Iraq: Burden of UN Sanctions

Even though 13 years of sanctions ended over two years ago, the United Nations is yet to carry out an assessment of this period. Such a review would seem to be not only an empirical necessity, but also a moral obligation. When this overdue assessment is eventually made, it will once again bring to the fore the fundamental differences on Iraq which divided the UN security council throughout the years. The fate of a people became collateral damage, a euphemism for death and destitution. Important and final facts have now become available for the period of the oil-for-food programme. This allows a thorough analysis of major causes of the desperate human conditions in Iraq. As the Volcker committee's report occupies the headlines it is important to remember that the original crime was the indiscriminate use of sanctions against the people of Iraq.