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UN aid coordinator in Iraq urges lifting of holds on humanitarian contracts
19 October -- The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq has appealed to the committee monitoring the sanctions against Baghdad to release contracts for relief goods that are currently on hold.

Humanitarian Coordinator Tun Myat told a press conference in New York today that about $2.2 billion worth of contracts -- some for "very critical items" -- have been placed on hold by the committee, which is a subsidiary of the Security Council.

Under the UN's "oil-for-food" programme, Iraq is allowed to use a portion of its petroleum revenues for humanitarian goods, but with a number of exceptions, contracts for those goods must be approved by the sanctions committee. Mr. Myat said that in meetings with the committee earlier this week he described recent UN initiatives in Iraq, including the creation of an observation mechanism to ensure that goods entering the country are not being used for any unauthorized purpose.

"In our conversation with the committee, we have made a plea to them that we have put all the necessary arrangements on the ground in order to cater to [their] information needs," Mr. Myat said. The aim was to provide the committee with as much information as needed in the hope that it would release all contracts, he said, noting that the number of holds was "becoming a major problem."

Regarding the humanitarian situation in the country, Mr. Myat said that there had been considerable progress in the food and health sectors. The food distribution system was "second to none -- it is a very good, very efficient system," he said. Under the distribution plan, over 2,470 calories worth of food were made available to all people in the country. Normally that should sustain life, but "the fact is people have become so poor in some cases that they cannot even afford to eat the food that they have been given free because for many of them the food ration represents the major part of their income," said Mr. Myat, who is based in Iraq. He noted that some Iraqis were forced to sell part of their food ration to meet basic needs.