The UN Sanctions Committee has not issued any comprehensive list of prohibited products, as such a list would include millions of articles. Instead the Sanctions Committee evaluates applications for exporting goods to Iraq on the base of Security Council Resolutions which allow foodstuffs, medicines and products for essential civilian needs. Anything not deemed 'essential' by the members of the Sanctions Committee is denied to the Iraqi population.

The Committee has the sole discretion in determining what is essential for every Iraqi. Decisions by the Committee are made behind closed doors. Any one Committee member may veto a permission. Applications for the export of items to Iraq must be made by the potential exporter to the authorities of individual UN member states who then forward the application to the UN Sanctions Committee in New York. The Committee will then assess the qualification of the application, that is whether it is food, medicine or an 'essential civilian need', determine that the Iraqi government has also endorsed the transaction, check prices and delivery conditions, and if everything is OK, forward its approval to the authorities of the country where the application came from. The authorities then inform the applicant. Only then is it possible to ship the items. Before being sent, public officials must check that the items concur in quality and quantity to the document approved by the Sanctions Committee. Any discrepancy results in the delaying the shipment.

It must be added that the quantity of food and medicines "allowed" to Iraq is not more than about a third of what was imported to Iraq before the onset of the sanctions. In other words, the United Nations expect Iraqis to live with less than half the food and medicine intake they had at the time when Saddam Hussein ruled without UN intervention.

The lawyers of the Security Council members have studied carefully the requirements of international humanitarian law. By designing into the sanctions regime 'humanitarian exceptions' as provided by the 'food-for-oil' deal, the members of the Security Council attempt to preempt charges of causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis by starvation and health hazards. By providing the very minimum for physical subsistence to the Iraqi population, lives are not anymore expended by the thousands. This is a step forward away from sheer genocide. The Security Council's conception of Iraqis is nevertheless that they are not human beings but a herd of 20 million sheep whose minimal needs are reduced to foodstuffs, medicines and some undefined 'essential civilian needs' to be determined at a closed committee meetings by well-groomed gentlemen in New York.

This list was compiled by Elias Davidsson (edavid@itn.is) for the Iraq Action Coalition and is available at http://iraqaction.org.

Accumulators
Adhesive paper
Aluminum foil
AM-FM receivers
Ambulances
Amplifiers
Answering machines
Armored cable
Ashtrays
Auto polish
Axes
Bags
Baking soda
Balls (for children, for sport)
Baskets
Bath brushes
Batteries
Battery chargers
Beads
Bearings
Bed lamps
Belts
Benches
Bicycles
Books (all categories included)
Bottles
Bowls
Boxes
Brass
Broilers
Busses
Calculators
Cameras
Candles
Candlesticks
Canvas
Carpets
Cars
Carts
Carving knives
Cellophane
Chairs
Chalk
Chess boards
Chiffon
Children's wear
Chisels
Clocks
Cloth
Clutches
Coats
Coaxial cable
Cogs
Coils
Colors for painting
Combs
Compressors (for cooling equipment; Iraq is a hot country)
Computers and computer supplies
Copper
Cupboards
Cups
Desk lamps
Desks
Detergents
Dictaphones
Dishware
Dishwashers
Dolls
Doorknobs
Doormats
Drawing knives
Dresses
Drills
Dryers
Dustcloths
Dyes
Dynamos
Easels
Electric cookers
Electric cords
Envelopes
Eyeglasses
Fabrics
Fans
Fax machines
Fibers
Files
Filing cabinets
Filing cards
Films
Filters
Flashlights
Flowerpots
Forks
Fountain pens
Furniture polish
Fuses
Gas burners
Gauges
Generators
Girdles
Glass
Glue
Gowns
Grills
Grindstone
Hairpins
Hammers
Handkerchiefs
Hats
Headlights
Headphones
Hearing aids
Hedge trimmers
Helmets
Hoes
Hooks
Hookup wires
Hoses
Hydraulic jacks
Ink (read: The prohibition on writing)
Ink cartridges
Insulator strips
Interrupters
Jackets
Jacks
Joints
Jumpers
Kettles
Knives
Lamp shades
Lathes
Lawn mowers
Leather
Levers
Light bulbs
Light meters
Lime
Magazines (including scientific and medical journals)
Magnesium
Magnets
Masonite
Mastic
Matches
Measuring equipment
Mica
Microfiche
Microphones
Microscopes
Mirrors
Mops
Motorbikes
Motors
Mufflers
Mugs
Music cassettes
Music CDs
Musical instruments
Nail brushes
Nail files
Napkins
Notebooks
Oil cans
Oil gauges
Oil lamps
Oscillators
Packaging materials
Pails
Painters' brushes
Paints
Pans
Paper clips
Paper for printing
Paper for wrapping
Paper for writing
Pens
Percolators
Pesticides
Photocopiers
Photometers
Pincers
Pincettes
Pins
Plastics
Plates
Plexiglas
Pliers
Plugs
Plywood
Porcelain
Pots
Potties
Press drills
Pressure cookers
Printing equipment
Pulleys
Putty
Radiators for cars
Razor blades
Razors
Reels
Relays
Riveters
Roasters
Rubber
Rugs
Rulers
Sandals
Sandpaper
Saucers
Saws
Scales
Scoreboards
Screws
Seals
Seats
Shampoo
Sheers
Shelves
Shirts
Shock absorbers
Shoe polish
Shoes
Shopping carts
Shovels
Silicon
Silver polish
Skirts
Soap
Soap pads
Sockets
Socks
Solder
Soldering irons
Spark plugs
Spatulas
Sponges
Spoons
Stamps
Staplers
Starters
Stoves
Straps
Suits
Sun hats
Swimming suits
Switches
Tables
Tacks
Tags
Telephone cables
Telephones
Tents
Thermometers
Threads
Timber
Timers
Tin
Tire pumps
Tissue paper
Toasters
Toilet paper (not considered medicines)
Tongs
Toothbrushes
Toothpicks
Towels
Toys
Tractors
Transformers
Trash cans
Tripods
Troughs
Trousers
Trowels
Trucks
Trunks
TV sets
Typewriters
Vacuum cleaners
Valves
Vans
Vaseline
Vases
Venetian blinds
Ventilators
Videotapes
Voltage regulators
Waffle irons
Wagons
Wallets
Wallpaper
Washing machines
Wastepaper baskets
Watches
Water pumps
Wax
Welders
Wheelbarrows
Wheels
Window shades
Wood
Wool
Wrenches
Zoom lenses