The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
that Iraq
was “not fully co‑operating with the inspections process”, the UK
Government
would
“expect there to be a detailed Security Council discussion”. The UK
would “want
at that
point to hear the views” of the other members of the
Council.
524.
Addressing the
comments by a number of speakers that the
non‑permanent
members of
the Council had “been kept in the dark” or even humiliated, Sir
Jeremy said
he believed
the facts had been “misrepresented”. None of the permanent members
had:
“… been in
a position so far to bring a draft resolution to each other here or
to the
Council as
a whole. The permanent five have done no negotiating on a text in
New
York.
Discussion in capitals has taken place on bilateral channels. Of
course our
Governments
have been working to make a negotiation worthwhile … Once there
is
a draft
with a prospect of broad acceptance in the Council, no Council
member will
be excluded
from discussion …”
525.
Sir Jeremy
concluded by referring to Iraq’s breach of other Security
Council
obligations
and called on Iraq to rectify that position.
526.
The
description of Iraq’s WMD capabilities in Sir Jeremy Greenstock’s
statement
reflected
the judgements in the UK dossier on Iraq and the JIC Assessment
of
11 October.
527.
Setting out
China’s position, Mr Zhang Yishan, Chinese Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN, stated that the “absence for so long of a solution to
the
question of
Iraq” had “not served peace and stability in the Gulf region or the
authority
and
credibility of the Security Council”. Nor had it “been conducive to
improving the
humanitarian
situation in Iraq”. “An early and appropriate settlement” was “the
important
and urgent
task” for the international community and the UN in
particular.
528.
The Chinese
Government had “consistently maintained that Iraq
should
unconditionally
and strictly implement the relevant Security Council [resolutions]
…
and fully
co‑operate with the United Nations” on inspections and other
issues.
529.
Commenting
that the number of participants attested to the importance of
the
issues and
the concerns about the implications for international relations,
Mr Zhang
added:
“The
overwhelming majority of States have emphasised during the debate
that the
question of
Iraq should be settled within the framework of the United Nations,
that
the
Security Council should play a central role in the process and that
the unity of
the
Security Council was of paramount importance.
“A number
of countries, especially the Arab States, have also expressed their
strong
wish for
peace not war. They have pointed out that war can only further
exacerbate
the already
tense situation in the Middle East. The independence,
sovereignty
and
territorial integrity of Iraq, Kuwait and other countries of the
region should be
294