The UN Security Council decided on Wednesday to lift several longstanding Chapter VII restrictions on Iraqi  trade and activity.

In summary, the 15-nation Council passed three resolutions:

• Resolution  1956, which terminates the UN supervised arrangements for the  Development Fund for Iraq on June 30, 2011, which will allow Iraq to take full responsibility for its oil revenues;
• Resolution 1957 which ends  restrictions related to civilian nuclear cooperation placed on Iraq  after the first Gulf War; and
• Resolution 1958, which ends the residual  activities of the Oil for Food program.

Baghdad will keep paying 5 percent of its oil revenues into a UN escrow account as war reparations, most of it to Kuwait, despite Iraq’s calls for a renegotiation of those payments so it can use more of its oil money for needed development projects. Iraq still owes Kuwait nearly $22 billion in reparations.

France abstained from the vote on the oil-for-food shutdown; the others measures were adopted unanimously.

• Click here to see what people have been saying about today’s developments.
• And click here to read the full text of the UN resolutions.

(Sources: UN, Reuters, Bloomberg, AFP)