The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
554.
Mr Dominique
de Villepin, the French Foreign Minister, stated that
France
supported a
demarche requiring Iraq to meet its obligations within a
defined
timetable,
but emphasised the need for collective responsibility to be
exercised
through the
Security Council; and that the Security Council should determine
the
action
taken if Iraq did not comply.
555.
In his
statement to the General Assembly Mr de Villepin warned that
the use
of “force
alone” was “often futile” and that, in an interdependent world,
“Let us take
care that
our interventions do not give rise to new frustrations, do not
produce new
imbalances
and spark fires which we cannot put out.”168
556.
Mr de
Villepin stated:
“The case
of Iraq is typical of this new situation. It is a country that has
defied the
authority
of the Security Council and flouted international law for several
years. It is
a regime
that poses a grave threat to security, particularly the security of
the peoples
of its
region, because of the risk of proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction. Its
conduct is
the direct cause of the great suffering endured by its
people.
“Is the
international community concerned? Of course it is. Can it continue
to tolerate
this
situation? Definitely not. Should it act? Obviously: the status quo
cannot go on.
France’s
determination to obtain compliance with the law is
absolute.
“We must
act, but we must do so effectively …”
557.
Mr de
Villepin added that action should not “exacerbate” a situation that
was
“already
very disturbing”:
“We must
act, but there are many traps. Intervention that is politically or
legally
ill‑defined
or poorly mounted would not garner the broad support necessary; it
might
galvanise
public opinion in the region against it, and the regime in Baghdad
which is
isolated
now could benefit; lastly, it might aggravate tensions in the
Middle East and
beyond at a
time when we should … re‑double our efforts to return to the path
of
dialogue
and peace.”
558.
Mr de
Villepin stated that there was “only one way” to avoid those traps,
the path of
“collective
responsibility”:
“The
necessary measures must be adopted by the international community
after
an in‑depth
and transparent consideration. Any temptation to engage in
unilateral
preventive
action would be dangerous. We must take care to avoid any
suspicion
of bias or
injustice. This is the only way to ensure that any action to
enforce law and
restore
security does not add to insecurity …
168
UN General
Assembly, ‘Fifty‑seventh session Thursday 12 September 2002’
(A/57/PV.2).
188