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22 May 2003

Text: U.N. Security Council Ends Economic Sanctions on Iraq

(Sets up development fund, phases out Oil-for-Food program) (3800)
The U.N. Security Council May 22 adopted resolution 1483 ending
economic sanctions on Iraq, setting out the responsibilities of the
United Nations in Iraq, and supporting the establishment of a
transitional administration run by Iraqis.
By a vote of 14 to 0, the 15-member council (Syria was absent from the
meeting)adopted the resolution under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter.
The council asked the U.N. secretary general to appoint a special
representative for Iraq with "independent responsibilities" to
coordinate U.N. activities and assist the Iraqi people. It outlined
seven areas of responsibility, including coordination of humanitarian
and reconstruction assistance, safe return of refugees and displaced
persons, human rights, and legal and judicial reform.
The seven-page resolution sets up a "Development Fund for Iraq" to be
held in the Central Bank of Iraq, audited by independent public
accountants, and overseen by an international advisory and monitoring
board that includes representatives of the IMF, World Bank, and the
Unite Nations. The fund is to be used for humanitarian needs, economic
reconstruction, repair of Iraq's infrastructure, disarmament
activities, and civilian administration. The revenues of all oil sales
are to be deposited in the fund.
Until December 31, 2007, Iraqi's oil products shall be immune from
legal proceedings, garnishment, or any form of attachment, the
resolution says.
The phasing out of the Oil-for-Food program, which is to take place
within six months, is delineated in a six-part approach that allows
the program to coordinate shipments and delivery of goods with the
authority, requires the program to review the contracts already funded
with the authority, asks for an operating budget to be submitted
within 21 days, and allows the program to fulfill the contracts
entered into prior to the war. The resolution also ends the U.N.
monitoring of Iraq's oil exports.
According to the resolution, $1 billion from the Oil-for-Food program
is to be transferred immediately to the Development Fund for Iraq with
the remaining money going into the fund when the program ends.
Any Iraqi assets frozen by nations under previous resolutions as well
as funds or other assets of Saddam Hussein and other senior Iraqi
officials are to be transferred to the Development Fund for Iraq, the
resolution states.
With the exception of military sales, "all prohibitions related to
trade with Iraq and the provision of financial or economic resources
to Iraq ... shall no longer apply," the resolution says.
The resolution "supports the formation, by the people of Iraq with the
help of the Authority [the United States and the United Kingdom] and
working with the Special Representative, of an Iraqi interim
administration as a transitional administration run by Iraqis, until
an internationally recognized, representative government is
established by the people of Iraq and assumes the responsibilities of
the Authority."
The council also called upon nations to respond to humanitarian
appeals, to deny safe haven to the members of Saddam Hussein's regime
who are alleged to be responsible for crimes and atrocities, and to
take steps to facilitate the return of Iraqi cultural property.
The United States and United Kingdom sent letters to the council
accepting the responsibilities of occupying powers in Iraq. In the
resolution they are referred to as the authority.
Following is the text of Security Council Resolution 1483:
(begin text)
Resolution 1483 (2003)
The Security Council,
Recalling all its previous relevant resolutions,
Reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq,
Reaffirming also the importance of the disarmament of Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction and of eventual confirmation of the disarmament of
Iraq,
Stressing the right of the Iraqi people freely to determine their own
political future and control their own natural resources, welcoming
the commitment of all parties concerned to support the creation of an
environment in which they may do so as soon as possible, and
expressing resolve that the day when Iraqis govern themselves must
come quickly,
Encouraging efforts by the people of Iraq to form a representative
government based on the rule of law that affords equal rights and
justice to all Iraqi citizens without regard to ethnicity, religion,
or gender, and, in this connection, recalls resolution 1325 (2000) of
31 October 2000,
Welcoming the first steps of the Iraqi people in this regard, and
noting in this connection the 15 April 2003 Nasiriyah statement and
the 28 April 2003 Baghdad statement,
Resolved that the United Nations should play a vital role in
humanitarian relief, the reconstruction of Iraq, and the restoration
and establishment of national and local institutions for
representative governance,
Noting the statement of 12 April 2003 by the Ministers of Finance and
Central Bank Governors of the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations in
which the members recognized the need for a multilateral effort to
help rebuild and develop Iraq and for the need for assistance from the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in these efforts,
Welcoming also the resumption of humanitarian assistance and the
continuing efforts of the Secretary-General and the specialized
agencies to provide food and medicine to the people of Iraq,
Welcoming the appointment by the Secretary-General of his Special
Adviser on Iraq,
Affirming the need for accountability for crimes and atrocities
committed by the previous Iraqi regime,
Stressing the need for respect for the archaeological, historical,
