I met with Mr. von Sponek, Bishop Gumbleton and representatives of the Irish Campaign to end Iraq Sanctions on 25 July. At that meeting I reiterated the Government's grave concern at the humanitarian situation in Iraq. I reaffirmed that Ireland, as a member of the Security Council, is committed to reform of the sanctions so as to eliminate the suffering caused to the people of Iraq.
We discussed the current efforts in the Security Council to reform the sanctions regime. I explained Ireland's objective in those negotiations – a new resolution to provide, to the
fullest extent possible, for the normalisation and development of the Iraqi economy for the benefit of the people of Iraq. I outlined Ireland's support for proposals which would appreciably expand upon the original UK-US initiative presented to the Security Council in May. That proposal focused on a revised system for the importation of goods into Iraq and a reversal of the underlying concept of how the sanctions regime operates so that all goods will be allowed into Iraq except those items specified on a goods review list. Ireland is supporting additional measures to restore Iraq's infrastructure and production capacity, to facilitate normal trade in civilian goods, and to allow for foreign investment and international service contracts.
Both Bishop Gumbleton and Mr. von Sponek are acutely familiar with the humanitarian situation in Iraq and, in the case of Mr. von Sponek, with the enormous and very difficult task facing the UN humanitarian operations in that country. The meeting was a valuable and welcome opportunity for me to learn about both of their experiences. We were in full agreement on the urgent need to end the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and we had a constructive dialogue on the political challenges which also need to be addressed in the context of Iraq's obligation to respect and fulfil the requirements of the Security Council
resolutions.
Since my meeting with Bishop Gumbleton and Mr. von Sponek, I travelled to New York where on 1 October I held discussions on the situation with the head of the UN's Iraq office in New York, Mr. Benon Sevan. Mr. Sevan had just completed work on a further report from the United Nation's Secretary General on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. This report was discussed in the Security Council on 11 October, under Ireland's chairmanship. In addition to our role as Chair, Ireland made a strong national statement.
