Explanation of "Dual-Use" and why / how the U.S. places Holds on Humanitarian Goods

List of U.S. Holds as of February 28, 2001, U.N. Office of the Iraq Programme ("OIP")

            Part I    Part II    Part III    Part IV    Part V    

• Why this Document is no longer on the U.N. OIP Website

• Iraq Oil Sales:  Volume, Value and Dollar Amount of U.S. Holds

• U.S. Blocks Items to Iraq That Other Nations See as Benign, Washington Post, March 26, 2001

Explanation of Dual Use & How / Why U.S. Places Holds on Humanitarian Goods

The U.S. sometimes provides "dual-use concerns" as a reason for holding a contract. Undefined "dual-use."  This is outside the parameters of Security Council Resolution 1051 (and subsequent annexes http://www.un.org/Docs/scres/1996/9607404e.htm  and http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s95-1017.htm) Post-1051, if Iraq wished to import any 1051 item, it would include it on a distribution plan (or in a subsequent amendment to a distribution plan) like any other item. When the time came to actually contract for the item, Iraq and the supplier would separately inform the then UNSCOM-IAEA now UNMOVIC-IAEA joint export/import unit. Iraq would first notify the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Centre, which passed the notification onto the joint unit in New York. The supplier directly notified the New York joint unit. This joint unit reviewed the contract and then circulated it to the 661 Committee, which then decided on whether or not to approve the item. As a checking mechanism, OIP cross-checked all contracts containing items it suspected might be 1051. OIP forwarded suspected 1051 contracts to the joint unit. 

The whole point was to have a baseline list, rather than wholly "dual-use" mantras. Of course the list itself was not purely technical: political omissions and additions were made. Additionally, even if an item was on the 1051 list for technical reasons, it might still be vital for infrastructure rehabilitation and vulnerable to a hold by a 661 Committee member.

Also note contracts on hold in another phase and later released only show up as "approved". There is no indication these contracts were once held: in other words, this document does not represent all holds over the Program's lifetime.

Why this Document is no longer on the U.N. OIP Website

A trusted source told us that in the Spring of 2001 the U.N. Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP) had said they mistakenly posted certain worksheets to their website. At that time we could not confirm whether or not the inclusion was accidental.  However, in April of 2002 a representative of the UN OIP contacted CCMEP and requested we remove these documents, both claiming that the UN OIP had never posted these documents to their website and that these files were "confidential."  Trying to hide something?

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