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13 November 2002

First U.N. Report on Iraq Due Within 105 Days after November 8 Resolution

(Boucher provides road map, timetable for inspectors' work)
(400)
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher has provided a summary of
the tasks facing the U.N. weapons inspectors for Iraq and the dates
for the completion of the tasks in his daily press briefing at the
State Department November 13.
Following is an excerpt from Boucher's briefing with his comments
about the inspections:
(begin transcript)
QUESTION: Richard, can you sort of give us a roadmap of where you see
this going now? When the inspectors will go in and what do you see
happening?
MR. BOUCHER: I think to a great extent, the UN and the inspectors will
have to give you the detailed road map. We all know that Iraq is
required to present its disclosure, its full disclosure within 30 days
of passage of the resolution. That is a moment where Iraq needs to
account for a lot. The need to account for the programs that they
still had when the inspectors left in 1998.
They need to account for the procurements that they've made and the
new developments that we know have been ongoing and they need to
provide lists of all their holdings and I think, If I remember
correctly, the personnel involved and the organization's involved as
well, so. That's a moment where Iraq really has to come forward and, I
think, as the Security mentioned one time, fess up.
After that, or maybe around that time, it'll depend on the inspectors;
they'll be there to be conducting their inspections. Now they've
announced plans, Dr. Blix and El Baradei, have announced that they are
well underway with their preparatory work.
They've announced plans to go to Baghdad on November 18th, with
technicians, start setting up their communications transport in their
laboratories and an advanced team of inspectors is set to arrive later
this month.
The inspectors, therefore, will be preparing and then starting their
inspections during that time. Well, see exactly when, but they are
required to start their inspections no later than 45 days, I think,
after the passage of the resolution, and then to report every 60 days
thereafter to the Security Council. So no later than 105 days after
passage of the resolution we should expect to get a report from the
inspectors on how things are going.
Now, the resolution also requires that at any moment where they find a
failure to disclose or failure to cooperate that that constitutes a
material breach and that will be reported as well.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)