West accused of fiddling figures on Iraq aid

Independent, UK

Britain and other Western nations are using huge debt write-offs to Iraq to boost development aid statistics and give a misleading impression of their generosity to the Third World, campaigners say. The UK, France, Germany and Italy have all bracketed debt cancellations to Iraq as part of their assistance to the world's poorest nations.

Figures released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are expected to show that most, if not all, of the 15 nations in the EU before its 2004 expansion increased aid contributions. But the statistics will include massive write-offs to Iraq in 2005 when the UK cancelled €499m (£350m) of debt to Baghdad, France €1.6bn, Germany €1.28bn and Italy €925m.

A report released yesterday by non-governmental organisations said that, while the countries were not breaking international rules, they were misleading the public. The document, compiled by a group including Oxfam and ActionAid, accused many European countries of "massaging their aid figures in a way that can mislead the public". It adds: "In the case of Iraq, the rationale for cancelling these debts has more to do with geopolitics than poverty reduction. These transactions should not be allowed to count towards countries' headline aid figures."

Chris Davies, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, said: "We fail to meet our UN targets on development aid and yet we fiddle the figures when it is in our interest. Actions like this breed cynicism in the
long-run." In addition to the debt cancellation for Iraq, millions of euros were also written off for Nigeria, with the UK setting aside €1.6bn under a deal negotiated through the Paris Club.