§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral statement of 1 July,Official Report, column 119, what proposals she has to refine the sanctions instrument against Iraq; and what account she takes of the impact of sanctions against the people of the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates in determining her sanctions policy. [8549]
§ Clare Short[holding answer 14 July 1997]: The UK co-sponsored SCR 986 (now renewed as SCR 1111) to help alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people by allowing the Iraqi Government to export oil worth $2 billion mainly for the purchase of humanitarian supplies. The impact of sanctions was a major consideration for the UN when setting the level of Iraqi oil exports permitted under SCRs 986 and 1111.
More generally, I have asked my officials to consider the impact of sanctions regimes on poor people.