09 June 2004
U.N. Resolution Offers New Hope for Iraq, Officials Say
Provides international community a means to help
By Judy Aita
Washington File Staff Writer
United Nations -- With the passage of the milestone resolution on Iraq June 8, senior officials of the United States, United Nations, and the new interim government of Iraq expressed optimism that the resolution will be a turning point in the country's political process and its relations with the international community.
The resolution, passed unanimously by the 15-nation Security Council, endorses the new interim government of Iraq which will assume authority with the end of the occupation and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) June 30, allows the multinational force (MNF) to provide security in partnership with the new government, sets out a leading role for the United Nations in helping the political process over the next year; and calls on the international community to aid Iraq in its transition.
The spirit of cooperation and, as one diplomat characterized it, "consensus atmosphere" throughout the negotiations marked a new chapter in the Security Council's work on Iraq, which had been marred by deep divisions over the decision by the United States, United Kingdom, and other members of the coalition to invade Iraq in 2003.
The new resolution, said U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, "marks an opportunity for members of the international community as a whole, both in the Middle East region and beyond, to use this as an opportunity to show their strong support for the country of Iraq."
"This resolution marks the restoration of the full exercise of sovereignty and independence to the people and government of Iraq and that is, in my view, an extremely important political development," Negroponte said June 8 after the council vote.
The final resolution, which was originally sponsored by the United States and United Kingdom, was the result of recommendations not only from other council members, but members of the U.N. community at large. U.N. Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who helped the Iraqis form the interim government, and members of the new Iraqi government, especially Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, participated in the discussions for the resolution. All of the participants are expected to be partners in helping the Iraqis on the path to a democratically elected government by December 2005.
The council meetings with Brahimi and Zebari "combined to contribute to quite an optimistic atmosphere," Negroponte said. But the letters from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Dr. Ayad Allawi, prime minister of the interim government of Iraq, spelling out the understandings on security arrangements "were the turning point" in getting the international community behind the resolution.
Nevertheless, the officials say, Iraq will need concrete help from the international community not just support for the resolution.
Negroponte said, "I'm not telling you that just as a result of the passage of this resolution there will necessarily be a flood of offers of assistance, but for those countries for whom both the ending of the occupation and the reassertion of Iraqi sovereignty have been important benchmarks, it could enable them to give Iraq assistance."
"We would urge them to seize that opportunity," the ambassador said.
There are ample opportunities in Iraq, Negroponte said.
When sovereignty is restored and progress made on the political front and if the security situation can be stabilized there will be "numerous economic opportunities, first and foremost for the people and government of Iraq," Negroponte said, "but secondly, for those countries in the international community and their companies that are interested in participating and working with that economy."
"Iraq is a wealthy country with very talented people and workforce. I think once the requisite conditions of security and stability are established there are going to be great opportunities for all concerned," the ambassador said.
One specific appeal in the resolution is for troops to the multinational force, especially for the brigade that will be formed to protect U.N. workers and sites.
"There's no question that the assistance of the U.N. with respect to the organizing of elections during the next six months, and the preparations for elections to take place not later than January 30 next year is going to be vitally important," Negroponte said.
The resolution also appeals for assistance in training the Iraqi security and police forces, and there are reconstruction projects, he pointed out.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he believes that "the overwhelming majority of people both inside and outside Iraq will want the Interim Government to have a fair chance, and will judge it on its performance. A great deal is riding on its success, and we should all give it whatever help we can."
He said that he will name a U.N. special representative for Iraq soon.
Setting out a role for the United Nations, the resolution said that "as circumstances permit" the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) shall play a leading role in helping Iraq convene a national conference in July 2004 to select a consultative council; hold elections by January 2005; promote national dialogue on the drafting of a national constitution; and help with the coordination and delivery of reconstruction, development and humanitarian assistance.
Since the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 which resulted in the death of several staff members including the secretary-general's special envoy, the United Nations has been waiting for the security situation to improve before sending in large numbers of workers on a permanent basis. Instead, the U.N. set up an office in Amman, Jordan, for the time being.
"I've said in the past that the U.N. works with people," the secretary-general said. "We should be able to get to them and they should be able to get to us. And so it has to be an environment that allows us reasonable mobility and flexibility for us to carry on our work."
"We are not asking for hundred percent security or guarantee. We operate in the real world and we know there are risks, but there are certain limits that we have to impose on ourselves," Annan said.
"I hope it would be possible for us to play the role that is expected of us, that we want to play, and so let's look forward positively," Annan said.
Appearing at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City June 8 just before the Security Council vote, Zebari said that the resolution will affect Iraqis significantly in three ways. First, it will "take away the concept of occupation, which I would say was the main reason for many of the difficulties that we have been going through since liberation on April the 9th (2003)."
"Second, there is also the question of how legitimate is this new interim government since we haven't had a chance to have elections or to have elected representative government," the foreign minister said. "So with the involvement of the United Nations, with providing some international legitimacy to the new interim government, I think it will be more acceptable to the people of Iraq, to the region -- especially it will not be seen that this is purely an American-led operation."
Third, with the resolution "the new interim government of Iraq will have sovereignty and will have control over its security, over its money, over its resources, representation, its management of the country," Zebari said.
Negroponte, who has been the chief U.S. representative to the United Nations since September 2001, is the U.S. ambassador-designate to Iraq and will take up residence in Baghdad after June 30. As the head of the large U.S. embassy in Iraq, Negroponte will be responsible for carrying out U.S. policy and following up on the Security Council resolutions he helped draft as a U.N. delegate.
During his tenure at the United Nations, Negroponte pointed out, "we've passed 175 Security Council resolutions, most of them by consensus. The agenda of the U.N. Security Council has been very similar to the national security and foreign policy agenda of the United States" dealing with terrorism, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, and complex humanitarian emergencies in Africa and Haiti.
But the ambassador is quick to point out that he will not be replacing Coalition Provisional Administrator Paul Bremer.
"The important point to make is that I am not going to be replacing Mr. Bremer. The Interim Government of Iraq will replace Mr. Bremer. He will be, on June 30th, passing the baton to the Interim Government of Iraq," Negroponte said.
"The authorities and the role that I will have will differ rather substantially from those of somebody who was, in effect, the ultimate authority in that country -- and will be -- until he passes the baton on to the interim government," he said.
"I will be an ambassador, with traditional ambassadorial authorities, accredited to the new government of Iraq once it takes office," Negroponte 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)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=June&x=20040609182612cpataruk0.4753534&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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