizens, the British official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The British plan would allow all goods to enter Iraq except those on a U.N. list of military-related items, and it would allow the resumption of all commercial and cargo flights in and out of the country as long as they are inspected at the departure points, the British official said.
At the same time, the proposal seeks to restrict Iraq's ability to rebuild its military arsenal by tightening border controls and cracking down on Baghdad's efforts to get control of its oil money through smuggling and illegal surcharges, the official said.
Under the British plan, the United Nations will continue to maintain strict control over the billions of dollars Iraq earns annually from oil sales and will pay all suppliers of humanitarian goods to Iraq.
The current six-month phase of the oil-for-food program expires June 3, and the British want their proposal incorporated into the extension of the program. The official said a draft resolution will be circulated to Security Council members next week.
Iraq has campaigned for an end to the sanctions, saying the embargoes have perpetuated the suffering of Iraqis¡ª a claim that has received sympathy in many quarters. The British proposal is in part a response to this growing criticism, Western diplomats said.
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