SPECIAL ACTION ALERT ON SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ
July 12, 1999
written by Corinne Whitlatch, Director of Churches for Middle East Peace, and
edited by Catherine Sunshine for publication by the Washington Office of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) as part of the "Stewardship of Public Life"
program.
ISSUE: August 6 marks the 9th anniversary of the comprehensive U.N.
sanctions against Iraq. The people of Iraq continue to suffer in the grip of
a humanitarian crisis caused in large part by the sanctions. But there is
growing support within the U.N. Security Council for a change in the
sanctions regime. Advocacy toward the U.S. government, asking for an end or
easing of sanctions, is particularly timely now.
ACTION: Write to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, your two senators and
your representative making these points:
1. The current United States policy toward Iraq is not worthy of support by
the American people. The continuation of the comprehensive sanctions for nine
years has devastated the lives of Iraqi people and has been the principal
cause of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
2. The oil-for-food program has alleviated the food shortage, but it cannot
meet other basic needs. Nor can it fund the rebuilding of Iraq's
infrastructure and civilian economy, which alone can insure adequate
nutrition and health standards.
3. The objective of disarming Iraq of illegal weapons and the resumption of
inspections by a new U.N. inspection commission should be the highest
priority for the United States. This is not possible as long as the United
States insists that sanctions remain in place until Saddam Hussein be removed
from power.
4. The United States should cooperate with the United Nations Security
Council in formulating a new plan that provides a way to end the economic
sanctions while resuming the U.N. weapons
inspections and weapons destruction program. Compromise plans are before the
Security Council at this time.
Thank those Members of Congress (listed at the end) who have called for
ending comprehensive sanctions. Urge others to use their influence to end the
current comprehensive sanctions in favor of targeted sanctions focused on
weapons.
WRITE:
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable_________
The U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable__________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515
BACKGROUND: The Iraq sanctions, which began on August 6 1990 in response to
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, are the most stringent ever imposed on a country.
They ban 90 percent of Iraqi imports and 97 percent of exports. In 1996, the
United Nations began an oil-for-food program to counter some of the
devastating effect of sanctions. Money from oil sales is tightly controlled
by the U.N. and is used for war reparations, U.N. oversight expenses, and to
purchase limited supplies of food, medicine and equipment.
Iraqis receive a sparse monthly food basket which lasts an average of 20-23
days. Some Iraqis are able to supplement food basket items; many are not.
The weekly per-person food allotments in the basket are as follows: wheat
flour, 5 lbs; rice, 1 lb; sugar, 1 lb; dry beans, ½ lb; tea, 1 oz; salt, 1
oz; cooking oil, 8 fluid oz; cheese, 1 oz. Adult baskets include small
amounts of soap and detergent. Baskets for infants under 1 year include 2 lbs
of milk powder and 6 oz of weaning cereal. (Sources: UN Office of the
Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq; Reuters; and Iraq Ministry of Foreign
Affairs)
Approximately 30 percent of children in Iraq suffer from either acute or
chronic malnutrition. Gastrointestinal illness spread by contaminated
drinking water is the primary killer of Iraqi children. According to UNICEF,
one child dies every 7-9 minutes (equal to 5,000 - 6,000 per month) from
preventable diseases or malnutrition directly linked to sanctions.
Delivery of the medicines provided by the oil sale program is hindered by the
lack of refrigerated trucks, computers and even forklifts necessary for
distribution. Power outages, often 12-18 hours a day, further impair the
functioning of hospitals.
U.S. Representatives calling for an end to economic sanctions:
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Rep. David Bonior (D-MI)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA)
Rep. William Clay (D-MO)
Rep. Eva Clayton (D-NC)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Eva Clayton (D-NC)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Rep. Diana Degette (D-CO)
Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)
Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-OR)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Edie Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)
Rep. John LaFalce (D-NY)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
Rep. Carrie Meek (D-FL)
Rep. Gregory Meek (D-NY)
Rep. James Oberstar (D-FL)
Rep. John Olver (D-MA)
Rep. Major R. Owens (D-NY)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-MI)
Rep. Ciro Rodriquez (D-TX)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Melvin Watts (D-NC)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
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