4 October -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed "serious concern" that over $2 billion worth of humanitarian contracts for Iraq are now on hold in the committee monitoring the sanctions against Baghdad, according to a letter released at United Nations Headquarters today.
"This situation renders the distribution of humanitarian goods and the amelioration of the overall situation more difficult and places an additional strain on the already heavily burdened population by delaying the arrival and use of many key supplies and equipment," Mr. Annan wrote in a letter to the President of the Security Council.
The sanctions committee, which is a subsidiary of the Security Council, places holds on applications for contracts when a final decision is pending either additional technical information or additional information on who will benefit from the commodity or equipment being sent.
Another matter of serious concern, according to the letter, is the "excessive" number of applications for contracts that are incomplete. As of mid-September, the total value of those applications stood at $1.1 billion. The Secretary-General calls on all concerned parties to do their utmost to speed the process "in order to ensure the effective implementation of the humanitarian programme in Iraq."
The programme, known as "oil-for-food", allows Iraq to sell its petroleum and petroleum products and to use a portion of the proceeds to purchase humanitarian supplies.
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