The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
the
activities of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) and
the International
Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in Iraq before their withdrawal in December
1998, stating:
•
“The
history of UN weapons inspections in Iraq has been characterised
by
persistent
Iraqi efforts to frustrate, deceive and intimidate
inspectors.”
•
Despite
that, UNSCOM and the IAEA had “a valuable record of achievement
in
discovering
and destroying biological and chemical weapons stocks,
missiles
and the
infrastructure for Iraq’s nuclear weapons programme”.
•
By the end
of 1998, “significant uncertainties about the disposition of
Iraq’s
prohibited
programmes” remained when “A series of confrontations and
the
systematic
refusal of Iraq to co‑operate, left UNSCOM unable to perform
its
disarmament
mandate and the inspectors withdrew on 13 December
1998.”
•
Since
December 1998, Iraq had “refused absolutely to comply with its
UN
disarmament
and monitoring obligations and allow access to weapons
inspectors”.
•
The UK
judged that Iraq had “used the intervening 40‑month period to
rebuild
significant
aspects of its chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic
missile
programmes”.
•
Those
actions “not only” presented “a direct challenge to the authority
of
the United
Nations”, they also breached “Iraq’s commitments under two
key
international
arms control agreements”, the Biological and Toxin
Weapons
Convention14
and the
Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty.15
42.
The document
described the UN’s inspections mandate in Iraq, recorded
“some
instances
of Iraqi obstruction” and focused on “one of the most egregious
examples on
non‑compliance”,
its denial of a biological weapons programme.
43.
The document
concluded with a “summary of developments” since December
1998
and the
steps Iraq needed to take “if the international community was ever
to have any
assurance
that Saddam Hussein’s ambitions to develop … WMD have finally
been
thwarted”.
That summary referred to the report to the Security Council by the
UNSCOM
Chairman in
1999 as a “damning account of Iraqi deceit”; and to the
establishment of a
UN
Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). It
described “full
co‑operation
with UN inspectors, including unconditional, immediate and
unrestricted
access to
any and all sites” as a “key measure” of Iraqi compliance. It ended
with a
statement
that:
“In the
interests of regional and global security, the international
community cannot
allow this
stand off to continue indefinitely.”
44.
Resolution
1284, adopted by the UN Security Council in December 1999
after
considerable
debate and disagreement, is addressed in Section 1.1.
14
“which bans
the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition or retention
of biological weapons”.
15
“which
prohibits Iraq from manufacturing or otherwise acquiring nuclear
weapons”.
100