§ Baroness Ramsay of Cartvaleasked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have recently made any exemptions to the United Nations arms embargo on Iraq HL4543]
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§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanFollowing consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a licence to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council resolution 1483 (2003), with the exception of "arms and other related material required by the (Coalition Provisional) Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions". Accordingly Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to grant exemptions for these goods to be exported on the basis that they are to be used by a private security firm in the protection of the British Office in Baghdad. The work of the British Office in Baghdad forms part of the authority's functions under resolution 1483 (2003). The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UN Embargo and Consolidated Criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.