30 October -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan today named Thorvald Stoltenberg of Norway to chair a group of independent experts looking at the humanitarian situation in Iraq.
The appointment of Mr. Stoltenberg came in response to a recent resolution of the Security Council inviting the Secretary-General to name independent experts to prepare "a comprehensive report and analysis of the humanitarian situation in Iraq, including the current needs arising from the situation and recommendations to meet those needs." That report is due on 26 November.
Mr. Stoltenberg has held high-ranking posts in the Norwegian Government, including Defence Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 1989-1990 he served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Meanwhile, the Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq was scheduled to hold informal discussions on Monday afternoon on Baghdad's request to switch from dollars to euros for its UN-administered oil sales.
According to a UN spokesman, it will be up to the sanctions committee to decide whether to accept Iraq's request to switch from dollars to euros. In a recent letter to Iraqi Ambassador Saeed H. Hassan, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Management, Joseph Connor, said the Secretariat was "prepared to discuss the practicability" of the request. At the same time, Mr. Connor pointed out that the outcome of the sanctions committee's deliberations would have to be taken into account.
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