19 February 2003
Nations Prefer Peaceful Disarmament of Iraq, U.N. Told
(Want compliance but many willing to give inspectors more time) (1480) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The U.N. Security Council February 19 concluded a two-day meeting to hear the positions of other U.N. member states on the disarmament of Iraq. Council members listened to a variety of opinions from about 60 nations as the United States and United Kingdom continued discussions on a followup resolution to 1441 that would support military action if Iraq does not disarm immediately. At the close of the first day of debate, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, "We're, at the moment, in discussion with some of our council partners about the possibility of a resolution, but we have wanted to wait until this open debate is completed before deciding as to the specifics, the timing and the contents of such a resolution." Negroponte said he was not in a position to say when a resolution would be put forward. (In Washington February 19, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush "intends to work with our friends and allies to offer a resolution, either this week or next.") "We want to be sensitive to international opinion," Negroponte said. "We, like other countries, want to hear what people and governments have to say, but in the end, I think our behavior is going to be determined by our concern about the disarmament of Iraq and considerations of the national security of our own country and of others." Commenting on the nature of the debate itself, the U.S. ambassador said that "the issue really is ... whether or not Iraq is disarming and the issue is their cooperation with respect to the implementation of resolution 1441." "We think the measure of their performance has got to be whether they are immediately, unconditionally, and proactively implementing this resolutions and not whether or not they have made a few procedural gestures of one kind or another that do not really signify ... full compliance," Negroponte said. The overwhelming majority of the countries supported the disarming of Iraq and the need to comply with Security Council resolutions. But many want Iraq disarmed peacefully and urged that the U.N. weapons inspectors be given more time to do their work. British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said February 19 that his government wants the same outcome that the nations appearing before the council want -- the peaceful, complete disarmament of Iraq, but the debate "hasn't produced the vital ingredient of how we get there without military enforcement." "Voluntary disarmament by Iraq is the concept that can keep this down the route of complete disarmament and peace," Greenstock said. "In practice it's not happening that way. The voluntary disarmament of Iraq has not yet been reported." "The test for the Security Council is how do we deal with that defiance. (Iraq) hasn't begun the process of voluntary disarmament and if in weeks -- not months -- there isn't a report that the Iraqis have begun voluntary disarmament then the Security Council has to come to a decision on what it does about that," the ambassador said. "No member state has put forward a proposition about how you achieve the complete disarmament of Iraq unless the threat or perhaps the actuality of military enforcement is there. They haven't said: These are the steps that can achieve the peaceful disarmament of Iraq in these circumstances without the use of military enforcement," Greenstock said. On February 14 chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reported to the council that no weapons of mass destruction had been found, but, more importantly, many banned weapons and related items had not been accounted for by Iraq. He said that the inspectors had found that Iraq has developed Al Samoud missiles that could exceed the 150-kilometer range set by Security Council resolutions and that Iraqi cooperation on matters of substance still left much to be desired. The public debate was requested by the non-aligned movement. South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, representing the group said that "to us, resolution 1441 was, and still is, about ensuring that Iraq is peacefully disarmed." The last report from the weapons inspectors, Kumalo said, indicates that Iraq is cooperating more proactively and the inspectors have had the opportunity to verify the accuracy of the information that has been provided by other nations. "None of the information provided thus far would seem to justify the Security Council abandoning the inspection process and immediately resorting to the threatened 'serious consequences,'" he said. Australia's ambassador John Dauth, said that after hearing the inspectors' reports "it is patently clear, by the criteria established under UNSCR 1441, that Iraq is in further material breach of its obligations. The question today is what the Security Council ... is going to do about it." "I have heard no one here say that doubling the number of inspectors, giving them more time and more resources will work without Iraqi cooperation. It is this problem that the Security Council should be focusing on today," Dauth said. Jordanian Ambassador Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein said that his government "calls on the Iraqi government not to waste the available chance and to take the initiative by cooperating proactively in the implementation of relevant council resolutions. This is to save Iraq, the region and its people from the scourge of war and the suffering that would follow." Al-Hussein called on the council to make use of all possible solutions to avoid war which would cause deaths, injuries, refugee movements and displacements numbering in the millions. Jordan, he said, is still suffering from the humanitarian and economic consequences from the Gulf War twelve years ago. Turkish Ambassador Umit Pamir said that "we look for a solution that will not require military involvement while reassuring the world that there are no lurking dangers whatsoever of the sort Security Council resolution 1441 deals with." "Turkey is worried," Pamir said. "We are worried for obvious reasons; we are worried also for unexpected reasons which are likely to have adverse repercussions on the transatlantic relationship." He also discussed his other concerns -- the unity of the Security Council and the fragile economy of his country. Speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU), Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis said that the EU believes that the way the situation is handled "will have an important impact on the world in the next decades and we are determined to deal effectively with the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." "The EU's objective for Iraq remains full and effective disarmament from weapons of mass destruction in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions, in particular resolution 1441. We want to achieve this peacefully. It is clear that this is what the people of Europe want," Vassilakis said. "War is not inevitable. Force should be used only as a last resort," he said. "It is for the Iraqi regime to end this crisis by complying with the demands of the Security Council." Ambassador Earl Huntley of St. Lucia, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community, said that no state should have the right to develop weapons of mass destruction, but he said that the Caribbean nations are "firmly opposed to the use of armed force at a time when it is clear that diplomatic efforts have not yet been exhausted and the UNMOVIC (U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission) and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)inspectors and reporting some progress and requesting more time to complete their work." Nigerian Ambassador Ndekhedehe Ndekhedehe urged the council to "exercise patience ... with tenacity." It is imperative to make every effort to avoid the use of force, Ndekhedehe said, but if the use of force becomes inescapable "such enforcement action should be as a result of the collective will and decision of the Security Council." Arguing for strengthening the inspection regime to quicken the pace of the inspections, Indonesian Ambassador Darmansyah Djumala said that "my delegation is of the opinion that diplomacy has neither been exhausted in this matter, nor is war imminent. We call for the unity of the Security Council on this sensitive matter as this is the time to close ranks, not divide them." In Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors continued their work. On February 18 the U.N. undertook the first U-2 surveillance flights to back up inspections after giving Baghdad 48 hours notice. Weapons inspectors continued visiting missile sites. Chemical teams inspected five different sites in two days and continued destroying artillery shells filled with mustard gas. On February 19 IAEA interviewed an engineer previously associated with Iraq's former gas centrifuge enrichment program, according to a U.N. spokesman. Other IAEA teams visited a hydraulics factory south of Baghdad and an electronics company. (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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