cultural, and religious heritage of Iraq, and for the continued
protection of archaeological, historical, cultural, and religious
sites, museums, libraries, and monuments,
Noting the letter of 8 May 2003 from the Permanent Representatives of
the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland to the President of the Security Council
(S/2003/538) and recognizing the specific authorities,
responsibilities, and obligations under applicable international law
of these states as occupying powers under unified command (the
"Authority"),
Noting further that other States that are not occupying powers are
working now or in the future may work under the Authority,
Welcoming further the willingness of Member States to contribute to
stability and security in Iraq by contributing personnel, equipment,
and other resources under the Authority,
Concerned that many Kuwaitis and Third-State Nationals still are not
accounted for since 2 August 1990,
Determining that the situation in Iraq, although improved, continues
to constitute a threat to international peace and security,
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
1. Appeals to Member States and concerned organizations to assist the
people of Iraq in their efforts to reform their institutions and
rebuild their country, and to contribute to conditions of stability
and security in Iraq in accordance with this resolution;
2. Calls upon all Member States in a position to do so to respond
immediately to the humanitarian appeals of the United Nations and
other international organizations for Iraq and to help meet the
humanitarian and other needs of the Iraqi people by providing food,
medical supplies, and resources necessary for reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Iraq's economic infrastructure;
3. Appeals to Member States to deny safe haven to those members of the
previous Iraqi regime who are alleged to be responsible for crimes and
atrocities and to support actions to bring them to justice;
4. Calls upon the Authority, consistent with the Charter of the United
Nations and other relevant international law, to promote the welfare
of the Iraqi people through the effective administration of the
territory, including in particular working towards the restoration of
conditions of security and stability and the creation of conditions in
which the Iraqi people may freely determine their own political
future;
5. Calls upon all concerned to comply fully with their obligations
under international law including in particular the Geneva Conventions
of 1949 and the Hague Regulations of 1907;
6. Calls upon the Authority and relevant organizations and individuals
to continue efforts to locate, identify, and repatriate all Kuwaiti
and Third-State Nationals or the remains of those present in Iraq on
or after 2 August 1990, as well as the Kuwaiti archives, that the
previous Iraqi regime failed to undertake, and, in this regard,
directs the High-Level Coordinator, in consultation with the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the Tripartite Commission
and with the appropriate support of the people of Iraq and in
coordination with the Authority, to take steps to fulfill his mandate
with respect to the fate of Kuwaiti and Third-State National missing
persons and property;
7. Decides that all Member States shall take appropriate steps to
facilitate the safe return to Iraqi institutions of Iraqi cultural
property and other items of archaeological, historical, cultural, rare
scientific, and religious importance illegally removed from the Iraq
National Museum, the National Library, and other locations in Iraq
since the adoption of resolution 661 (1990) of 6 August 1990,
including by establishing a prohibition on trade in or transfer of
such items and items with respect to which reasonable suspicion exists
that they have been illegally removed, and calls upon the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Interpol,
and other international organizations, as appropriate, to assist in
the implementation of this paragraph;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative
for Iraq whose independent responsibilities shall involve reporting
regularly to the Council on his activities under this resolution,
coordinating activities of the United Nations in post-conflict
processes in Iraq, coordinating among United Nations and international
agencies engaged in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction
activities in Iraq, and, in coordination with the Authority, assisting
the people of Iraq through:
(a) coordinating humanitarian and reconstruction assistance by United
Nations agencies and between United Nations agencies and
non-governmental organizations;
(b) promoting the safe, orderly, and voluntary return of refugees and
displaced persons;
(c) working intensively with the Authority, the people of Iraq, and
others concerned to advance efforts to restore and establish national
and local institutions for representative governance, including by
working together to facilitate a process leading to an internationally
recognized, representative government of Iraq;
(d) facilitating the reconstruction of key infrastructure, in
cooperation with other international organizations;
(e) promoting economic reconstruction and the conditions for
sustainable development, including through coordination with national
and regional organizations, as appropriate, civil society, donors and
the international financial institutions;
(f) encouraging international efforts to contribute to basic civilian
administration functions;
(g) promoting then protection of human rights;
(h) encouraging international efforts to rebuild the capacity of the
Iraqi civilian police force; and
(i) encouraging international efforts to promote legal and judicial
reform.
