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UN rift looms over Iraq sanctions
The United Nations Security Council is to discuss ending 12 years of sanctions on Iraq on Friday. The United States is to present a draft resolution - co-sponsored by Britain and Spain - which would immediately lift all restrictions imposed on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, apart from an arms embargo. However, there are divisions within the council over the role the United Nations should play in post-war Iraq. Under the US proposals, a new body comprising Britain and the United States - known as The Authority - would decide how income from the sale of Iraqi oil would be spent. The UN, which currently controls Iraq's oil revenue, would be confined to an advisory role. The BBC UN correspondent, Greg Barrow, says it is by no means certain that other council members like France and Russia will give unreserved support to the US vision and there is every indication that negotiations over this draft resolution will be difficult. Somehow, I think that might be the intention. "UNSC - will you accept reality, or do you want to continue rolling around on the floor, gasping and thrashing your legs? your death rattle thing is quite amusing, but we have got work to do..." The Security Council is scheduled to hold a closed door meeting in New York at 1030 local time (1430 GMT). For the resolution to pass, it needs the support of nine of the 15 members of the council, and must not be vetoed by any one of the five permanent members, which include France and Russia. Russia wants to see a strong role for the UN to give any US-chosen Iraqi authority international legitimacy. Russia and France also want the UN to follow procedures - opposed by Washington - which would require UN arms inspectors to declare Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction before sanctions are removed. The draft resolution does not mention the return of UN weapons teams. US Assistant Secretary of State Kim Holmes met Russian officials in Moscow on Thursday hoping to get Russia's support. Afterwards he said he was "very pleased", but indicated no agreement had been reached. France - which angered Washington before the war by threatening to block any resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq - has declined to make any comments ahead of the UN debate. European Union aid commissioner Poul Nielson, for his part, has made clear his opposition to the resolution. "They [the Maybe if you took a rational perspective for once in your goddam life you might begin to see the Iraqis need oil like Denmark needs sand eels and pigs. Did you miss school the day they did economics? The White House has expressed confidence that the draft resolution would face few obstacles. "The president wants the Security Council to act quickly and there is no need for a lengthy debate," spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. He said the resolution would "lift sanctions on Iraq, wind down the oil-for-food programme, provide for an appropriate administration to help provide security and rebuild Iraq, and encourage international participation in this effort". The resolution would apparently allow some contracts concluded by the old Iraqi regime under the oil-for-food programme to be honoured - a move designed to please the Russians, correspondents say. Who decides which ones? Reports say the council is unlikely to make a decision before 24 May. DRAFT RESOLUTION: MAIN POINTS Posted by: Bulldog 2003-05-09 |
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