10.1 |
Reconstruction: March 2003 to June 2004
UN
agencies’ preparations and earmarked another £60m from DFID’s
contingency
reserve for
humanitarian operations. But this is a drop in the ocean; in the
worse
case, if
the Oil-for-Food programme ground to a halt, Iraq could need as
much as
a billion
dollars a month for humanitarian aid).”
Before the
2003 invasion, the UN Oil-for-Food (OFF) programme was the
principal
mechanism
for Iraqi procurement of humanitarian goods.
The OFF
programme was established by resolution 986 in April 1995.
Implementation
began in
May 1996 after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between
the
UN and
the Iraqi Government.9
The
programme allowed for:
•
the export of
Iraqi oil;
•
the deposit of
oil revenues into a UN-controlled account; and
•
the use of
those revenues to procure food, medicine and other goods approved
by
the
UN.
Section 6.5
describes how, in January 2003, the UK began discussions with the
US on
adapting
the OFF programme to the circumstances of post-conflict
Iraq.
The UK
approach was set out in background papers for the Azores Summit,
sent to
No.10 by
the FCO on 15 March:
“If the
Iraqi regime falls, new arrangements will need to be put in place
to enable the
OFF
[programme] to keep functioning. Our current plan is to table a
resolution soon
after
conflict starts … We are seeking to amend some of the procedures to
speed up
the process
for humanitarian goods …” 10
Resolution
1472, adopted unanimously on 28 March, transferred authority
for
administering
the OFF programme, including authority to purchase medical supplies
and
Iraqi goods
and services, to the UN Secretary-General for a period of 45 days,
with the
possibility
of further renewal by the Security Council.
30.
Military
operations against Iraq began on the night of 19/20 March.
Military
operations
during the invasion are described in Section 8.
31.
Ms Short
visited New York and Washington on 19 and 20 March for talks with
the
UN, US,
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).11
32.
The British
Embassy Washington reported that Ms Short had pressed the
US
Administration
hard on the need for an early resolution to enable the OFF
programme
9
Office of
the Iraq Programme, About the
programme:
Oil-for-Food.
10
Letter Owen
to Rycroft, 15 March 2003, ‘Azores Summit’ attaching
Briefing FCO, ‘Iraq – Oil for Food
Programme
(OFF) and Sanctions’.
11 Telegram
501 UKMIS New York to FCO London, 21 March 2003, ‘Iraq
Humanitarian/Reconstruction:
Clare
Short’s Visit to New York’.
9