The Impact of the UN Sanctions on the People of Iraq

The impact of the sanctions regime imposed on Iraq by the member states of the United Nations Security Council since 1990 has many facets. The horrifying human face of malnutrition and death has, quite rightly, been given greatest media and other exposure, but other forms of damage are also severely felt. This article intends briefly to explore some aspects of the impact in an attempt to show a somewhat wider picture of the sanctions catastrophe. While the catastrophe is a thing of the present, it has potentially lasting consequences for the future, not only for the Iraqi people, but for the peace and well-being of the Arab region and the world as a whole.

Denis J. Halliday was assistant secretary-general of the United Nations until his resignation at the end of October 1998. From 1 September 1997 to 30 September 1998 he served as the UN humanitarian coordinator of the Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq.