06 November 2002
U.S., U.K. Present "Improved, Clarified" Iraq Resolution
(Negroponte wants Security Council to vote November 8) (1230) By Judy Aita Washington File Staff Writer United Nations -- Emphasizing their intentions to give Baghdad an opportunity to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction peacefully, the United States and the United Kingdom presented an "improved, revised and clarified" draft resolution on Iraqi disarmament to the Security Council November 6. The council discussed the new text for two hours. Ambassadors leaving the session said that they were sending the draft resolution back to their capitals to be reviewed at the highest levels of government. After seven weeks of negotiations, the co-sponsors said the text is ready for final talks with member states before voting. The United States said that it wanted a council vote on November 8. France indicated that "important progress has been achieved" over a key stumbling block: requiring a second stage of council deliberations if Iraq does not cooperate with weapons inspectors. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that he emphasized to the council that "there has been a lot of talk over the weeks about so-called hidden triggers, that somehow this resolution is intended to be used by the United States as a pretext for the immediate use of force. President Bush has said on repeated occasions that as far as he is concerned the use of force -- war -- would be a last resort; that he wants to give the United Nations and the Security Council a chance." "We believe the resolution ... laid down this morning is the best way to achieve the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means, obviously provided that Iraq complies fully with those obligations," Negroponte told journalists outside the council chambers. The draft resolution, the ambassador said, "preserves what we think are really essential ingredients: namely ... to point out that Iraq is not in compliance with its disarmament and other obligations under existing United Nations resolutions; the establishment of an enhanced inspection regime with respect to weapons of mass destruction; and pointing out that if Iraq does not avail itself of this final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations it runs the risk of facing very serious consequences." U.K. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said, "this is about disarmament. This is about the instruments to obtain disarmament peacefully and effectively through enhanced inspections. This is about a choice for Iraq as to which route it wants to take towards this disarmament." "It is a resolution that sets out two stages, that if there are reports that Iraq is not complying then that matter will come back to the council for consideration," Greenstock said. Consequences will be dealt with in a second stage. The U.K. ambassador was asked about some council members' concerns that some troublesome wording still remains in the resolution, such as a declaration that Iraq continues to be in "material breach" of current Security Council resolutions. Critics had said such wording could be a "hidden trigger" for the co-sponsors to use force against Iraq without returning to the council. "This is not about triggers. This is not about automaticity. This is not about the use of force. This is about the choice for Iraq in going the U.N. route towards that disarmament," Greenstock said. The co-sponsors said that they want to vote within the next 48 hours, Greenstock said. "We have made it clear ... to the council that we will listen to further points the council will have, but we are ready to move to closure with this improved, revised, and clarified text." Negroponte and Greenstock declined to predict the outcome of the vote, but said that from the comments made by other council members they were close to voting. "There is a sense, clearly, that we are in the endgame with respect to the passage of this resolution," Negroponte said. The draft states that Iraq remains in material breach of council resolutions, but says that the council is giving Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations." It requires Baghdad give the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a complete and accurate declaration of all aspects of its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and ballistic missiles system, as well as information on other chemical, biological, and nuclear programs that are supposed to be for civilian purposes, within 30 days. The draft gives UNMOVIC and IAEA unrestricted rights of entry and travel into and inside Iraq; provides for U.N. security for the inspectors; gives the inspectors the right to freeze sites and declare exclusion zones; and gives them the right to conduct interviews, without the presence of Iraqi officials, either inside or outside the country. It also would give the inspectors immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to all sites in Iraq, including so-called presidential sites. The key paragraphs dealing with a second stage of council deliberations should Iraq not cooperate are numbers 11 and 12 near the end of the text. They direct Hans Blix, executive chairman of UNMOVIC, and Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA director general, to "report immediately to the council any interference by Iraq with inspection activities as well as any failure by Iraq to comply with its disarmament obligations." The council would then "convene immediately ... in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance." The draft also states, "the council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations." Blix has questioned whether 30 days is enough time for Iraq to provide details on its civilian chemical industry, and indicated that it would be problematic to take Iraqi scientists outside the country for interviews. Negroponte said that the 30-day declaration is "not an issue of substance" and the U.S. will "see if we can find some way to accommodate the concern." As far as conducting interviews outside Iraq, the U.S. ambassador said that was a recommendation and "entirely at the option of UNMOVIC." "We are not imposing an obligation on Dr. Blix. We are creating the opportunity for him to avail himself of those kinds of interviews should he choose to do so," he said. Secretary General Kofi Annan as well as Blix and ElBaradei have repeatedly emphasized the importance of Security Council unanimity when dealing with Iraqi disarmament. A key to that unanimity has been France and Russia, which as permanent members of the council hold veto powers. Some other non-permanent council members are expected to follow France's lead in voting. French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said that the revised text had been sent to Paris to be "studied very carefully by the highest French authorities," and that he would report to the council in consultations that have been scheduled for November 7. However, he did say that for France "a key issue was to preserve the role of the Security Council. That is what we call the two-stage approach. In that respect I can say today that very important progress has been achieved." "Since the very first day of this long negotiation we've said that we want to give a last chance to Iraq to disarm through U.N. inspections. For that we need an enhanced regime. . We said right from the beginning what is accepted and endorsed by Blix will be accepted by France," Levitte also said. He added that a third goal was council unanimity. Levitte said that any problems with the current text were not substantive but "a problem of drafting." "We ask all members for flexibility and openness," he said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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