Iraq, 1998

Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Opertti on his

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its

fifty-third session. I am fully confident that his experience

and skill will ensure the success of the work of this

session.

The world continues to labour under events that attest

to the inability of the international community to avert the

effects of international transformations which carry within

them the elements of tension and conflict, given the

imbalance at the international level caused by a unipolar

system wherein a sole dominant player in the international

arena seeks to impose its hegemony on the international

community. That sole player is not concerned except with

its selfish and narrow interests, and with imposing its

dominance over international institutions and

organizations. As a result, the United Nations faces a

serious challenge represented by the degree of its ability

to regain the balance required of it in order to accomplish

its objectives as set forth in the Charter.

In this context, the United Nations witnesses

attempts to reform its structures and work mechanism to

make it compatible with the current political and

economic realities. Most important is the effort to reform

the working methods of the General Assembly and the

Security Council in order to bring the work of these two

organs into full harmony with the evolution of

international relations and with the increased membership

of the international Organization. This evolution requires

equitable representation of States from the various

continents on the Security Council, whether through

permanent or non-permanent membership. The success of

these efforts depends largely on the serious political will

of Member States of our Organization. The reform of the

work of the Security Council is urgently needed, if we are

to end control over it by a few States and transform it

into an institution which truly represents international

realities. Without these reforms, it is impossible to

achieve the purposes and the principles of the Charter

with regard to the maintenance of peace and security,

promoting economic and social development and

strengthening cooperation among people.

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International peace and security are affected by the

irrational and biased character of the way issues of

disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, are

addressed. There are States which maintain huge arsenals

of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear,

chemical, biological or long-range missiles, while other

States are being disarmed or called upon to disarm

themselves under all sorts of pretexts. The proper approach

in this regard is in the comprehensive implementation of

the relevant international treaties and comprehensive

agreements, free of selectivity and discrimination. Then,

and only then, can the goal of general and complete

disarmament be put to the service of the cause of peace and

security in the world and of ensuring the legitimate rights

of States to defend their security and independence in a just

and equitable manner.

The Middle East region is witnessing today a grave

situation and serious impairment of the balance of powers.

The Zionist entity possesses a huge arsenal of weapons of

mass destruction of all types — nuclear in particular,

chemical, biological or long-range missiles — in disregard

of the General Assembly’s efforts to render the Middle East

a zone free of weapons from mass destruction; of Security

Council resolution 487 (1981), which demands that the

Zionist entity place its installations under the

comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic

Energy Agency; and of paragraph 14 of Security Council

resolution 687 (1991), which states that the actions to be

taken towards Iraq represent steps towards the goal of

establishing in the Middle East a zone free of weapons of

mass destruction. This situation, resulting from the Zionist

entity’s failure to comply with these resolutions, threatens

security and peace in the region and in the entire world,

and encourages an arms race in the region.

Iraq strongly affirms its support for the struggle of the

Palestinian people against Zionist settler colonialism in

Palestine. It supports the struggle of the Palestine Liberation

Organization for the realization of its legitimate objectives,

endorsed by the international community, which affirms the

inalienable rights of the Palestinians in Palestine, including

its capital, Al-Quds al-Sharif.

The comprehensive, inhumane blockade imposed on

Iraq has entered its ninth year. This blockade has caused

and continues to cause the death of thousands of Iraqi

citizens every month due to the lack of medicine and food

and a grave deterioration in the infrastructures of the

industrial, agricultural, health, education, service sectors and

other areas. This situation calls for the strong condemnation

of those who insist, for ulterior political motives, on

continuing to inflict on the Iraqi people this destructive

blockade, the tragic consequences of which are

tantamount to internationally proscribed acts of genocide.

Security Council resolution 687 (1991) contains two

sets of obligations: those which must be fulfilled by Iraq,

and those that require the Security Council to lift the

blockade on Iraq when Iraq has met its obligations.

The obligations imposed on Iraq concern

disarmament. Briefly, they require the destruction,

removal or rendering harmless, under the supervision of

the United Nations Special Commission and the

International Atomic Energy Agency, of all weapons of

mass destruction which were in Iraq’s possession. They

enjoin Iraq to refrain from the production, possession,

stockpiling, use or development of such weapons in the

areas prohibited by resolution 687 (1991), which are the

ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres

and chemical and biological weapons, together with the

nuclear programme. These obligations imposed on Iraq

also provide for the establishment of a system of ongoing

monitoring, verification and registration of compliance.

In return for the achievement of the above, with

regard to the elimination of the prohibited weapons,

paragraph 22 of resolution 687 (1991) provides that the

prohibition against the import of basic commodities and

products originating in Iraq and the prohibition against

financial transactions related thereto contained in Council

resolution 661 (1990) shall cease to remain in effect.

Throughout the past seven and one-half years, Iraq

has fully cooperated with the Security Council, the

Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy

Agency. Iraq has met all the conditions and obligations

imposed on it as an expression of its good will and in

order to have the blockade imposed on its people lifted.

All prohibited weapons have been destroyed over the

past seven and one-half years, together with hundreds of

plants, installations and equipment related to those

weapons. The operations were carried out with so much

vengefulness that they even included cooling and lighting

equipment, as well furnishings and other items that had

nothing to do with the prohibited weapons or with their

production. Since 1994, the Special Commission and the

International Atomic Energy Agency have established a

comprehensive system of strict monitoring.

However, although Iraq has fully implemented all

the requirements of resolution 687 (1991) concerning

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disarmament, the Security Council has not taken any action

to implement its own obligations towards Iraq, as

prescribed by paragraph 22 of that same resolution.

Questions which must be legitimately addressed to the

Security Council are: why should Iraq bear all these

burdens and losses while the blockade continues and no one

knows when it is going to be lifted? Why has the Security

Council been unable so far to discharge its obligations

towards Iraq?

Iraq has cooperated throughout the past seven and one

half years with the Security Council, the Special

Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency

and has met all the requirements of the Security Council’s

resolutions in the hope that its cooperation would lead to

lifting the blockade imposed on the people of Iraq.

However, the blockade has not yet been lifted, thus

rendering the continuation of cooperation both meaningless

and useless.

The Special Commission entrusted with pursuing the

implementation of Iraq’s obligations under the provisions of

resolution 687 (1991), which concerns disarmament and

directs the monitoring system established since 1994,

refrains — I repeat, refrains — from reporting the facts

about Iraq’s compliance with its obligations under Security

Council resolutions. The reason for its failure to do so is

political. The Special Commission and its Chairman operate

under the influence of an arrogant, powerful State that is

pursuing ulterior political aims against Iraq that have no

relevance whatsoever to Security Council resolutions on

Iraq.

For political reasons, the Special Commission and its

Chairman refrain from reporting to the Council that Iraq is

totally free of all weapons prohibited under resolution 687

(1991) in the three areas of missiles and chemical and

biological weapons, even though the Special Commission

has no concrete evidence to prove the opposite. The Special

Commission and its Chairman both refrain from reporting

to the Council that all the plants, equipment and

installations which the Commission itself determined had

anything to do with those weapons have been destroyed and

that the remaining plants, equipment and installations

capable of so-called dual-use are totally under a

comprehensive and strict monitoring system. Accordingly,

Iraq is incapable of resuming the production of such

weapons. Finally, the Special Commission and its Chairman

refrain, also for political reasons, from reporting to the

Council that since the establishment of the monitoring

system in 1994 the Commission has not noted any violation

on the part of Iraq with regard to resuming the production

of the prohibited weapons.

This prejudiced position on the part of the Special

Commission and its Chairman has brought action to a

dead end and into an unacceptable vicious circle. Iraq was

therefore obliged to suspend cooperation with the Special

Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency

because insisting on dead-end paths and vicious circles

can only lead to the continuation of the blockade on the

people of Iraq, which is unacceptable and even contrary

to resolution 687 (1991).

In order to seek a way out of this deadlock and

break out of the vicious circle created by the Special

Commission and its Chairman, Iraq has welcomed the

proposal for a comprehensive review submitted by the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the Security

Council last 6 August. Iraq has emphasized that such a

comprehensive review is a legal and moral obligation

which the Council is duty-bound to discharge. By the

terms of resolution 687 (1991), the Council is required to

implement paragraph 22, relating to lifting the

prohibitions against the import of basic commodities and

products originating in Iraq, based upon the completion

by Iraq of all actions contemplated in part C of the

resolution. The Council is also required to undertake a

review every 60 days aimed at either reducing or lifting

the embargo in the light of the implementation by Iraq of

all its obligations under the relevant Council resolutions.

However, the 40 reviews carried out so far have been a

mere formality, arbitrary and far from comprehensive.

Thus, embarking upon a real comprehensive review

in accordance with the Secretary-General’s proposal is not

a reward given to Iraq, but a duty that the Security

Council has to undertake under its own resolutions. Iraq

has expressed its willingness to participate effectively in

such a comprehensive review — it is one of its

inalienable rights. Iraq has also expressed its hope that

such a comprehensive review of what it has accomplished

in terms of disarmament under part C of resolution 687

(1991) will be made as soon as possible and without

further delay. It is our hope that it will be indeed

comprehensive, fair and honest and that Iraq will be given

every possible opportunity to submit its point of view on

all relevant questions that might be posed by the Special

Commission, the IAEA or members of the Security

Council. Iraq also hopes that the review will be conducted

under the personal supervision of the Secretary-General

and that Mr. Annan will see to it that such a

comprehensive review is bound by a clearly defined

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timetable and not allow it to be an aimless process without

foreseeable end.

While we support carrying out such a comprehensive

review in an objective, fair and impartial manner, we affirm

Iraq’s right to expect the Security Council to proceed to

take action to lift the inhumane sanctions that have been

imposed on the people of Iraq for eight years now. The

people and leadership of Iraq will accept no less.