Outgoing U.N. official leaves Iraq for talks with Annan

February 24, 2000
Web posted at: 11:19 p.m. EST (0419 GMT)

In this story: France, Britain want to hear von Sponeck Politics hijacked program, Iraq says RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Hans von Sponeck , the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, is returning to the world body's headquarters in New York to argue for the end of the sanctions he has monitored for two years.

Von Sponeck, a career U.N. official, recently announced he was quitting because the oil-for-food program -- which only allows Iraq to sell oil to buy food and medicine -- wasn't keeping Iraqis from dying.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Situation in Iraq

The country has been under international sanctions since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and von Sponeck and other observers complain the sanctions have taken a disproportionate toll on civilians.

Von Sponeck will meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday, U.N. spokesman George Somerville said in Baghdad. He said von Sponeck, who arrived Thursday in New York, would spend four days there before returning to Iraq until the end of his posting on March 31.

"I obviously do not want to anticipate what the Security Council would say about the findings, but at the same time we can disclose now that the picture as we have seen and interpreted it before is inadequate," von Sponeck said.

Even with rising oil prices, the program does not raise enough money to take care of the Iraqi population's needs, he said. His predecessor, Denis Halliday of Ireland, left his post two years ago for the same reason.

VIDEO CNN's Jane Arraf reports on Hans von Sponeck's criticism of the sanctions against Iraq. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

France, Britain want to hear von Sponeck

The sanctions, now in their 10th year, were meant to put pressure on Iraq's leadership and not hurt its people. Annan says he and von Sponeck will discuss ways of modifying them.

During his tenure in Baghdad, von Sponeck ran afoul of the United States and Britain, which want to keep sanctions in place to make sure Iraq can't rebuild its banned nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. U.S. officials criticized him for his outspoken assessments of the sanctions' impact, as well as his research into damage from U.S. and British bombing raids.

The United States says it's happy von Sponeck is quitting, but France, Russia and China have thrown their support behind him. Russia and France want von Sponeck to address the Security Council -- a move diplomats say the United States is blocking.

Annan said earlier this week that he would review the humanitarian situation in Iraq after his meeting with von Sponeck and see what steps could be taken to make the program more effective. He told reporters in New Zealand on Wednesday that sanctions against Iraq could be refined to limit the suffering of the civilian population.

"I will admit that sanctions are a blunt instrument and sometimes can hurt the civilian population who are not the intended targets," he said.

Politics hijacked program, Iraq says

Iraq cites von Sponeck's resignation and that of another senior U.N. official in Baghdad as evidence that politics has hijacked the humanitarian program.

"These people have witnessed the implementation of the so-called oil-for-food program, and they have also witnessed the obstacles that are being placed in New York by the United States and the British," Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said.

Iraqi officials blame the sanctions for the deaths of more than 1 million Iraqis through deprivation and disease. The Security Council adopted a resolution in December that pledges to suspend trade sanctions on civilian goods if Baghdad allows U.N. disarmament teams to return.

So far Iraq has rejected the resolution and has insisted on a complete lifting of the sanctions imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Correspondent Jane Arraf and Reuters contributed to this report.

U.N. humanitarian chief for Iraq quits in frustration
February 14, 2000
Iraqi education spending plummets under U.N. sanctions
November 19, 1999
Annan keeps aide on Iraq, despite U.S.-British complaints
November 2, 1999
U.S. encourages Iraqi opposition to unite
October 27, 1999
Amid isolation, Iraq's educational system deteriorates
October 14, 1999
Iraq condemns embargo on 9th anniversary of sanctions
August 6, 1999
CNN Special - Strike on Iraq

The Iraqi Presidency
Iraq - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
United Nations Home Page
ArabNet - Iraq
CIA World Factbook 1999: Iraq

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.