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18 March 1999

UNITED NATIONS REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1999

UNSCOM DISPUTES IRAQI CHARGES ON LIVESTOCK DISEASE
The U.N. Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi
weapons (UNSCOM) March 18 refuted Iraqi charges that the spread of
hoof and mouth disease among Iraqi livestock is the result of UNSCOM's
destruction of a laboratory that was producing the vaccine to counter
the disease.
In a letter to the Security Council, UNSCOM Chairman Richard Butler
said that according to Iraq's own admission the facility in Daura that
was to produce the vaccine had been taken over in 1990 by Iraq's
technical research center for its biological warfare program.
The plant, which was installed by a foreign company, was intended to
produce 12 million doses per year of hoof and mouth disease vaccine,
but it never produced more than 2 million doses per year, Butler said.
Since September 1992 the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
has been providing the vaccine to Iraq, the UNSCOM chief said.
After UNSCOM inspections, in July 1995 Iraq admitted to the U.N. that
Daura had been used for biological warfare agent production, research
and development, including large-scale production of the biological
warfare agent botulinum, using some of equipment procured for the hoof
and mouth vaccine.
"Research was also undertaken on viral agents for Iraq's biological
warfare program, including camelpox, enterovirus 70 and rotavirus.
Iraq further declared that a genetic engineering research and
development program was initiated for biological warfare purposes at
the facility," he added.
After Iraq admitted that the extensive biological warfare program was
carried out at the site, UNSCOM -- in accordance with Security Council
resolutions -- supervised the destruction of the facility and
equipment, he said.
"In 1996, twenty-eight pieces of equipment at Daura which had been
identified by Iraq as used for biological warfare production, were
removed from the facility and destroyed by Iraq under the commission's
supervision, and special air-handling equipment at the facility was
disabled," Butler said. "Some 40 major pieces originally imported for
the production of hoof and mouth disease vaccine, remained, as their
use in the biological warfare program had not been established," he
added.
SECURITY COUNCIL DIVIDED ON IRAQI HAJ FLIGHTS
The U.N. Security Council March 18 was unable to come to a decision on
how to handle Iraqi flights to Mecca that have been undertaken without
Council approval.
"There was no consensus among members on this matter," U.N. spokesman
Fred Eckhard reported during the daily press briefing.
The Council had been asked by Saudi Arabia how to deal with an Iraqi
plane that had transported pilgrims to Mecca. While the Council was
deliberating and being briefed by U.N. Legal Counsel Hans Corell,
Saudi Arabia allowed the plane to return to Iraq.
According to diplomats Council members do not agree on whether the
Security Council sanctions resolutions adopted when Iraq invaded
Kuwait in 1991 actually constitute an air embargo. Council members did
agree, however, that Iraq should have notified the Council's sanctions
committee of the flight.
Last year the Council offered to allow $44 million from the
oil-for-food program be paid to a third party to transport 22,00 Iraqi
pilgrims to Mecca. Iraq rejected the offer.
U.N. sanctions do ban the transfer of money directly to Iraq's central
bank.