His Excellency Saddam Hussein
President of the Republic of Iraq
c/o HE Dr. Saeed H. Hasan
Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations
14 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021

Dear President Hussein,

Human Rights Watch is writing to express our regret and dismay concerning your government's refusal to extend requested visas to experts appointed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to address aspects of the ongoing humanitarian emergency in the country. In his September 8 report to the Security Council (S/2000/857) on the operation of the oil-for-food program, the Secretary-General wrote that your government had told his office that it does not intend to cooperate with experts he was appointing to conduct a comprehensive report and analysis of the humanitarian situation, and had refused on two occasions to issue visas to experts authorized to discuss with the government ways that Iraqi oil revenues controlled by the U.N. could be used for the purchase of locally produced goods and services.

Related Materials Letter His Excellency M. Moctar Ouane September 20, 2000

The same report does note that teams from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted missions in Iraq in the period under review, and that there were also missions of specialist consultants to report on conditions in the water and sanitation sector and the electricity sector. The report also states that the government "has generally met the requirements of the United Nations for entry visas for international staff involved in the implementation of resolution 986 (1995)." The government's rejection of these two initiatives is inconsistent with this overall policy of cooperation, and will impede efforts to address in a comprehensive way the humanitarian consequences of the sanctions.

Human Rights Watch has urged the Security Council on a number of occasions to commission an independent mechanism to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, and to make recommendations to both the Security Council and the government to address that crisis. We therefore welcomed the long-overdue decision in June of the Security Council, in Resolution 1302 (2000) extending the oil-for-food program, to authorize the Secretary General to commission such a study. It has long been our view that this crisis derives in considerable part from the impact of the comprehensive economic embargo on Iraq, and that such an independent assessment would likely support our recommendations for radical changes in the operation of those sanctions in order to minimize their impact on the civilian population.

The second set of visa requests relate to the need, long-stated by U.N. and private agencies working in Iraq, for a "cash component" to the oil-for-food program in order to provide some income to families and communities, and to train and compensate Iraqi workers and professionals in installing and maintaining equipment funded under the oil-for-food program. At present Iraq's oil revenues are controlled by the U.N. and can only be used to pay for humanitarian-related commodities that are imported into the country. A "cash component" provision would authorize the use of some of these revenues to purchase locally produced goods and services as well. As this latest report of the Secretary-General indicated, "locally produced food items, including vegetables, poultry, eggs, meat and dairy products, have become increasingly available in markets throughout the country. Unfortunately, most Iraqis do not have the necessary purchasing power to buy these foods." A cash-component arrangement would very partially address this aspect of the crisis. The Security Council finally took the first step towards authorizing such a program in Resolution 1284 (1999) by asking the Secretary General to recommend possible operational modalities, given the sharply different views of the government and some members of the Security Council as to who would control and allocate these sums.

On a more positive note, we were pleased to read in the report that bilateral discussions have begun on setting up programs to clear anti-personnel land mines, something the government until recently has been unwilling to undertake. We encourage the government to give high priority to the rapid development of an extensive and effective land mines clearance project.

In conclusion, Human Rights Watch strongly urges your government to reconsider its stance of non-cooperation with the earlier-mentioned initiatives–to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the humanitarian crisis and to work with the U.N. to establish a mechanism whereby a portion of Iraq's oil revenues can be used for local purchases and hires.

I am attaching to this letter one that Human Rights Watch is also sending to the U.N. Security Council with regard to the Secretary-General's report.