§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the performance of the oil for food policy regarding Iraq and the attitude of the Iraqi Government towards this policy.
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§ Mr. BradshawThe oil for food programme is the UN's largest humanitarian programme ever, worth some $12.5 billion last year alone. In his most recent report (September 2001), the UN Secretary-General concludes that the oil for food programme has made a considerable difference to the lives of ordinary Iraqis and, in spreading beyond the food and medicine sectors, to the rehabilitation of Iraq's civilian infrastructure.
These achievements have been made despite the continuing efforts of the Iraqi regime to hamper the oil for food programme. For example, around $2 billion of funds lie unspent by Iraq in UN accounts and the Iraqi Central Bank consistently holds up the delivery of around $1 billion-worth of goods. Iraq continues to refuse to allow UN officials to enter Iraq to discuss a cash component for sectors identified by the UN Secretary-General as being critical, such as health, education and water and sanitation.