Iraq's decision to suspend oil exports until Israeli troops withdraw from Palestinian territories will exacerbate financial problems facing the U.N. humanitarian aid program in Iraq.
Halting exports will result in an estimated revenue loss of $1.3 billion for the oil-for-food humanitarian program which is funded by Iraqi oil revenues, according to the U.N. Office of the Iraq Program.
The program was already facing a revenue shortfall this year as Iraqi oil exports slumped by about 25 percent because of what Iraqi officials say is a controversial pricing policy instituted by the U.N. committee monitoring sanctions on Iraq.
Iraq announced Monday that it was halting its oil exports through the oil-for-food program for 30 days or until Israel pulls out its troops and tanks. As a result of the announcement, the U.N.'s Iraq Program projected total revenue generated by oil sales during the current six-month phase of the oil-for-food program at $4.2 billion, down from an early estimate of $5.5 billion. The current phase ends on May 30.
Because of the expected loss of revenue, the oil-for-food program is now $3.6 billion short in funds to purchase humanitarian goods already ordered by Iraq. The oil-for-food program was created in 1996 to help ordinary Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Under an exemption to sanctions, the program allows Iraq to sell unlimited amounts of oil to buy humanitarian goods for its civilians.
According to the most recent U.N. figures, Iraqi oil exports have averaged about 1.5 million barrels a day over the past month, down from a more normal average of about 2 million barrels a day.
http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:4BCDHiX3INkC:www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/wbbs/news/msgs/395.html+U.N.%27s+Oil-for-Food+Program&hl=en&ie=UTF-8Interesting stuff. Saddam says. Annan says. The State Department says. But apparently no one but the people running it are doing any auditing. And they wouldn't talk to the WSJ or release any meaningful figures.