9. Supports the formation, by the people of Iraq with the help of the
Authority and working with the Special Representative, of an Iraqi
interim administration as a transitional administration run by Iraqis,
until an internationally recognized, representative government is
established by the people of Iraq and assumes the responsibilities of
the Authority;
10. Decides that, with the exception of prohibitions related to the
sale or supply to Iraq of arms and related materiel other than those
arms and related materiel required by the Authority to serve the
purposes of this and other related resolutions, all prohibitions
related to trade with Iraq and the provision of financial or economic
resources to Iraq established by resolution 661 (1990) and subsequent
relevant resolutions, including resolution 778 (1992) of 2 October
1992, shall no longer apply;
11. Reaffirms that Iraq must meet its disarmament obligations,
encourages the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and the United States of America to keep the Council informed of their
activities in this regard, and underlines the intention of the Council
to revisit the mandates of the United Nations Monitoring,
Verification, and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic
Energy Agency as set forth in resolutions 687 (1991) of 3 April 1991,
1284 (1999) of 17 December 1999, and 1441 (2002) of 8 November 2002;
12. Notes the establishment of a Development Fund for Iraq to be held
by the Central Bank of Iraq and to be audited by independent public
accountants approved by the International Advisory and Monitoring
Board of the Development Fund for Iraq and looks forward to the early
meeting of that International Advisory and Monitoring Board, whose
members shall include duly qualified representatives of the
Secretary-General, of the Managing Director, of the International
Monetary Fund, of the Director-General of the Arab Fund for Social and
Economic Development, and of the President of the World Bank;
13. Notes farther that the funds in the Development Fund for Iraq
shall be disbursed at the direction of the Authority, in consultation
with the Iraqi interim administration, for the purposes set out in
paragraph 14 below;
14. Underlines that the Development Fund for Iraq shall be used in a
transparent manner 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, and for the costs of Iraqi
civilian administration, and for other purposes benefiting the people
of Iraq;
15. Calls upon the international financial institutions to assist the
people of Iraq in the reconstruction and development of their economy
and to facilitate assistance by the broader donor community, and
welcomes the readiness of creditors, including those of the Paris
Club, to seek a solution to Iraq's sovereign debt problems;
16. Requests also that the Secretary-General, in coordination with the
Authority, continue the exercise of his responsibilities under
Security Council resolution 1472 (2003) of 28 March 2003 and 1476
(2003) of 24 April 2003, for a period of six months following the
adoption of this resolution, and terminate within this time period, in
the most cost effective manner, the ongoing operations of the
"Oil-for-Food" Programme (the "Programme"), both at headquarters level
and in the field, transferring responsibility for the administration
of any remaining activity under the Programme to the Authority,
including by taking the following necessary measures:
(a) to facilitate as soon as possible the shipment and authenticated
delivery of priority civilian goods as identified by the
Secretary-General and representatives designated by him, in
coordination with the Authority and the Iraqi interim administration,
under approved and funded contracts previously concluded by the
previous Government of Iraq, for the humanitarian relief of the people
of Iraq, including, as necessary, negotiating adjustments in the terms
or conditions of these contracts and respective letters of credit as
set forth in paragraph 4 (d) of resolution 1472 (2003);
(b) to review, in light of changed circumstances, in coordination with
the Authority and the Iraqi interim administration, the relative
utility of each approved and funded contract with a view to
determining whether such contracts contain items required to meet the
needs of the people of Iraq both now and during reconstruction, and to
postpone action on those contracts determined to be of questionable
utility and the respective letters of credit until an internationally
recognized, representative government of Iraq is in a position to make
its own determination as to whether such contracts shall be fulfilled;
(c) to provide the Security Council within 21 days following the
adoption of this resolution, for the Security Council's review and
consideration, an estimated operating budget based on funds already
set aside in the account established pursuant to paragraph 8 (d) of
resolution 986 (1995) of 14 April 1995, identifying:
(i) all known and projected costs to the United Nations required to
ensure the continued functioning of the activities associated with
implementation of the present resolution, including operating and
administrative expenses associated with the relevant United Nations
agencies and programmes responsible for the implementation of the
Programme both at Headquarters and in the field;
(ii) all known, and projected costs associated with termination of the
Programme;
(iii) all known and projected costs associated with restoring
Government of Iraq funds that were provided by Member States to the
Secretary-General as requested in paragraph 1 of resolution 778
(1992); and
(iv) all known and projected costs associated with the Special
Representative and the qualified representative of the
Secretary-General identified to serve on the International Advisory
and Monitoring Board, for the six month time period defined above,
following which these osts shall be borne by the United Nations;
(d) to consolidate into a single fund the accounts established
pursuant to paragraphs 8 (a) and 8 (b) of resolution 986 (1995);
(e) to fulfill all remaining obligations related to the termination of
the programme, including negotiating, in the most cost effective
manner, any necessary settlement payments, which shall be made from
the escrow accounts established pursuant to paragraphs 8 (a) and 8 (b)
of resolution 986 (1995), which those parties that previously have
entered into contractual obligations with the Secretary-General under
the Programme, and to determine, in coordination with the Authority
