§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place a copy of the report by the United Nations Secretary-General, which is to be made to the Security Council before 8 June under paragraph 11 of Security Council resolution 986, on whether Iraq has ensured the equitable distribution of medicine, health supplies, foodstuffs and materials and supplies for essential civilian needs, financed in accordance with paragraph 8(a) of the resolution; how they can be satisfied that distribution was equitable in the parts of northern Iraq which have been occupied by Turkish armed forces; whether additional supplies have been allocated to the area of northern Iraq to compensate for the additional costs imposed on the people of that area by the charges imposed for the transit of goods across the line of partition with the KDP; whether UN monitors have been able to move freely throughout the south; and how many monitors have been stationed in Najaf and Karbala respectively.
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanWe will place a copy of the Secretary-General's report on the implementation of SCR 986 in the Libraries of the House. In his report, the Secretary-General says, "sufficient observations at the governorate level were carried out during April and May to substantiate that the distribution system is working equitably to bring available commodities to all governorates". We believe the report is a fair reflection of the situation on the ground.
We are not aware of the UN distributing any additional supplies to northern Iraq.
The Secretary-General says in his report that there have been five occasions when the observation process has been interfered with; these problems have been resolved to the UN's satisfaction. He adds that "international observers have conducted a total of 5,280 visits in the 15 central and southern governorates of Iraq" since the arrival of foodstuffs on 20 March. We understand that UN monitors are not stationed in every city in Iraq, but make regular monitoring trips to each governorate.