Collateral Damage

The motion

That the Parliament recalls the concerns of Save the Children before the war with Iraq that half the Iraqi population was comprised of children under the age of 14, that 70% of the population lived in towns and cities, that 60% were poor and dependent on food rations, that 11.4% of Iraq children in north Iraq and 23.1% in central and south Iraq were chronically malnourished, that under-five child mortality rates in central and south Iraq had deteriorated by 160% due to sanctions, that Iraqi children were forced to drink water often containing up to 10 times the acceptable level of contamination and that the number of internally displaced persons was, before military action, estimated to be between 700,000 and one million; notes that, against that background, Save the Children was "deeply concerned" at renewed conflict as military action would have serious humanitarian consequences for that nation's vulnerable children; notes that Save the Children’s fears have been realised and that since the war the plight of Iraq’s children has worsened; notes that it is estimated that there are 120,000 orphans in Iraq, many of whom live on the streets and for whom the coalition provides no support; applauds the actions of Susan Karim who has lived in Scotland since fleeing Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1980 and who, from 18 to 29 October 2003 will complete a solo sponsored walk from Dundee to the Scottish Parliament on her “Long Journey to Iraq” to highlight the orphaned children of Iraq and to collect funds for the Almuroge Project in Baghdad, a project requiring £100,000 to re-open a closed orphanage that would provide a home for 1,000 orphans as well as 150 elderly people who have lost all family ties, and therefore considers that the Scottish Executive should follow her individual example by promoting and encouraging, by whatever means at its disposal, humanitarian aid for the displaced children and elderly people of Iraq.


No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 13 Green 6 SSP 5 Lab 2 Ind 2 LD 1 SSCUP 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S2M-00528 by reference.