- The UN Secretary General’s initiative to submit the Oil-for-Food Programme to an extensive independent inquiry is unprecedented in UN history, commented Foreign Minister Jan Petersen. - Norway has co-operated fully with the Independent Inquiry Committee, and will study its report closely.

The report confirms that the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme was vital in order to improve the difficult humanitarian situation for the civilian population of Iraq in the years 1997-2003. However the report has revealed circumstances that clearly underline the need for political and administrative reforms in both the world organisation and the specialist agencies. UN reform has for a long time been a top priority for Norway, and is in sharp focus in its preparations for the forthcoming UN summit.

-We must not forget that the responsibility for the weaknesses in the UN system to a large degree lies with the member countries themselves. They set the frame conditions for the Secretariat’s activities through the political main bodies,” pointed out Mr Petersen. “We hope that all the member countries will study this report carefully, and take it as a reminder that each country has an individual responsibility to ensure that the principles and objectives of the UN Charter are upheld.

The Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme was established in 1995, after sanctions against Iraq had been in force for several years, and continued until 2003. The programme was designed to ensure humanitarian supplies to the civilian population in the context of the comprehensive sanctions to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It developed into the most comprehensive and complex programme in the UN’s history.

In 2001-2002, Norway was a member of the Security Council and chair of the Iraq Sanctions Committee. During this period, the political situation was in a deadlock due to the deep political differences in the Security Council, and these were reflected in the Sanctions Committee. Any action required agreement between all fifteen members of the Sanctions Committee. Nevertheless, Norway consistently focused on two overarching objectives: systematic reform of the sanctions to better meet the civilian population’s humanitarian needs, and preventing the regime from developing weapons of mass destruction. With this clearly in mind, Norway worked methodically and in a long-term perspective at a number of different levels to ensure that the sanctions were closely targeted. The reform package that was finally implemented in the summer of 2002 redressed fundamental weaknesses.