and the Iraqi interim administration, the future status of contracts
undertaken by the United Nations and related United Nations agencies
under the accounts established pursuant to paragraphs 8 (b) and 8 (d)
of resolution 986 (1995);
(f) to provide the Security Council, 30 days prior to the termination
of the Programme, with a comprehensive strategy developed in close
coordination with the Authority and the Iraqi interim administration
that would lead to the delivery of all relevant documentation and, the
transfer of all operational responsibility of the Programme to the
Authority;
17. Requests further that the Secretary-General transfer as soon as
possible to the Development Fund for Iraq 1 billion United States
dollars from unencumbered funds in the accounts established pursuant
to paragraphs 8 (a) and 8 (b) of resolution 986 (1995), restore
Government of Iraq funds that were provided by Member States to the
Secretary-General as requested in paragraph 1 of esolution 778 (1992),
and decides that, after deducting all relevant United Nations expenses
associated with the shipment of authorized contracts, and costs to the
Programme outlined in paragraph 16 (c) above, including residual
obligations, all surplus funds in the escrow accounts established
pursuant to paragraphs 8 (a), 8 (b), 8 (d), and 8 (f) of resolution
986 (1995) shall be transferred at the earliest possible time to the
Development Fund for Iraq;
18. Decides to terminate effective on the adoption of this resolution
the functions related to the observation and monitoring activities
undertaken by the Secretary-General under the Programme, including the
monitoring of the export of petroleum and petroleum products from
Iraq;
19. Decides to terminate the Committee established pursuant to
paragraph 6 of resolution 661 (1990) at the conclusion of the six
months period called for in paragraph 16 above and further decides
that the Committee shall identify individuals and entities referred to
in paragraph 23 below;
20. Decides that all 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 best practices, to be audited by independent public accountants
reporting to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board referred
to in paragraph 12 above in order to ensure transparency, and decides
further that, except as provided in paragraph 21 below, all proceeds
from such sales shall be deposited into the Development Fund for Iraq,
until such time as an internationally recognized, representative
government of Iraq is properly constituted;
21. Decides further that 5 percent of the proceeds referred to in
paragraph 20 above shall be deposited into the Compensation Fund
established in accordance with resolution 687 (1991) and subsequent
relevant resolutions and that, unless an internationally recognized,
representative government of Iraq and the Governing Council of the
United Nations Compensation Commission, in the exercise of its
authority over methods of ensuring that payments are made into the
Compensation Fund, decide otherwise, this requirement shall be binding
on a properly constituted, internationally recognized, representative
government of Iraq and any successor thereto;
22. Noting the relevance of the establishment of an internationally
recognized, representative government of Iraq and the desirability of
prompt completion of the restructuring of Iraq's debt as referred to
in paragraph 15 above, further decides that, until December 31, 2007,
unless the Council decides otherwise, petroleum, petroleum products,
and natural gas originating in Iraq shall be immune, until title
passes to the initial purchaser from legal proceedings against them
and not be subject to any form of attachment, garnishment, or
execution, and that all States shall take any steps that may be
necessary under their respective domestic legal systems to assure this
protection, and that proceeds and obligations arising from sales
thereof, as well as the Development Fund for Iraq, shall enjoy
privileges and immunities equivalent to those enjoyed by the United
Nations except that the above-mentioned privileges and immunities will
not apply with respect to any legal proceeding in which recourse to
such proceeds or obligations is necessary to satisfy liability for
damages assessed in connection with an ecological accident, including
an oil spill, that occurs after the date of adoption of this
resolution;
23. Decides that all Member States in which there are:
(a) funds or other financial assets or economic resources of the
previous Government of Iraq or its state bodies, corporations, or
agencics, located outside Iraq as of the date of this resolution, or
(b) funds or other financial assets or economic resources that have
been removed from Iraq, or acquired, by Saddam Hussein or other senior
officials of the former Iraqi regime and their immediate family
members, including entities owned or controlled, directly or
indirectly, by them or by persons acting on their behalf or at their
direction,
shall freeze without delay those funds or other financial assets or
economic resources and, unless these funds or other financial assets
or economic resources are themselves the subject of a prior judicial,
administrative, or arbitral lien or judgement, immediately shall cause
their transfer to the Development Fund for Iraq, it being understood
that, unless otherwise addressed, claims made by private individuals
or non-government entities on those transferred funds or other
financial assets may be presented to the internationally recognized,
representative government of Iraq; and decides further that all such
funds or other financial assets or economic resources shall enjoy the
same privileges, immunities, and protections as provided under
paragraph 22;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council at regular
intervals on the work of the Special Representative with respect to
the implementation of this resolution and on the work of the
International Advisory and Monitoring Board and encourages the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of
America to inform the Council at regular intervals of their efforts
under this resolution;
25. Decides to review the implementation of this resolution within
twelve months of adoption and to consider further steps that might be
necessary.
26. Calls upon Member States and international and regional
organizations to contribute to the implementation of this resolution;
27. Decides to remain seized of this matter.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)