3.8 |
Development of UK strategy and options, 8 to 20 March
2003
“The
members of the Security Council now face a great choice. If they
fail to agree
on a common
position, and action is taken without the authority of the
Security
Council,
the legitimacy and support for any such action will be seriously
impaired.
If, on the
other hand, they can … address this threat in a united manner and
ensure
compliance
with their previous resolutions, then the Security Council’s
authority will
be
enhanced, and the world will be a safer place.
“… Iraq
does not exist in a vacuum. What happens there will have
profound
implications
… for other issues of great importance … The broader the
consensus
on Iraq,
the better the chance that we can come together again and deal
effectively
with other
burning conflicts, starting with the one between Israelis and
Palestinians.
Only a
just resolution of that conflict can bring peace and stability in
the region.
“… the
success or failure of the international community in dealing with
Iraq will
crucially
affect its ability to deal with … conflicts …”
“However
this conflict is resolved, the United Nations will remain as
important as it
is today.
“We have
seen in recent months what an immense significance States and
people
around the
world attach to the legitimacy provided by the … Security Council,
and
the United
Nations, as the common framework for securing the peace. As
they
approach
their grave decision, I must solemnly urge all members of the …
Council
to keep
this in mind, and to be worthy of the trust in them that the
world’s peoples
have
shown.”
116.
Asked whether
an attack on Iraq without a second resolution would be a breach
of
the UN
Charter, Mr Annan responded:
“… the
Charter is very clear on circumstances under which force can be
used. I think
the
discussion … is to ensure that the … Council, which is the master
of its own
deliberations,
is able to pronounce itself on what happens. If the US and others
were
to go
outside the Council and take military action it would not be in
conformity with
the
Charter.”
117.
Sir John
Holmes, the British Ambassador to France, reported on 10
March
that, after
the debate in the Security Council on 7 March, France believed it
had the
momentum.36
The press
and public were firmly behind President Chirac. France
was
36
Telegram
123 Paris to FCO London, 10 March 2003, ‘Iraq: French Reaction to 7
March Debate’.
421