UN sanctions on Iraq still in force

Several trade sanctions applied in 1990’s are still in effect, costing the country dear.

iraq oil

Iraq is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources, and yet it suffers from a dismal economy with an unemployment rate of up to 18 per cent.

The country’s economy slipped under Saddam Hussein’s long rule and nose-dived further in the anarchic years that followed the US-led invasion in 2003.

But even now, despite much optimism over a stable democratic future in Iraq, several UN trade sanctions applied in the early 1990’s during Hussein’s reign – are still in effect.

And they are costing the country tens of billions of dollars in lost trade every year.

AL Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reports from Baghdad.

Source: Al Jazeera