EU Presidency Statement - Iraq and Kuwait

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Associated Countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey as well as the EFTA country of the European Economic Area Iceland align themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

Let me begin by stating that the European Union and the peoples of its member states bear no grudge against the people of Iraq. The European Union respects the sovereignty, territorial integrity and polical independence of Iraq.

In 1990 the Iraqi regime chose to invade its small and defenceless neighbour Kuwait. A broad coalition of countries from all over the world stood up against this aggression.

When the international community had liberated Kuwait, Iraq accepted inter alia to give up all its weapons of mass destruction and its long range ballistic missiles as a condition for lifting of the sanctions, imposed on Iraq by the Security Council.

For nearly 12 years the government of Iraq has failed to cooperate fully on the elimination of its weapons of mass destruction and the dismantling of its capability for producing such weapons.

In 1991 the Security Council established the United Nations Special Commission, UNSCOM, to implement the disarmament process. The Commission was, however, several times faced with unacceptable working conditions from the side of the Iraqi regime, culminating in 1998 when further access of the weapons inspectors to Iraqi territory was denied.

In 1999 the Security Council with resolution 1284 established the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, UNMOVIC, to pick up where UNSCOM had left off. As we all know, UNMOVIC has never been allowed to carry out its mandate in Iraq. As a result, no inspections have taken place in Iraq for more than four years, giving rise to serious concerns amongst the international community as to the intentions of the Government of Iraq to respect binding obligations under international law.

The Secretary General of the United Nations has worked incessantly to persuade the Iraqi regime to honour its obligations and to let the weapon inspectors from UNMOVIC and IAEA return to Iraq. Only under strong pressure from the international community has Iraq recently indicated its preparedness to receive the weapons inspectors without any conditions. This newfound position by the Iraqi regime should now be put to the test, and complete weapon of mass destruction disarmament achieved. UNMOVIC and IAEA should resume inspections as soon as possible on the basis of a reinforced mandate incorporating the practical arrangements set out in the letter of UNMOVIC and the IAEA of October 8.

The existing Security Council resolutions, the results of the Vienna talks as contained in the joint letter of the Heads of UNMOVIC and IAEA as well as any new rules the Security Council may deem necessary to decide upon should constitute the new governing standard for compliance by the Government of Iraq. This governing standard for inspections should be put to a real test as soon as possible. The government of Iraq should make no mistake about the fact that non-compliance with this inspection regime would have serious consequences.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union reiterates its demand that Iraq adheres fully to all the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, especially that it lets the UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq without any precondition and that it fully cooperates with the inspection teams in all aspects, including granting immediate and unhindered access to all sites and facilities in Iraq which the inspectors might wish to investigate. The European Union supports a new Security Council resolution strengthening the rights of inspectors to ensure they can as effectively as possible carry out the disarmament required by the relevant resolutions. An efficient inspection process in Iraq is a necessary tool for securing the dismantling of all weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles, which is our common goal. Iraq must let the inspectors in and fully cooperate in allowing them to carry out their mandate, or be held accountable for its failure to do so.

The EU reiterates its full support for the efforts of the Security Council and of the Secretary General in finding a solution to the Iraq question. The European Union emphasizes the vital importance of safeguarding and respecting the crucial role of the Security Council - present and future - in maintaining international peace and security in accordance with the UN charter and in the solution of international conflicts. We encourage all members of the Security Council to take a speedy decision that maintains a strong pressure on Iraq and gathers the widest possible support within the Council.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

| Arriba |

• Speech by Commissioner Patten on Iraq (9/10/2002)