United Nations: UN Security Council members have reached a broad agreement on modifying the 'oil-for-food' programme in Iraq, which would enable the world body to run it for an initial period of 45 days and allow billions of Dollars worth of humanitarian aid flow to needy Iraqis.

Germany's UN Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, who is playing a key role in bringing about the accord, said on March 27 that he expects it would be adopted unanimously. "It seems we have found agreement on the resolution…so that we will be able to vote tomorrow (March 28)."

But diplomats participating in the negotiations said the United States and Russia still have reservations about the language. The members were consulting their capitals and diplomats would fine-tune the language and finalise the draft only after receiving their comments.

Contracts worth about $ 10 billion, including for about $ 2.4 billion for food and medicines, are in the pipeline. The draft hammered out would allow UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to fix priorities for some contracts, mainly for food and medicines.

France and Russia had opposed the language calling on the United Nations to co- ordinate the humanitarian aid with the US and Britain who are expected to be in control of parts of Iraq when the aid resumes.

They believe that the language might legitimise the military action and they want the US and Britain, rather than the United Nations pay for the humanitarian aid.

To overcome the objections, the resolution would only call for "necessary co- ordination".

However, the current draft also mentions that under the international law, it is the responsibility of the occupying power to look after the well being of the people. That formulation might not be acceptable to Washington.

Diplomats say France and Russia argue that the United States and Britain should bear the burden as they have taken the military action without the authorisation of the Council.

Syria, however, said since Iraq has not fallen, the aid should be distributed through it.

Under the oil-for-food programme, which started functions in December 1996, Iraq can export any quantity of oil and use the earnings to purchase humanitarian supplies and some other essential items. But all is expected to done under strict UN control.

The United Nations was distributing humanitarian supplies in three Northern governates but in the rest of the country, the responsibility for the distribution was with the Iraq government. The UN only monitored it.

But Annan withdrew the humanitarian staff ahead of the military action and the aid can now be distributed in the areas under control of the United States and Britain only with their co-operation.

About 60 per cent of Iraq's 22 million population is entirely dependent on the aid.

PTI