A large Spanish delegation is due to arrive has arrived in Baghdad later today for a ten-day visit aimed at putting pressure on the United Nations to lift the sanctions against Iraq.

The more than one-hundred-strong delegation, which consists of left-wing members of the Spanish parliament, lawyers, members of non government organisations and academics, will visit homes, hospitals and schools to assess the impact of sanctions on the population.

They will also meet with government officials.

A spokesman for the delegation Carlos Varea said they were aware of the nature of the Iraqi regime, but equally condemned the economic sanctions against Iraq, because they were violating the fundamental rights of the Iraqi population. The United Nations imposed sanctions on Iraq in 1990 after it invaded neighbouring Kuwait.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service