3.4 |
Development of UK strategy and options, late July to 14 September
2002
States
attached “fundamental importance to such legitimacy and the
international rule
of law”.
They had shown, “notably in the action to liberate Kuwait”, that
they were:
“… willing
to take actions under the authority of the Security Council, which
they
would not
be willing to take without it.
“The
existence of an effective international security system depends on
the Council’s
authority –
and therefore on the Council having the political will to act, even
in the
most
difficult cases … The primary criterion for putting an issue on the
Council’s
agenda
should not be the receptiveness of the parties, but the existence
of a grave
threat to
world peace.”
532.
Addressing
“current threats to world peace, where true leadership and
effective
action are
badly needed”, Mr Annan stated:
“… the
leadership of Iraq continues to defy mandatory resolutions adopted
by the
Security
Council under Chapter VII of the Charter.
“I have
engaged Iraq in an in‑depth discussion on a range of issues,
including the
need for
arms inspectors to return, in accordance with the relevant Security
Council
resolutions.
“Efforts to
obtain Iraq’s compliance with the Council’s resolutions must
continue.
I appeal to
all who have influence with Iraq’s leaders to impress on them the
vital
importance
of accepting the weapons inspections. This is the indispensable
first step
towards
assuring the world that all Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction have
indeed
been
eliminated, and – let me stress – towards the suspension and
eventual ending
of the
[economic] sanctions …
“I urge
Iraq to comply … If Iraq’s defiance continues, the Security Council
must face
its
responsibilities.”
533.
Mr Annan
wrote in his memoir that concerns had been expressed in
early
September
about the impact on international law of pre‑emptive action taken
by one
state, and
that his response had been that support given by the United Nations
for
military
action would bestow both legitimacy and legality on anything done
with respect
to
Iraq.162
In his
address to the Assembly, he stated:
“…there was
no alternative for the legitimate use of force than through a
united
Security
Council and that there was still time to seek a peaceful way
out.”
“After the
meeting I spoke with Tony Blair for whom the process of negotiating
a new
resolution
wasn’t so much about achieving the disarmament goals. To him,
above
all, it was
a test of the UN in the eyes of the United States: ‘a critical
moment for the
162
Annan
K. Interventions:
A Life in War and Peace. Allen Lane,
2012.
183