Commissioners on Iraq meet to discuss report to Security Council
23 August -- A United Nations spokesman said today that the Organization will continue to prepare for a new round of inspections in Iraq, as the group of experts providing guidance on the implementation of Security Council resolutions on that country opened a two-day meeting in New York.
Among the issues to be discussed by the 16-member College of Commissioners of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) is the second report of UNMOVIC's Executive Chairman, Hans Blix, which is due to be presented to the Security Council on 1 September.
Replying to a question on recent statements by Iraq that it would not cooperate with the UN, spokesman Fred Eckhard noted that this had been the country's standing policy for some time. "Our position is that we will continue to prepare for a new round of inspections," he said. "We're training the team, we've reconstituted the Commission, and we hope that Iraq will change its position and cooperate with the Security Council so that we can get these inspections going once again, and eventually get to a position where we could declare Iraq in full compliance and see the lifting of the sanctions against that country."
The Security Council created UNMOVIC last December to undertake the responsibilities of the former UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was charged with monitoring the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
UNMOVIC is currently involved in an ongoing training and recruitment process in order to reach its full strength. The first batch of 44 trainees, representing 19 nationalities, completed their course on 10 August.
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