3.5 |
Development of UK strategy and options, September to November 2002
–
the
negotiation of resolution 1441
for a
settlement”. The Council should continue to press for Iraq’s
compliance with all
resolutions.
The crux of the matter was:
“If we are
all sincerely interested in the non‑renewal of weapons of mass
destruction
… What are
we waiting for? … If we are talking not about the deployment of
the
inspectors
but about an attempt to use the Security Council to create a legal
basis
for the use
of force, or even for a regime change of a United Nations Member
State
– and this
goal has been constantly and publicly alluded to by several
officials – then
we see no
way how the Security Council could give its consent to that
…
“The
Charter powers of the Security Council allow it at any time to make
decisions
about any
measures which could be required to eliminate real threats.
The
important
thing now is to achieve a comprehensive settlement based on
political
and
diplomatic methods, with the central role of the Security Council
and in strict
compliance
with Council resolutions on the norms of international
law.
“… we are
prepared to interact on this platform with other members of the
Security
Council.
This is what we have been called on to do by the vast majority of
the
international
community during the discussions … We are convinced that
Security
Council
members will not be able to ignore this call.”
554.
In a second
intervention, Mr Aldouri made a number of further points,
including:
•
The Council
was “fully aware that the only objectives of the approaching war
are
oil, wealth
and hegemony … the world is now split into two and that the
larger
part
favours peace …” He was in the latter camp.
•
The future
of the UN had “recently been jeopardised by the statement of
one
major Power
that, if the United Nations failed to take into account the
interests of
that State,
it would go its own way”.
•
One State
had adopted war legislation during the debate, and that was “a
virtual
declaration
of war”.
•
Iraq’s
doors were “open” to the inspectors. Iraq had “full trust” in
Dr Blix, and
“he and his
teams will be welcomed in Iraq”. Iraq’s “hands were now clean”
and
there were
“no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq”. It hoped the
inspectors
would
“return soon” so that they “could tell the international community
that Iraq”
had no WMD.
Iraq would not “in any way hinder the work of the
inspectors”.
•
American
and British officials had “made clear statements to the effect
that
sanctions
and the embargo will never be lifted until there has been
‘regime
change’ in
Iraq”.
555.
The report of
the second day of the debate from the UK Mission in New
York
stated that
the Security Council was “almost unanimously open to a new
resolution” that
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