Written question asked by David Winnick (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 March 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 10 March 2000. It was answered by Lord Hain (Labour) on Friday, 10 March 2000 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what is his estimate of the amount of money the Iraqi authorities could have spent on the purchase of medicines since sanctions started.

Answer: Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the amount of money the Iraqi authorities could have spent on the purchase of medicines since sanctions started. [114122] Mr. Hain: Sanctions have never prohibited the import of medicines into Iraq. Under the UN's "oil for food" programme, which was first proposed in 1991 but rejected by the Iraqi government for five years, over $10 billion worth of revenue has been available for the purchase of humanitarian supplies. It is for the Government of Iraq to decide how it allocates that money between the various humanitarian sectors. It has chosen, for example, to allocate $10 million to purchase bank note counting machines under the current phase of the programme. The UN Secretary-General has refused to approve this allocation.

Secondary information