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Iraq has been a topic of
discussion in the Council since Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990. The
Security Council condemned this action in Resolution 660. At the end of the
conflict, sanctions were leveled and Iraq was ordered to comply with UN
weapons inspections. Sanctions remain in place to this day, and weapons
inspection compliance has been debated on and off since 1991. The
effectiveness of sanctions, Iraq’s refusal to comply with weapons
inspections, and the possibility of a renewed military campaign against Iraq
have been the most recent points of discussion in the Council.
Over the past decade, it has become clear that the current sanctions are
ineffective and are harming the Iraqi people while not seriously affecting
the government. Sanctions have become subject to multiple violations, by
both neighboring states and several major powers. In an effort to ease the
burden of sanctions on the Iraqi people, the Council passed a revised
sanctions regime on 14 May 2002. The new “smart sanctions,” described in
Resolution 1409, revise the Goods Review List and allow greater flexibility
in the goods which Iraq may purchase. On 30 December 2002, the Security
Council adopted resolution 1454 which approved adjustments in the
biological, chemical, and missile-related areas of the Goods Review List of
the Iraq “oil-for-food” programme to allow for a greater amount of
humanitarian assistance items to pass through.
The United States has recently begun a campaign within the Council, pushing
for military action against Iraq for its failure to fully comply with
inspection requirements. The US cites the original resolutions against Iraq
as justification for Member States to take “all means necessary” to limit
the Iraqi aggression. In the current case, the US administration has accused
Iraq both of supporting terrorism and of continuing to pursue programs to
develop weapons of mass destruction. The push for military action has the
support of the UK within the Council, but the issue has been divisive on the
whole.
In late 2002, the Council came to a consensus on the need to verifiably
disarm Iraq. Holding Iraq in “material breach” of its obligations under
previous resolutions, the Security Council decided to afford it a “final
opportunity to comply” with its disarmament obligations, while setting up an
enhanced inspection regime for full and verified completion of the
disarmament process established in 1991 by resolution 687. Resolution 1441
was adopted unanimously on 8 November 2002.
Through this resolution, the Security Council instructed that inspections
were to resume within 45 days, and decided it would convene immediately if
there were reports that Iraq was interfering with the inspections. The
Council demanded that Iraq confirm its intention to comply fully with the
Resolution. On 13 November, Iraq delivered its acceptance of Resolution
1441. Under the new inspection regime established by Resolution 1441, the
United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)
and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would have “immediate,
unimpeded, unconditional and unrestricted access” to any sites and buildings
in Iraq. They would also have the right to remove or destroy any weapons, or
related items, they found. On 27 January, the Security Council heard formal
briefings by the heads of the weapons inspections regime in Iraq. The
Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Hans Blix, stated that it appeared Iraq had
decided in principle to cooperate with inspections. At the same time, Blix
drew attention to some outstanding issues and questions: UNMOVIC had
conflicting information regarding chemical agents, including indications
that particular agents had been weaponized; a number of chemical bombs
containing some 1,000 tons of chemical agent were unaccounted for; and
several thousand chemical rockets were also unaccounted for. On biological
agents, Blix said Iraq had provided little evidence for its declared
production of 8,500 litres of anthrax and no convincing evidence of its
destruction. Blix also noted that significant questions remained as to
whether Iraq had retained SCUD-type missiles after the Gulf War. The
Director-General of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, told the Council that, to
date, the Agency had found no evidence that Iraq had revived its nuclear
weapons program.
Questions to consider from your government’s perspective on this
issue include the following
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Has time
run out on the issue of compliance? If it has, what actions
should the Council take; if it hasn’t, what can the Council
or your country do to ensure that Iraq will fully comply
with weapons inspections requirements?
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Should
sanctions be continued? Modified? Are they effective?
Bibliography
Associated Press, “Iraqi: Weapons Inspectors Not Needed.” The New York
Times, 12 Aug 2002.
“Baghdad Invites UN Inspectors, Reversing Past Refusal.” UN Wire, 1 Aug
2002.
Crossette, Barbara, “Annan Reaffirms UN Role in Iraq Weapons Inspections.”
The New York Times, 7 Aug 2002.
Crossette, Barbara, “Iraqis, Reversing Course, Ask to Meet with UN Arms
Inspectors.” The New York Times, 3 Aug 2002.
Crossette, Barbara. “UN Sanctions Didn’t Stop Iraq From Buying Weapons.” The
New York Times, 18 Jun 2001.
“Former UN Aides Say Sanctions Amount to Genocide.” UN Wire, 18 Jun 2001.
“Hussein Says OK To Inspections; US Focuses On Regime Change.” UN Wire, 11
Aug 2002.
“Security Council Calls For Continuing UN Talks With Baghdad,” UN Wire, 8
Jul 2002.
“Security Council Approves “Smart Sanctions,” To Take Effect May 30,” UN
Wire, 13 May 2002.
UN Documents
S/2002/664, 13 Jun 2002, SG Report on Iraq/Kuwait
S/2002/419, 15 April 2002, SG Report on Iraq/Kuwait
S/2002/323, 28 Mar 2002, SG Report on the Iraq/Kuwait Observer Mission
S/2001/582, 12 Jun 2001, SG Report on Iraq/Kuwait
S/2001/505, 18 May 2001, SG Report on Iraq
S/2001/287, 28 Mar 2001, SG Report on Iraq-Kuwait
S/2001/186, 2 Mar 2001, SG Report pursuant to paragraph 5 of resolution 1330
(2000) - Iraq
S/Res/1454 (2002)
S/Res/1447 (2002)
S/Res/1443 (2002)
S/Res/1441 (2002)
S/Res/1409 (2002) -- includes revised sanctions procedures
S/Res/1360 (2001)
Additional Web Resources
http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/new/pages/chronology.asp -
UNMOVIC
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_timeline_of_the_2003_invasion_of_iraq
-- History Commons
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