The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
110.
In a press
conference on 10 March, Mr Annan reiterated the
Security
Council’s
determination to disarm Iraq, but said that every avenue for a
peaceful
resolution
of the crisis had to be exhausted before force should be
used.
111.
Mr Annan
also warned that if the Security Council failed to agree on
a
common
position, and action was taken without the authority of the
Council,
the legitimacy
and support for any such action would be seriously
impaired.
112.
During a press
conference in The Hague on 10 March, Mr Annan made a
short
statement
on the position on Iraq.35
113.
Mr Annan
warned that the “atmosphere of crisis and great anxiety” was
“affecting
the whole
world”, and that:
“The
question of Iraq’s disarmament has brought the international
community to
a dangerous
point of division and discord …
“… the
threat of weapons of mass destruction. It is an issue of the utmost
gravity
– by no
means confined to Iraq. The whole international community needs to
act
together to
curb the proliferation of these terrible weapons, wherever it is
happening.
“The
determination of the Security Council to disarm Iraq of such
weapons is the
most urgent
issue – because Iraq has actually used such weapons in the past,
and
because it
has twice committed aggression against its neighbours … On this
critical
question,
there are no divisions, no grounds for doubt, dispute or
delay.
“… people
want to see this crisis resolved peacefully. There is widespread
concern
about the
long term consequences of war in Iraq for the fight against
terrorism;
for the
Middle East Peace Process [MEPP]; and for the world’s ability to
address
common
concerns in the future if deep divisions are sowed today between
nations
and between
people of different religions.
“Indeed,
one must have no illusions about what war means. In certain
circumstances
the use of
force may be necessary to secure a lasting peace. But the reality
is
that it
would cause great human suffering, whether it is long or short;
that it may
lead to
regional instability and economic crises; and it can … lead to
unintended
consequences
producing new threats and new dangers.
“War must
always be a last resort – arrived at only if and when every
reasonable
avenue of
achieving Iraq’s disarmament by peaceful means has been
exhausted.
The United
Nations … has a duty to search till the very end for the
peaceful
resolution
of conflicts.”
35
United
Nations, 10 March 2003, Secretary-General’s
press conference (unofficial transcript).
420