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14 August 2003

Negroponte Says U.N. Vote Furthers Iraqi Self Government

Ambassador endorses vital role for U.N. in Iraq

United Nations support of the Governing Council of Iraq "sends a clear signal to those who oppose the political transformation under way in Iraq that they are out of step with world opinion," said U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte August 14.

Addressing the U.N. Security Council after the adoption of resolution 1500, Negroponte said that the council's expression of support for the 25-member Iraqi council "hastens the day when the people of Iraq are in full command of their own affairs -- a condition they have not know for some three decades."

The Security Council adopted a resolution by a vote of 14 to 0 (with Syria abstaining) that welcomed the July 13 establishment of the broad-based Governing Council and set up a 300-member U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq.

Negroponte, the chief U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said that the United States "fully supports" the U.N. mission.

Following is the transcript of the Explanation of Vote by Ambassador John D. Negroponte, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Resolution 1500 to express support of the Governing Council of Iraq and create the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, at the Security Council, August 14, 2003:

(begin transcript)

The text that we have just voted as Security Council Resolution 1500 deals with two specific issues: the Governing Council of Iraq and the United Nations Assistance Mission in that country.

In its expression of support for the Governing Council of Iraq, this resolution hastens the day when the people of Iraq are in full command of their own affairs - a condition they have not known for some three decades.

When the Governing Council representatives came to speak before the Security Council on July 22, they took an important step in the process of reaching out to the international community to communicate their dreams and aspirations for the Iraqi people, and, equally importantly, their plans to achieve those aspirations. Through the resolution that we just passed, the Security Council has made clear that we heard the Governing Council's message, and that we will work with them as a broadly representative partner with whom the United Nations and the international community can engage to support them in their endeavors to build a better Iraq. This resolution helps pave the way towards the peace, stability, and democracy that the long-afflicted Iraqi people so richly deserve. It also sends a clear signal to those who oppose the political transformation under way in Iraq that they are out of step with world opinion.

In this resolution, we endorse again the vital role that the United Nations is playing in Iraq. The Secretary-General recommended the creation of a United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq to better enable the United Nations to fulfill its important responsibilities under Resolution 1483. We fully support the Secretary-General's request.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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