Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

                     Letter dated 11 June 2002 from the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

           On instructions from my Government, I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a letter from Mr. Naji Sabri, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, dated 11 June 2002, stating that American and British aircraft have burned crops of barley in the governorate of Ninawa.

           I should be grateful if you would have this letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Mohammed Aldouri
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

                     Annex to the letter dated 11 June 2002 from the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

           I should like to inform you that the United States of America and the United Kingdom have added a new act of aggression to the list of continual criminal attacks they have carried out against the Republic of Iraq since 1991, targeting civilians and their dwellings, crops and property.

           On 28 May 2002 American and British aircraft dropped heat flares on crops of barley in the governorate of Ninawa, burning large areas of these crops: 1,630 dunums in the district of al-Hamdaniya and 400 dunums in the district of Hamam al‑Alil.

           This new incident of burning crops illustrates the inhumanity and the immorality of the policy of these two States towards Iraq, which seeks to inflict maximum damage on the Iraqi people and target its source of domestically produced food after imposing comprehensive sanctions on Iraq. This policy constitutes an act of terrorism and a crime against humanity which the international community must not ignore.

           All States which love peace and respect the rule of law and the institutions of the international community must resist this iniquitous terrorist policy, adhere to the principles of international law and the customs and values which govern international relations and demand an immediate end to this aggression.

           We appeal to the United Nations, through you, to declare its complete rejection of this aggressive American policy, to endeavour to put an immediate end to this aggression which is targeting an entire people and waging war on it through the source of its livelihood and to hold the perpetrators of this aggression to account for their crimes.

(Signed) Naji Sabri
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq