DATE=2/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAQ/U-N (L-O)
NUMBER=2-259111
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations has confirmed the head of
its humanitarian program in Iraq has asked to step
down by the end of March. Lisa Bryant reports from
Cairo that the official, Hans von Sponeck, has been a
frequent critic of the U-N sanctions on Baghdad.
TEXT: A U-N spokesman in Baghdad confirms that Mr.
von Sponeck has asked to leave his post by March 31,
but did not offer a reason for the requested
departure.
Mr. von Sponeck was unavailable for comment. But
diplomats told the Associated Press news agency Sunday
that Mr. von Sponeck decided to leave the job because
he could not continue working with the current state
of U-N sanctions on Baghdad.
The German humanitarian head has frequently been at
odds with the United States and Britain over the
sanctions and the U-N oil-for-food program. That
program allows Baghdad to sell more than five-billion-
dollars worth of oil every six-months in return for
food, medicine, and other supplies.
In an interview broadcast last week on C-N-N, Mr. von
Sponeck said the program is failing to meet the
minimum requirements of the Iraqi people. He has also
said the sanctions, imposed for Baghdad's 1990
invasion of Kuwait, are hurting innocent Iraqis. Mr.
von Sponeck told C-N-N, as a U-N humanitarian official
he could not remain silent.
Washington criticized similar concerns aired by Mr.
von Sponeck last year. But his comments have earned
praise in the Iraqi press.
Recent press reports say both the United States and
Britain have called for U-N Secretary Koffi Annan to
dismiss Mr. Von Sponeck. Mr. Annan reportedly
resisted the requests. But in November, he extended
Mr. von Sponeck's term for only another six-months,
rather than a full year.
Mr. von Sponeck is the U-N's fifth humanitarian
coordinator in Iraq. In 1998, his predecessor, Denis
Halliday, also resigned from his U-N post, expressing
concern over the impact of the sanctions.
Meanwhile, Baghdad has banned U-N disarmament
inspectors from the country since December 1998, when
the United States and Britain launched a punishing
round of air strikes on Iraq. (SIGNED)
NEB/LB/DW/RAE
13-Feb-2000 12:13 PM EDT (13-Feb-2000 1713 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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