Two Girls

If you stop to talk to anyone on the streets of Baghdad, you are immediately surrounded by children. They are friendly and full of love. I feel that we have betrayed these children, and that their rights, guaranteed under international law, have been ignored and violated. Canada's Prime Minister and Lloyd Axworthy have always supported the sanctions and, in my opinion, don't care about these children, otherwise they never would have let this happen. I understand the history of Iraq and its leader. But we must remember that collective punishment of a civilian population is prohibited under international law. Denis Halliday, former assistant secretary general to the United Nations and co-ordinator of the UN oil-for-food deal in Iraq, has said that we are in the process of destroying an entire nation, and it is morally and legally wrong.

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