HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

The oil-for-food program is implemented in more or less 6-month/180-day phases. Each phase is authorized by a Security Council Resolution (SCR). All SCRs are available on the OIP website. In addition to an SCR, the program’s operations are governed by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) mutually agreed to by the UN and the Government of Iraq (GOI) in May 1996.

Once a phase is authorized by the Security Council, the GOI prepares and submits a Distribution Plan (DP) of humanitarian needs to the Secretary General (SG). For Iraqi Kurdistan (IK), UNOHCI consults with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and discusses inclusion of IK needs with the GOI. The SG approves/endorses the DP.

The DP estimates oil sale proceeds to be earned and allocates funds to a list of sectors, for all-Iraq and for the three northern governorates. DPs are available on the OIP website. See Table-1s. Annexes list items to be procured by the GOI for the center-south (CS). The GOI also procures bulk-purchased (BP) food and medicines for all-Iraq.

The GOI directly negotiates and signs procurement contracts for CS and BP items. The Sanctions Committee must approve each contract before payment can be made. Lists of contracts, countries of origin, and contract status are available on the OIP website.

When BP food and medicines are received by the GOI, shares of medicines are sent to Iraqi Kurdistan (IK) from warehouses in Baghdad, and shares of food are sent from warehouses in Mosul and Kirkuk. Stocks in IK are often in short supply. Surplus stocks are usually minimal.

For Iraqi Kurdistan, for sectors other than BP food and medicines, UN agencies directly negotiate and sign procurement contracts. The Sanctions Committee must also approve these contracts before payment is made. However, funds spent locally by UN agencies are not directly approved by the Sanctions Committee.

During implementation, items are received; distribution/installation/construction occurs.

For each phase, OIP normally submits only two reports to the Security Council, a 90-day report and a 180-day report. These reports are largely narrative, high in verbiage, with few figures and without accurate accounts of income, allocations, and expenditures.

Thus, there are four primary documents: SCR, DP, 90-day report, 180-day report.

Summary financial accounts are not provided to Security Council members. The Security Council does not track income, allocations, and expenditures.