§ Lord McNairasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures have been taken to enforce sanctions against Iraq since the Gulf War: and how much confidence they have in the effectiveness of international sanctions against Iraq. [HL478]
§ Baroness Ramsay of CartvaleIt is the responsibility of individual governments to take the necessary measures to enforce the sanctions regime against Iraq. We make regular representations to Iraq's neighbours and to other countries on the importance of strict enforcement of the regime. Royal Navy vessels participate with other countries in operations in the Gulf to reduce sanctions-busting trade.
On the whole, we believe the sanctions regime is well enforced. It has done much to contain the threat posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein for over seven years.
§ Lord McNairasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the physical restrictions upon entry and exit from Iraq that have been in force since the Gulf War; which airports, seaports and land routes allow access and departure from Iraq; and how these are monitored. [HL479]
§ Baroness Ramsay of CartvaleThe resolutions imposing sanctions on Iraq do not prohibit the movement of persons to or from Iraq.
UN Security Council Resolution 670 (1990) lays down certain restrictions on flights to and from Iraq for the purpose of ensuring the proper implementation of the sanctions resolutions.
§ Lord McNairasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it was possible for several hundred SCUD missiles systems to have evaded international sanctions and to have left Iraq since the end of the Gulf War, as reported in February 1998 by the United States Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. [HL480]
§ Baroness Ramsay of CartvaleHer Majesty's Government believe this to be highly unlikely. Of the 819 SCUD missiles imported by Iraq from the (then) Soviet Union, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) has reported that it has accounted for 817.
Nonetheless, we remain concerned about substantial gaps in Iraq's disclosures to UNSCOM on its Weapons of Mass Destruction capability. We cannot rule out the possibility that some transfer of missiles and missile technology has occurred, but we believe that any such transfer would have been on a small scale.
§ Lord McNairasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have evidence that weapons of mass destruction technology have been exported from Iraq to other countries in the Middle East or Africa. [HL481]
§ Baroness Ramsay of CartvaleThe United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) have reported no evidence of any transfer of weapons of mass destruction 103WA or of associated materials or expertise by Iraq to any other country since the Gulf conflict and the imposition of sanctions in 1991. Likewise, we have no evidence to suggest that such transfers have occurred. Nevertheless, we remain concerned about substantial gaps in Iraq's disclosures to UNSCOM and cannot be sure that transfers have not taken place.