The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
“… fully
exposed and brought to an end. Otherwise we cannot know whether
caches
of
equipment, documents, facilities, or entire programmes still exist
of which we are
unaware and
which will therefore not be subject to monitoring.”
309.
Sir John
concluded that Iraq had “repeatedly assured” the Council of
its
“commitment
to furnishing full co-operation” but had “failed to translate these
assurances
into
reality”. The draft resolution was a “reasonable, proportionate and
focused” way to
remind Iraq
of its obligations.
310.
Mr Nabil
Elaraby, Egyptian Permanent Representative to the UN, made it
clear
that an
earlier draft of the resolution had proposed “additional sanctions
to be imposed
on Iraq at
a time when the regional Arab, African and Islamic organizations
and those
associated
with the Non-Aligned Movement wish the Special Commission to end
its
mission so
as to put an end to the suffering of the Iraqi
people”.
311.
Mr Edward
Gnehm, US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stated
that,
far from
complying, Iraq had “expended its best efforts to thwart the will
of the Council,
particularly
in the crucial area of weapons of mass destruction”. Since 1991, it
had:
“… made
every effort to conceal its true weapons capabilities, to destroy
evidence
of its
programmes and supply routes and to lie about it to this Council.
In the last
two years,
Iraqi efforts to interfere with the Special Commission … have
intensified
… UNSCOM
inspectors have observed blatant efforts to remove documents
and
other
evidence from sites while the inspectors themselves have been
prevented
from
entering; and UNSCOM inspectors have been refused permission to
interview
knowledgeable
individuals.”
312.
Mr Gnehm
added that Iraq had abrogated the modalities in the joint
agreement
and its
“obstructionist actions were taken under orders from the highest
authorities in
Baghdad”.
UNSCOM was facing its most serious threat since it was established
and
Iraq’s
failure was “a serious threat to the region’s peace and security”.
Mr Ekéus’s
briefing to
the Council had confirmed that there had been “no improvement” in
Iraq’s
“alarming
policies” since his April report and Iraq had “responded with
contempt” to the
Council’s
resolutions and statements.
“… the time
for mere words is over. Iraq has shown us that it will never
voluntarily
comply with
resolutions of the Council unless the Council acts firmly and
decisively
to enforce
its will. That is why we have brought forward this resolution
today, which
will
demonstrate conclusively to Iraq that its actions have serious
consequences …
“… We have
chosen these particular steps because they are measured
and
targeted …
“Similarly,
the Council expresses its intent to impose new measures,
targeted
precisely
at those parties most responsible for the continued concealment
of
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