The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
411.
Introducing
UNMOVIC’s 12th quarterly report of activity to 28 February
2003,
Dr Blix
stated that, when the quarterly report had been finalised, there
had still been
“relatively
little tangible progress to note” and the report had been
“cautious”.157
By 7 March,
there had been a number of relevant events on which he would bring
the
Council up
to date
412.
Dr Blix stated
that inspections had begun on 27 November 2002, and
“faced
relatively
few difficulties”. While there were “frictions”, “at this
juncture”, UNMOVIC was
“able to
perform professional no-notice inspections all over Iraq and to
increase aerial
surveillance”
and its capabilities were being increased.
413.
Iraq seemed
“to have encouraged interviewees not to request the presence of
Iraq
officials …
or the taping of interviews” but “conditions ensuring the absence
of undue
influence
were difficult to attain inside Iraq. Interviews outside Iraq might
provide such
assurance.
It is our intention to request such interviews shortly.”
Thirty-eight individuals
had been
asked for interviews and 10 had accepted UNMOVIC’s terms, seven
during
the last
week.
414.
Iraq had
denied the existence of mobile production units for biological
weapons
and that
proscribed activities were being conducted underground. Inspections
had taken
place at
declared and undeclared sites but no evidence of proscribed
activities had “so
far been
found”. Iraq was “expected to assist in the development of credible
ways to
conduct
random checks of ground transportation”.
415.
Inspectors
were examining Iraq’s programmes for RPVs and data was
being
collected
to assess the range and other capabilities of the models
found.
416.
In relation to
“reports of proscribed activity conducted underground”, which
Iraq
had denied,
Dr Blix stated that “no facilities for chemical or biological
production or
storage
have been found so far”. Iraq should provide information on any
underground
facilities
that were suitable for the production or storage of weapons of mass
destruction.
417.
Dr Blix
stressed the importance of Iraq’s acceptance of the destruction
of
Al Samoud
2 missiles and associated items, which constituted a “substantial
measure
of disarmament
… the first since the middle 1990s”.
418.
Other points
covered by Dr Blix included:
•
UNMOVIC was
reviewing the legality of the Al Fatah missile.
•
Papers on
anthrax, VX and missiles had recently been provided. Many
re-stated
what Iraq
had already declared, but some required further study and
discussion.
•
There was
“a significant Iraqi effort under way to clarify a major source
of
uncertainty”
about the “quantities of biological and chemical weapons” that
had
been
“unilaterally destroyed in 1991”, by excavating a site that was
formerly
157
UN Security
Council, ‘4714th Meeting Friday 7 March 2003’
(S/PV.4714).
366