09 May 2003
U.N. Security Council Receives Draft Resolution to Lift Iraqi Sanctions
(U.S. Ambassador Negroponte describes council reaction as "quite constructive") (640) By Stephen Kaufman Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would lift economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and give the United States and the United Kingdom control over the country's oil revenues through the already established "Iraqi Assistance Fund." The draft resolution, submitted May 9 by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte, says that except for provisions related to the sale or supply of arms and related material, "all prohibitions related to trade with Iraq ... shall no longer apply." "[A]ll export sales of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas from Iraq following the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be made consistent with prevailing international market practices, to be audited by independent public accountants reporting to the international advisory board ... [and] all proceeds from such sales shall be deposited into the Iraqi Assistance Fund, until such time as a new Iraqi government is properly constituted and capable of discharging its responsibilities," reads the text of the draft resolution. The draft resolution says the disbursement of funds from the Iraqi Assistance Fund will be "at the direction of the Authority, in consultation with the Iraqi interim authority," and it defines the "Authority" as the "occupying powers and ... others working now or in the future with them under unified command." Speaking to the press following his presentation of the resolution, Negroponte said the reactions of other members of the Security Council "were quite constructive." "I feel that most delegations saw this as charting a way forward," he said. "Certainly, they had some questions, many of a legal and technical nature. After all, this resolution does deal with some quite complicated and complex issues that, I think, are going to have to be addressed in greater depth." Some of the delegates raised concerns over the lifting of sanctions, and Negroponte said some observed that the draft resolution did not address the role that the U.N. Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would play in Iraq. According to the draft text, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan would be asked to appoint a Special Coordinator for Iraq who would coordinate U.N. and international relief and reconstruction activities in the country with U.S. and U.K. authorities. On May 8, the United States and the United Kingdom formally asked for recognition of themselves as "occupying powers" in Iraq, thereby legally legitimizing their presence in the country and also subjecting them to responsibilities and obligations as called for under international law. The Iraqi Assistance Fund, under control of both countries, would have an international advisory board "including duly qualified representatives of the Secretary General, the International Monetary Fund, [Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development] and the World Bank" and would be used to "meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, for the economic reconstruction and repair of Iraq's infrastructure, for the continued disarmament of Iraq, for the costs of indigenous civilian administration, and for other purposes benefiting the people of Iraq," according to the draft text. Ambassador Negroponte said that in the aftermath of military action against Iraq, "the situation has now dramatically altered and a way has to be found, first of all, to disentangle and disengage the United Nations from many of the resolutions that were passed under entirely different circumstances." Negroponte said that experts from Security Council member countries would meet May 12 "to try to address many of the questions that were raised and discuss any other matters" before the Security Council meets at the ambassadorial level May 14 to further discuss the resolution. (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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