The United Nations Security Council is close to tapping billions of pounds in Iraqi oil revenues to purchase food and medicine in a bid to avert a humanitarian crisis in the week-old war.
German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, who led talks on revamping the UN oil-for-food programme, said he expected a vote today. But diplomats said a delay was possible as governments of the 15 council members studied the resolution.
"Our initial assessment is positive," said a US official late on Thursday. "We worked hard on it. We are still awaiting final clearance from Washington".
The programme, which began in December 1996, allows Iraq to sell oil to purchase food, medicine and civilian supplies under UN supervision. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suspended the program and evacuated more than 300 relief workers who monitor the distribution of supplies shortly before US and British forces invaded Iraq.
Mr Annan, the United States and Britain had asked the council to ensure that almost $10 billion in goods Iraq ordered and already approved, including $2.4 billion for food, can enter the country when conditions allow
The resolution would authorise Mr Annan, for the next 45 days, to make "technological and temporary adjustments" to the programme, such as reviewing Iraq's contracts to make sure health supplies and foodstuffs had priority.
The programme is the largest in relief goods available to Iraq, including contributions from the United States and Britain. It was instituted to ease the impact of UN sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
Some 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people are solely dependent on rations from the oil-for-food plan.