UN Security Council Removes Restrictions Placed On Iraq
The US pushed through three UN Security Council resolutions on Wednesday that lifted restrictions left over from the confrontation with Saddam Hussein.
One resolution permits Iraq to develop a civilian nuclear program and import materials once banned because they could possibly be used to help develop unconventional weapons. A second resolution formally shuttered (lukkede) the dormant oil-for-food program.
And the third gives the country control over most of its oil assets starting July 1, 2011, while simultaneously lifting the protection that shielded post-invasion Iraq from countless legal claims.
The vote followed years of debate within the council over how to settle the matter of sanctions that had been imposed on the former Iraqi regime but that often seemed irrelevant under a government that had wide backing from the UN membership.
The council’s action will leave several issues outstanding, including a provision that requires Iraq to pay 5 percent of oil revenue to compensate Kuwaiti companies and individuals who suffered losses during the invasion.
The conclusion of the oil-for-food program means that at the end of June, Iraq will regain full control of its oil revenue, which under sanctions had been used to buy food for Iraqi civilians.
– My government appreciates the councils recognition of the success we have achieved in closing out the remaining contracts and for terminating the residual activities of the oil-for-food program, said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, adding:
– This program was marred with a web of mismanagement and misappropriation and its termination lifts another burden on Iraq’s recovery.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
