19 May 1999
SECURITY COUNCIL LOOKING AT NEW PLANS FOR IRAQ
(US inclined to accept foreign investment in Iraqi oil fields) (650) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The Security Council has begun discussing two proposed resolutions to replace the so-called oil-for-food plans under which Iraq is allowed to sell oil to pay for humanitarian supplies for Iraqi civilians. The plan will expire later in May and council members are looking for an alternative that will loosen the control on oil sales while inducing Baghdad to resume cooperation with the UN on disarmament. Iraq has not worked with UN weapons inspectors since September 1998, finally banning UN weapons inspectors in December and bringing on air strikes by the US and Britain. Britain and the Netherlands May 18 proposed a resolution that would allow foreign companies to invest in Iraq's oil industry if Baghdad cooperates with UN weapons inspectors. According to the British-Dutch draft resolution, the council would set up a "United Nations Commission on Inspection and Monitoring" to replace the Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM) that was established at the end of the Gulf War. The new commission would see that Iraq is disarmed and carry on the long-term monitoring of Iraq's weapons programs. The proposed resolution would also allow Iraq to export a specified amount of oil by road to Turkey, make adjustments to the way the humanitarian goods are purchased, lift the ceiling on how much oil Iraq can sell, and continue helping Iraq repair its dilapidated oil industry. The foreign investment would be allowed only 120 days after Baghdad had cooperated with the new UN arms inspection group. US Ambassador Peter Burleigh said that the US is still reviewing the draft, "but in general, yes we support it." What is not acceptable, said Burleigh, the acting head of the US delegation to the UN, is a Russian draft resolution that would suspend sanctions once the UN says that the long-term monitoring system in Iraq is operational. The current oil-for-food program under which Iraq is allowed to sell $5,256 million in oil every six months to buy food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods for Iraqi civilians, is set to expire May 24. The United States and Britain are both proposing that the current plan be extended temporarily while the details of the Russian and British/Dutch resolutions are being negotiated in the council. According to the terms of the Gulf War cease-fire resolutions, Iraq must destroy all its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and their programs, as well as submit to long-term monitoring to insure that those programs are not acquired in the future. Economic sanctions imposed after the invasion of Kuwait are not to be lifted until the UN weapons inspectors declare that Iraq is disarmed. The Security Council has been working for months on how to proceed with Iraq since the December air strikes. In January the council set up three panels -- on disarmament, humanitarian issues, and POWs and missing Kuwaiti property and archives -- to review Iraq's compliance with the Gulf War cease-fire demands and make recommendations on how to proceed. The experts said that the status quo in Iraq is not a viable option, emphasizing that the council must find practical alternatives to restore an international weapons inspection regime in Iraq. They also said that the effects of sanctions had reduced the Iraqi people's living standards and, because of the civilians' dependence on humanitarian supplies, increased government control over individual lives. They 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. They also recommended the council consider authorizing private investment in Iraq's oil industry.
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