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Introduction
On august 6, 1990, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 661, imposing economic sanctions on Iraq. It includes a full trade embargo on Iraq, except for medical supplies, food and other items of humanitarian need, as determined by the Security Council sanctions committee.(White: 1999) The sanctions, amended several times since 1990, remain in effect. The United States has had its own sanctions against Iraq since august 2, 1990, after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, creating the Persian Gulf War. ... “Are economic sanctions an effective tool for foreign policy ?” I will be using the case of Iraq following their invasion of Kuwait in 1990. With reference to this specific episode we will look at what exactly are the sanctions being imposed on Iraq, followed by the second section which will look at why these sanctions are being imposed. The third section will focus on the effects these sanctions are having on Iraq and its civilian population. Finally, in the final section we will take a look at the effectiveness of the sanctions for the parties imposing them. The topic question which revolves around the effectiveness of economic sanctions will be addressed in the context of each section throughout the assignment.
Economic sanctions in short are a means of influencing states to change their policies. In Iraq’s case making it scrap its weapons of mass destruction and long range missiles.(Brzezinski 94/95: 17) Are the sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States effective enough to achieve these objectives? On that note let us first see what exactly these sanctions are.
What are the sanctions?
Military and economic sanctions were imposed on Iraq at the end of the Persian Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein remained as leader of Iraq, following its invasion of Kuwait. Some politicians, academics, and military strategists argue that economic, as well as military sanctions, are important to decrease the chances of Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction.(Brown:2000) All this being though of with the perception that Iraqi people will suffer so many deprivations because of the sanctions that they will rise up and dispose of Saddam Hussein. ... This resolution was a measure to bring hostilities to a end and to impose several obligations that Iraq was required to fulfill immediately.(Mcdowell 2000: 9) This resolution was retained in full force including the authorization to use military force and to maintain the embargo on Iraq, while the Council determined what additional conditions Iraq should be required to fulfill before the sanctions would be lifted and Iraq fully reinstated into the international community.(Mcdowell 2000: 10)
On March 3, Iraq agreed to comply with all obligations set out in Resolution 686 (i. ... , rescission of the annexation of Kuwait, acceptance of liability for loss, injury, and damage resulting from invasion and occupation of Kuwait, release of all detainees and prisoners of war, as well as return of the remains of those deceased, return of Kuwaiti property, an end to all hostile and provocative acts, and assistance in identifying the location of mines and chemical and biological weapons in Kuwait and parts of Iraq occupied by the coalition). According to Iraq, it was only agreeing to fulfill these obligations in order to deny the coalition any excuse to inflict further harm on Iraqi population. Finally, Iraq expressed the hope that the Council would ensure the prompt withdrawal of all coalition forces from Iraqi territory, as well as a complete end of the embargo.(McDowell 2000: 11-12)
In the meantime the Council allowed shipment to Iraq of humanitarian assistance along with a committee to analyze humanitarian needs. It told the committee to keep a close eye on humanitarian needs in Iraq.
Resolution 686 was a stopgap measure, so the Council on April 3 issued Resolution 687 which was intended to be the main plan for Iraq’s rehabilitation.
Approximate Word count = 3107
Approximate Pages = 12.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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