§ Q18. Mr. DalyellTo ask the Prime Minister what account Her Majesty's Government have taken of the representations of(a) Denis Halliday, (b) Hans von Sponeck and (c) other senior officials of UN Agencies in relation to UN sanctions in relation to child nutrition and mortality in Iraq. [108953]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government are very concerned about reports of child morality rates and malnutrition in Iraq. We continue to support efforts to target the humanitarian effort there towards the most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, UN Security Council Resolution 1284, which was drafted and piloted through the Council by the UK, includes a raft of measures providing for an increased and improved "oil for food" programme. It also calls on 563W the Government of Iraq to prioritise its spending under "oil for food" more effectively and to address the needs of vulnerable groups.
If the Iraqi Government had chosen to prioritise properly the humanitarian assistance which has been made available since the start of "oil for food" in 1996, the suffering of the Iraqi people would have been hugely reduced.