07 April 1999
SECURITY COUNCIL MUST REESTABLISH UN PRESENCE IN IRAQ, PANEL SAYS
(Council begins talks on how to re-start weapons monitoring) (1110) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The status quo in Iraq "is not a viable option," the chairman of the panels reviewing the situation in Iraq told the Security Council April 7. Ambassador Celso Amorim of Brazil reported that a 20-member panel on Iraq's disarmament said the Security Council must find practical alternatives and make an effort to restore an international weapons inspection regime in Iraq that is effective, rigorous and credible. "In essence, the report presents one basic recommendation, namely, that a reinforced on-going monitoring and verification (of Iraq's weapons programs) be implemented to carry out further the objectives of the Security Council resolutions in Iraq," Amorim said. According to the terms of the Gulf war cease-fire resolutions, Iraq must destroy all of its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and their programs, as well as submit to long-term monitoring, to ensure that those programs are not acquired in the future. "It was obvious to panel members that the longer inspection and monitoring activities remain suspended, the more difficult the implementation of Security Council resolutions becomes," the ambassador told the council. The panel stressed the urgency of finding a solution to the problem posed by the absence of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, Amorim pointed out. "Any threat to the stability of the region that is attributable to the absence of inspections will, of course, bring serious damage to the credibility of the UN," he said. The panel gave technical recommendations for how to go about completing the disarmament task, including suggestions for functions, recruitment, training, and dealing with sources of information for the UN Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM). But the political "how" to re-establish a system and win Iraqi acceptance is "a task for the Security Council," Amorim emphasized. On January 30 the Security Council set up three panels to review Iraq's compliance with the Gulf war cease-fire demands and make recommendations on how to proceed. The panels are on disarmament; humanitarian issues; and POWs and missing Kuwaiti property and archives. Each was under the chairmanship of the council president for January, Ambassador Celso Amorim of Brazil. The three were directed to provide an expert assessment of the current situation in Iraq which council members could then use in deciding how to move ahead. The council has been unable to proceed with disarming Iraq since Baghdad suspended cooperation with UNSCOM in 1998, bringing on air strikes by the US and Britain in December. "The panels were an honest and fair attempt to offer concrete recommendations on which the Security Council can focus in dealing with the Iraqi question," Amorim told journalists after a private meeting of the council. "There was a positive spirit to consider the different recommendations of the report. Of course, different people put different emphasis on different aspects which is natural," the ambassador added. Diplomats coming out of the meeting, which was the first in a series scheduled on Iraq over the coming weeks, agreed that it will take weeks for the council to decide on a concrete course of action. US Ambassador Peter Burleigh said that it will take time for the council to come up with a unified approach "because the Iraq issue is very complex." "But the council now will be confronted with the question of coming back to grips with the Iraq question, broadly speaking, with regard to disarmament issues, with regard to the humanitarian program, and with regard to the Kuwaiti POWs," Burleigh said. Burleigh said there continues to be a definite need for UN weapons inspectors and sanctions. "If you read the disarmament report it makes clear that Iraq is not disarmed. There is no question about it in any of the files, including the nuclear, chemical and missile." Amorim said the panel members did agree that a reinforced monitoring and verification program should have full access to locations, individuals and information, and be able to re-establish baselines lost after UNSCOM left Iraq in November. "Comprehensive sanctions have also been in place for eight years and the humanitarian situation in Iraq is a bleak one, as illustrated by the second panel. In the present circumstances, the picture is one of no inspections, no monitoring, and therefore, no guarantee that peace and security in the region may not come under threat, including from weapons of mass destruction," Amorim told the council, according to text of his remarks released to journalists. "Other questions remain unresolved, notably the question of those 'unaccounted for' -- whether they are POW or missing people," the ambassador said. "In short, the objectives of Security Council resolutions are not being fulfilled." The question of how to engage Iraq has to be addressed "sooner rather than later," he said. Amorim suggested that an effort of "healing diplomacy" will have to be made, possibly involving Secretary General Kofi Annan. The panel on the humanitarian situation "considered that the social and economic decline of Iraq and its effects on the Iraqi people's living standards cannot be dissociated from the cumulative impact of widespread war damage and prolonged economic sanctions," Amorim said. The country has experienced a shift from relative affluence to massive poverty. The dependence of the Iraqi population on humanitarian supplies had increased government control over individual lives to the detriment of personal initiative and self-reliance, the panel determined. If it were not for the invasion of Kuwait and the resulting sanctions, Iraq's problems would more likely be treated not as humanitarian, but as a matter for development assistance, Amorim noted. The panel did not exempt Baghdad from its responsibility and included a set of recommendations for the government on humanitarian issues, Amorim said. The panel recommended that Baghdad ensure the timely distribution of humanitarian goods, in particular medical supplies; clear existing and unjustified bottlenecks at its warehouses; address the needs of special groups such as street children, the elderly, and the mentally ill and allow them freer access to UN agencies and non-governmental organizations; and ensure that those involuntarily displaced receive adequate humanitarian assistance without having to demonstrate that they have resided for six months in temporary residences. The panel also suggested that the Security Council lift the ceiling on oil exports and facilitate the speedy provision of parts needed by the oil industry while at the same time continuing to closely monitor all oil exports. It also recommended that the council consider authorizing private investment in Iraq's oil industry.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
