Episcopal Press and News
Letter to President Bill Clinton on Iraq Sanctions
Episcopal News Service. February 9, 1995 [95028]
Dear Mr. President:
Four years ago, we visited Iraq as members of a delegation of church leaders from the United States. Our visit took place only a few weeks before the onset of the Gulf War. We hoped that our witness for a peaceful resolution of the Gulf crisis might prevent military action by the coalition forces.
Currently, four years after the war, the people of Iraq continue to face a battle -- a battle against impoverishment and illness -- as a result of the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United Nations Security Council.
After numerous reports from reputable observers, including two assessments requested by UNICEF, as well as a visit to Iraq by a representative of our Church World Service and Witness Unit of the National Council of Churches, there is no doubt in our minds that the severe economic sanctions imposed against Iraq have caused enormous suffering among the civilian population. Food is in short supply, or is unaffordable. Iraq's medical system, once one of the best in the Middle East, is unable to function because medication and medical equipment are unavailable. The people most affected by these shortages are the most vulnerable -- children, women, and the elderly.
At the same time, there is no evidence that the ostensible target of the sanctions, the regime of President Saddam Hussein, has been significantly weakened. The Iraqi Army remains intact, and the secret police continue to terrorize people into quiet submission.
We acknowledge that Iraq has not complied fully with the conditions set forth in the cease-fire agreement, although it has made progress toward compliance. We also understand the risk that, even if economic sanctions are relaxed, the Iraqi government could misuse resources and withhold humanitarian supplies from its citizens. The current situation, however, must change. The sick and suffering people of Iraq have become victims of decisions made not only by their own government but by the Untied Nations, as well. The United States can take the first step toward ending this suffering by leading the Security Council to relax the sanctions against Iraq.
We regret very much the Security Council's recent decision to prolong this cruel punishment of an entire people, and that our own government has influenced this decision. We strongly urge the United Nations Security Council, and our representatives in that Council, to seek for a way to provide humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people. While the sanctions do not prohibit the importation of food or medicine, it is clear that international charitable efforts cannot meet the great needs of Iraq's population. The time has come for Iraq to be permitted to sell oil in order to feed and care for its own people.
We also believe that, in the long run, opening Iraq to the international community would be a greater threat to the regime's stability than prolonging the country's imposed isolation. Exposing Iraq to new ideas and to the promising democratic trends now beginning to appear in the Middle East would surely pose a significant danger to the suffocating rule of Saddam Hussein.
In a spirit of compassion toward the helpless and the innocent, we urge a relaxation of sanctions against the people of Iraq.
The Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches