Previous page | Contents | Next page
The Report of the Iraq Inquiry
and trust between the Council and Iraq”. The draft resolution did not incorporate
concerns expressed by Malaysia and others, including:
the omission of financial modalities;
the vague language “full of conditionalities” in respect of the triggering of
suspensions;
the absence of a definite benchmark or timeframe for the final lifting of
sanctions;
the indefinite continuation of the sanctions which violated “the very spirit and
purposes” of the UN Charter;
the improvements in arrangements for humanitarian programmes which were
“selective” and would “only lead to incremental improvements and address a
small fraction of the needs of the Iraqi people”; and
Malaysia’s proposal that the Council should give a hearing to Iraq’s views, on
the basis that “engaging Iraq, rather than isolating and demonizing it”.
826.  The draft resolution was:
“… driven largely by political, rather than humanitarian, considerations. It is aimed at
keeping Iraq under continued isolation rather than bringing it out into the mainstream
of international life … The language of the draft resolution is ambiguous in some
important parts, so that it may lend itself to unilateral interpretation and/or action
in its implementation, which must be avoided.”
827.  Mr Qin Huasun stated that three core issues would have to be addressed
in formulating new policies on Iraq:
An “objective, impartial, transparent and accountable” inspection commission
should replace UNSCOM which “under the leadership of its previous Executive
Chairman … continuously concealed information from the Council, deceived
and misled the Council and even went so far as to act presumptuously without
authorisation by the Council, thus playing a dishonourable role in triggering
the crisis”.
The remaining disarmament issues should be “defined clearly and precisely and
resolved gradually and effectively”.
There was “an urgent need to relieve the … tremendous, inhumane suffering”
of the people of Iraq.
828.  Mr Qin Huasun added that those issues could be resolved only if the resolution
could be implemented; and that was “highly questionable” because it did not give Iraq
the “light at the end of the tunnel”. The Council was being “rushed … into action” which
would “not help to resolve” the issue. Nor would it “really help to preserve the authority
and role of the Council”. There had been “a worrying trend” over the past year. Iraq
and Kosovo had “clearly demonstrated that the wilful use of force, especially unilateral
182
Previous page | Contents | Next page