UN Sanctions Against Iraq: Their Effects and Their Future

Abstract

Abstract : The severe UN-imposed economic sanctions against Iraq are in their seventh year. Saddam seems content to let his people suffer extreme hardships from widespread disease and malnutrition, watch his state's economy severely deteriorate, and see his once prosperous nation fall into despair. Why not? He is largely insulated from the harsh effects of the sanctions, and he and those close to him still maintain a very high standard of living. Also, today his armed forces are still the most formidable in the region. Moreover, Saddam remains firmly in power in Iraq, and he rules completely and unopposed. The sanctions against Iraq have also had significant collateral impact on Jordan and Turkey, both major trading partners with Iraq prior to the Gulf crisis. Jordan's trade volumes with Iraq plummeted from their levels in August 1990, especially as sanctions enforcement severely curtailed Iraq's imports and exports. Nevertheless, Jordan and Iraq remain linked economically, as Iraq still provides the majority of oil used by Jordan. In the early years of the sanctions, Jordan's enforcement was lax. Since 1995, however, Jordan has enforced the sanctions stringently, and Jordan has realigned itself away from Iraq and toward the West. Turkey denounced Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and immediately turned off its pipeline for Iraqi oil and severed all trade ties with Iraq. The embargo has cost Turkey $30 billion. Turkey must also contend with the de facto Kurdish state that has emerged in northern Iraq, threatening Turkish territorial integrity and political unity. The US is adamant that the Security Council will maintain the full sanctions as long as is required to force Iraq's full compliance with relevant Security Council resolutions. If sanctions are removed prematurely, Saddam Hussein's cooperation to date, though lacking, would surely cease. And, when Iraq's oil again flows freely on the world market, it will be very hard to shut it off.