14 November 1997
ANNAN HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO IRAQ CRISIS
(Security Council asks UNSCOM for special session) (930) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Secretary General Kofi Annan November 14 criticized the use of women and children as "human shields" to protect the palaces of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This reminds me of what happened in the 1990s when the term human shield was first coined," Annan said at a press conference at U.N. headquarters. "We were shocked by that. I don't think women and children should be used in that situation." "I have seen on television the Iraqi populations that have moved into the palaces of President Saddam Hussein....In fact, the sense here is that they volunteered," he said. "Even if they had volunteered and indeed the government felt that there was going to be an attack, you don't put women and children in those situations," Annan said. "They should have been prevented from placing themselves in harm's way if the government genuinely believes there is going to be an attack," he said. The Secretary General also continues to hold out hope that a diplomatic solution will be found to the impasse and Iraq will reverse its decision not to allow UNSCOM to operate with United States nationals. Pointing out that in one television appearance Tariq Aziz had argued that it will be possible to solve the stand-off through diplomatic means, the Secretary General said that "I hope this would imply that no one is closed minded and that it is still possible for some gestures and initiatives to be taken to resolve it in a manner that will avoid the use of force." Annan said he has spoken to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Hussein and other leaders in the region as well as Secretary of State Albright and will continue his diplomatic efforts. "I have handed over the problem to the Security Council, but it doesn't mean that I should fold my hands. I will do whatever I can to resolve the crisis," he said. The U.N. has "no plans to stop the oil for food" program with Iraq, Annan said. "The operation will continue. It was and it is intended to help the Iraqi population -- women, children and vulnerable populations -- and we have no reason to stop that," he said. Meanwhile, the Security Council has asked the chairman of the Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, to bring together the entire commission to review the situation in light of the events of the past ten days. The commission "being one step back" from daily operations will be able to "reflect a little and maybe give us some helpful suggestions," Butler said. The special commission -- which is composed of 20 disarmament experts -- was put together at the end of the Gulf War under the assumption that its work would be completed in a matter of months. When it became clear it would take much longer, full-time staff was hired and the original commission became an advisory/oversight group for the staff who do the day-to-day work. The commission, which gets its mandate from the Security Council, meets twice a year, most recently in October. Butler, an Australian diplomat and arms control expert, is currently the Executive Chairman. Charles Duelfer of the United States is the deputy chairman. Members of the Commission are: Pal Aas of Norway, Benson Agu of Nigeria, Ron Cleminson of Canada, Gennady Gatilov of Russia, Helmut Honig of Austria, Wilfried Krug of Germany, Hideyo Kurata of Japan, Lucjan Lukasik of Poland, Johan Molander of Sweden, Jack Ooms of the Netherlands, Marjatta Rautio of Finland, Michel Saint Mleux of France, Roberto Sanchez of Venezuela, Paul Schulte of the United Kingdom, Baginda Simandjuntak of Indonesia, Miroslav Splino of the Czech Republic, Emile Vanden Bemden of Belgium, and Zhou Fei of China. Talking with journalists November 14, Butler responded to charges that he was hasty in withdrawing UNSCOM and, in effect, doing just what Iraqi President Saddam Hussein wanted. He pointed out that every member of the Council backed his decision to pull out the weapons inspectors and leave only a skeleton staff to oversee UNSCOM monitoring equipment and helicopters. "Under the circumstances they were the right decisions," Butler said. "Had I not done that, had I allowed the Americans to be pushed, ejected from the country on 6 hours notice and stayed there with a non-American UNSCOM, I would simply have completed Saddam Hussein's policy for him -- the very policy that the day before 15 members of the 15 member Council unanimously condemned and rejected. "What a ludicrous position I would have been in. I myself would have been in contravention of a unanimous resolution of the Security Council." Nevertheless, the UNSCOM chairman said that the withdrawal is a serious setback for the commission's work. "Every day that the standoff continues is a day in which we could start to lose some of our data base, that Iraq could put some of its facilities to work in creating prohibited weapons," Butler said. "So every day that passes is a day of concern." What Saddam Hussein will actually do "is his call," Butler said. "The Security Council has told him very clearly what he should do.....if he is genuinely interested in getting Iraq out of sanctions and back to a normal life -- how many times does the Council have to say it? -- the way to do that is through disarmament."
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
