Iraq complains about sanctions

Iraq's Justice Minister, Shibib al-Maliki, told the UN World Human Rights Conference that the United Nations was violating human rights by retaining sanctions imposed after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. They were tantamount to aggression, he said, Reuter reports from Vienna.

'The people of Iraq suffer today from shortages in food, medicine and medical requirements . . . the blockade is causing thousands of lives to be lost among women and the elderly,' Mr Maliki added.