UN "Oil-For-Food" Scheme to be Renewed: Security Council PresidentThe President of the Security Council Monday predicted that the United Nations "oil-for- food" program would be extended beyond July 3, the final date of its current mandate.Ambassador Wang Yingfan of China, who currently holds the council's rotating presidency, told reporters that he was "very optimistic that tomorrow after our discussion, we would have something definite for Iraq." "So that is some pragmatic issue we have to work out," he said, noting the extension is agreeable to every council member. On June 1, the council extended the current phase of the "oil- for-food" program until July 3, and expressed its intention to agree on changes to the current sanctions regime, which has been in place against Baghdad since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The "oil-for-food" program was set up by U.N. Security Council resolution 986 in April 1995 as a temporary measure to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. Meanwhile, the Office of the Iraq Program, which oversees the implementation of the oil-for-food scheme, reported that for the third consecutive week in a row, there were no Iraqi petroleum exports. |
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