§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any information that contradicts the opinion that a humanitarian catastrophe is in the process in Iraq as a combined result of the policies of Saddam Hussein, the low price of oil, the condition of the Iraqi infrastructure (including that of Iraqi oil industry) and sanctions. [HL4072]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe humanitarian situation in Iraq is serious. We continue to do all we can to help improve it, in stark contrast to the indifference of the Iraqi regime to the welfare of its people. Our bilateral aid programme is one of the largest. And we are working to secure agreement on a new resolution which would include a range of98WA measures aimed at providing more revenue for the UN humanitarian programme and improving its implementation.
Iraq is now pumping almost as much oil as it was before the Gulf War. With the recent recovery in oil prices, Iraq is expected to export approximately $6.5 billion-worth during the present six-month phase of the "oil for food" programme, about $2.5 billion more than in the previous phase. The Security. Council has recently decided to allow Iraq to exceed the present $5.26 billion ceiling in the interests of providing additional humanitarian relief to the people of Iraq, and improvements to its infrastructure.
The "oil for food" programme, which we engineered, remains the best way of addressing the needs of the Iraqi people while sanctions remain in place—which they must do, until Iraq fufils the obligations imposed on it by the UN.