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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

14 May 2003

U.S. Presses for Early Security Council Vote on Iraq

(Negroponte emphasizes need to get Iraqi oil flowing) (640)
By Judy Aita
Washington File Special Correspondent
United Nations -- The United States and co-sponsors of the new draft
Security Council resolution on Iraq intensified discussions with other
members of the council May 14 in a push to get the text, which would
lift economic sanctions on Iraq and pave the way for resuming oil
exports, adopted within a week.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, "for us, the most important
point is that we think we need to move quickly. The sanctions need to
be lifted as soon as possible and we need to move on with many of the
pressing questions which relate to restoring economic activity to the
hands of the people of Iraq."
An important consideration in pressing for a vote at the earliest is
that "oil tanks are almost full," Negroponte said. "It is important
that as soon as possible we be in a position to see the oil being
lifted out of Iraq once again."
"The crude is about to reach the point of just sitting there and
waiting to be exported," he said. "If it isn't exported, that has
repercussions and reverberations right down throughout the system
including, as I understand it, impacting (Iraq's) ability to
manufacture products that can be used in the Iraqi market itself."
The council also needs to authorize the United Nations to name a
special coordinator for Iraq to coordinate the various U.N. activities
in the country and pave the way for stabilization and reconstruction
of Iraq, Negroponte said.
"The U.N., as far as we're concerned, will have a vital role that's
going to be in several different areas -- humanitarian is certainly
one where the U.N. already has the coordinating role," the ambassador
said. "We hope to create the conditions as soon as possible --
preferably next week -- which would create the kind of mandate that
would enable the secretary general to designate a special
coordinator."
The four-page draft resolution is co-sponsored by the United States,
the United Kingdom, and Spain. The lengthy, detailed, highly
technical, and complex draft resolution requires nations to return
Iraqi cultural property and ban international trade on such items,
deny safe haven to members of Saddam Hussein's regime, and freeze the
financial assets of Saddam Hussein and other of his senior officials.
It sets out the role for the United Nations in Iraq, maintains the
arms embargo imposed in 1991, and sets up an "Iraqi Assistance Fund"
to receive the money remaining in the Oil-for-Food account and new oil
proceeds. It also gives the Oil-for-Food program four months to wind
down operations.
Council President Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan said that the
council is "in the stage of clarifications. Negotiations may come
later."
Requests for clarifications, Akram said, covered a whole gamut of
issues including references to previous resolutions, implications of
certain provisions on the future of Iraq, what the powers of the
administering authority would be, what the powers of the U.N. would
be, how the process of moving toward representative government would
be undertaken, and how funds are to be administered.
Also present at the meeting were the U.N. legal counsel and the
undersecretary general responsible for the Oil-for-Food program.
Negroponte said that he expects to have a modified text of the
resolution that attempts to take into account the comments made by
delegations ready for a meeting of legal experts scheduled for May 15.
That modified text "will still be a draft resolution and then we
expect some time during the course of next week -- we haven't
determined exactly when -- we would expect to put the resolution to a
vote," the U.S. ambassador said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)



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