Summary
The UN children’s agency whose 1999 Iraq survey, conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi government, is a central subject of Chapter 6 of Debunking the Genocide Allegations, which argues the survey “confirmed” falsified infant-mortality claims and was never publicly reckoned with (Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7, 2023 to June 1, 2025, PDF p.151, p.154-160).
Details
- Its 1999 comprehensive demographic survey found infant mortality significantly lower than the 1995 FAO survey or Iraqi Ministry of Health data, but under-five mortality doubling from 60 to 120 per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 1991 and continuing to rise after the Oil-for-Food program began in 1996, implying approximately 400,000-500,000 Iraqi children under five dead (PDF p.153-154).
- Human Rights Watch’s 1999 report cited UNICEF reporting in October 1997 that “one million children were chronically malnourished and that the death rate of children under five in 1996 was eight times greater than before the Gulf War” (PDF p.156).
- After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, UNICEF and the UN’s Child Mortality Assessment Working Group changed their estimates to ignore the 1995 and 1999 surveys, without official explanation or clarification; the 1999 report is no longer accessible on UNICEF’s site (PDF p.159-160, Figures 26-27).
- UNICEF’s 2022 report continues to label the severe impact on children caused by sanctions, including in Iraq, without seriously mentioning the refutation of its most serious claim, child mortality (PDF p.157).
Related pages
Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7, 2023 to June 1, 2025, Iraq, Sarah Zaidi, Humanitarian bias, Oil-for-Food Programme