PRESS BRIEFING BY CHAIRMAN OF IRAQ SANCTIONS COMMITTEE

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY CHAIRMAN OF IRAQ SANCTIONS COMMITTEE

At a Headquarters press briefing this evening, Antonio Monteiro (Portugal), Chairman of the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) to monitor the sanctions regime against Iraq, reviewed the subjects taken up by the Committee's 167th meeting, held earlier in the day.

Mr. Monteiro said the Committee had discussed several issues during its meeting. The Committee's longest exchange concerned the authorization of expenses related to the Haj pilgrimage. It had also addressed the anticipated $400 million revenue shortfall in the first 90 days of the current phase of the "oil-for-food" programme. In addition, the Committee considered the issue of repairs and spare parts for the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline.

The Committee could not come to an agreement on the issue of the shortfall, Mr. Monteiro said. Some delegations stressed that the $400 million was vital for new contracts that needed to be signed and that legally the Committee needed a Security Council resolution to rectify the situation. Other delegations supported a roll-over. A few delegations said it would be preferable to wait and see if the implementation of Council resolution 1153 (1998) would solve the problem. [By that resolution, adopted on 20 February, the Council increased Iraq's oil exports to $5.256 billion for a new 180-day period.]

Mr. Monteiro said he decided he would take the issue to the Council on 10 March. Perhaps the Council would choose to adopt a technical resolution which would provide a roll-over and allow the shortfall to be made up during the next quarter.

The final issue discussed by the Committee was a "curious point", raised by the German delegation, regarding the import of Iraqi dinars by a German private citizen, Mr. Monteiro said. Iraqi dinars had no value outside of that country, but a German woman wanted to use 100,000,000 million dinars to pay a debt she owed in United States dollars. The Committee must determine if the amount in dinars comprised goods or assets, and it would seek the opinion of the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, on that issue.

Responding to several questions, Mr. Monteiro said a great majority of the delegations agreed that the subject of the shortfall should be addressed as soon as possible, but it was a matter for the Council to decide.

Asked how the Committee became aware of the case of the German woman and the Iraqi dinars, Mr. Monteiro said the subject was first brought to the Committee's attention in April 1997. At that time, the Committee asked for additional details, which it had recently received.

Monteiro Briefing - 2 - 10 March 1998

Responding to questions about the Haj, Mr. Monteiro said the Committee must come to a solution very quickly because the Haj would begin on 20 March. Only technical questions remained to be solved, including financing the operation. Once those questions were settled, the Committee would contact all the actors, including the Iraqi authorities.

Asked if the money to finance the pilgrimage would come from Council resolution 1153 (1998), Mr. Monteiro said the issue of the Haj had been addressed in that resolution. An advance sum could be issued from the escrow account and reimbursed at a later date.

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