March 13, 1999, Saturday

 SECTION: NEWS; NATIONAL; Pg. 2

 LENGTH: 274 words

 HEADLINE: Iraqi aid plan gets stuck in red tape

 BODY:
 CONFUSION among government agencies was frustrating efforts to help Iraqi children, Iraq Sanctions Medical Alert Group
 spokesman Marten Hutt said yesterday.

 Dr Hutt said the group wanted to send medicine, baby food and clothes to the Basra Maternity and Children's Hospital. It
 was told last month by Customs that the foreign affairs minister could approve aid exports without United Nations
 approval. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had since advised that United Nations approval was needed.

 The group had sent off the relevant forms and would monitor how long the process took.

 Member Pauline Norris said that under the Geneva Convention the group could send the goods to prisoners of war "but
 we cannot send the same food, medicine or toys to Iraqi children who are innocent victims of the Gulf War and the
 ongoing sanctions".

 Ministry spokesman James Funnell said the Iraqi Government should take a large degree of responsibility for problems in
 distributing medical supplies, citing a United Nations report showing that at the end of January US$ 275 million (NZ$ 517
 million) worth of medicines and medical supplies were accumulating in Iraqi warehouses -- more than half of what had
 been sent to Iraq.

 Mr Funnell said the ministry had been supportive of the aid group's efforts, but it was also mindful of the importance of
 implementing United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

 Different categories of goods were covered by different rules, and because items such as toys and clothes were included
 along with medical supplies, approval had to be obtained by the United Nations sanctions committee.