17 March 2003
U.N. Withdraws Staff from Iraq
(U.S., U.K. blame France for subverting second Security Council resolution) (880) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Secretary General Kofi Annan March 17 ordered all U.N. weapons inspectors, peacekeepers, and humanitarian aid workers to withdraw from Iraq. After a private meeting with the Security Council, Annan said that he was withdrawing the UNMOVIC weapons inspectors searching for chemical and biological weapons and long range ballistic missiles and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors examining Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Also being withdrawn are the U.N. Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) troops on the Iraq-Kuwait border and the humanitarian aid workers involved in the Oil-for-Food program. As of March 17, there were more than 300 U.N. staff in Iraq, U.N. officials said. "The implication of these withdrawals will mean that the mandates will be suspended because they will be inoperable. We cannot, for example, handle the Oil-for-Food when we do not have inspectors to monitor the imports, we do not have oil inspectors who will monitor exports of oil, and we don't have the humanitarian personnel who will monitor the distribution, receipt, and distribution of the food supply," the secretary general said. Annan added, however, that this withdrawal "does not mean that, should war come to Iraq, the United Nations will sit back and not do anything to help the Iraqi population. We will find a way of resuming our humanitarian activities to help the Iraqi people who have suffered for so long and do whatever we can to give them assistance and support." The United Nations reportedly has begun planning how to help rebuild and administer a post-war Iraq, as it is doing in Afghanistan. The secretary general said that he and Muhammad ElBaradei, IAEA director general, were notified by the United States on March 16 that it would not be "prudent" to leave U.N. and IAEA staff in the region. On March 16 weapons experts continued inspections and supervised the destruction of two more Al Samoud 2 missiles and spare parts. But five Bell-212 helicopters left Baghdad and flew to Syria on their way to Cyprus because the helicopter company's insurance carrier decided to withdraw coverage if the helicopters remained in Iraq. Before the closed door meeting, the United States, United Kingdom, and Spain announced that they would not ask for a vote on their draft resolution on Iraq, because of a threatened veto by France. "That country rejected our proposed compromise before even the Iraqi government itself and has put forward suggestions that would roll back the unanimous agreement of the council in (resolution) 1441. Those suggestions would amount to no ultimatum, no pressure, and no disarmament," U.K. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said. "The draft remains on the table in front of the council," Greenstock said, but, to return to that draft, "there would have to be a very clear signal that Iraq, particularly the Iraqi leadership had taken a decision to produce cooperation." France's threat to veto the draft no matter what the framework, Greenstock said, "affected the decisions" of other members of the council on how to vote. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, "we believe that if it were not for the threat of a veto, it would have been very possible to win passage of our resolution." Negroponte said that the draft resolution's co-sponsors "think that the atmosphere and the context of our entire discussion was affected by the fact that one permanent member explicitly stated that it was intent on frustrating the purposes of our draft resolution." "Time has virtually run out," Negroponte said. "The time for diplomatic activity is literally exhausted." "But we think that there is full authority in resolution 1441, resolution 687 and 678 with regard to the possible use of force," the ambassador said. Although France, Russia and Germany issued a declaration calling for a ministerial council level meeting, the council apparently did not discuss such a proposal. The next item on the council's agenda is a meeting in the morning of March 18 on small arms trade in West Africa. The council has scheduled a meeting March 19 to discuss the report of UNMOVIC chief Hans Blix on the remaining work program for U.N. weapons inspectors. That report was prepared before the inspectors were withdrawn. Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Annan said that the failure of the Security Council to manage the crisis successfully will affect the 15-nation council's reputation and credibility. "If the action is to take place without the support of the council, its legitimacy will be questioned and the support for it will be diminished," the secretary general said. But he added that regardless of what happens, the council will have an important role to play in Iraq's future. The United Nations already has contingency plans to provide aid as soon as it is feasible, Annan pointed out. The Azores communiqué implied that the United Nations would have a role in the post-conflict Iraq, the secretary general noted. "The council will have to give me a mandate for some of the activities that we will need to undertake," Annan said. (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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