Catholic Institute concerned by US pressure on smaller Security Council Members to Vote for War by Catholic Institute for International Relations 7:56pm 19th Feb, 2003   14/2/2003    The Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) is concerned that the US is using development aid to countries on the United Nations Security Council as a tool to put pressure on them to secure their votes for a war on Iraq.    The US is drafting a second resolution to allow an attack on Iraq, according to the Reuters news service on 13 February. Nine of the 15 members of the Security Council must support a resolution for it to be passed, unless one of the five permanent members (France, China, Russia, the UK or the US) vetoes it.    Bulgaria and Spain are the only two non-permanent members supporting the US and UK bid for war. The others - Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Germany, Guinea, Mexico, Pakistan, and Syria - are undecided or support France and Russia’s opposition to war.    The US has begun to offer economic incentives to those with key votes on the Security Council, according to The Guardian on 1 February. It has approved an extra $4.1 million for the resettlement of returnees to Angola. It has given an extra $2.1 million for the care of Liberian refugees, much of which will go to Guinea. And it has promised “more leeway?Eon immigration restrictions on Pakistani nationals.    The US use of development aid as a political tool is reminiscent of 1990, when the US slashed aid to the Republic of Yemen as punishment for voting against Security Council resolution 678 that allowed the US to launch the first Gulf War. According to the New York Times of 29 January 1991, a senior US official is reported to have told the Yemeni ambassador to the UN, "That was the most expensive vote you ever cast."    The US cut aid to Yemen overnight to US$3 million from $42 million. Pro-US Saudi Arabia expelled one million migrant and resident Yemenis and confiscated their properties. Many were beaten and robbed as they left. More than a quarter of a million people were homeless, forming tent cities on the outskirts of Hodeidah, Yemen’s coastal port.    Over ten years later, Yemen is still suffering the consequences of its opposition to the Gulf War, with economic depression and large-scale poverty.    As talks at the Security Council intensify, the pressure on the poorer members of the Security Council is likely to increase.    CIIR advocacy coordinator for Africa and the Middle East Dr Steve Kibble said: "We are deeply concerned that developing countries on the Security Council will share Yemen’s experience if they stand up to the US."    The Catholic Institute for International Relations is a development organisation working for justice and the eradication of poverty through skills-sharing and advocacy. It works in Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and southern Africa, and has worked in Yemen since 1973. Visit the related web page
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