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Canada Trying to Break UN Impasse on Iraq
By Paul Knox
The Globe and Mail January 28, 1999 The United Nations Security Council is considering a Canadian proposal as diplomats seek to break a deadlock over weapons inspections and sanctions against Iraq.
The Canadian plan would set up two new panels of experts. One would assess Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons systems; the other would examine the effect of UN sanctions on the Iraqi people. A third panel favoured by some council members would deal with Kuwaiti missing persons from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, as well as Kuwaiti properties and archives stolen when Iraqi troops occupied the country from August, 1990, to February, 1991.
The plan, presented by Canada's UN ambassador Robert Fowler on Jan. 18 and revised yesterday, has been accepted in principle by the United States. Russia and France have raised objections, however, and the council will continue an informal debate on it today or tomorrow, a UN-based diplomat said.
"What we are proposing is a simple procedural mechanism to solve a problem that has made it difficult for the council to move forward on this issue," a Canadian statement distributed to reporters said. The pivotal weapons panel would assess "the existing body of information relating to the state of disarmament in Iraq and make recommendations to the council regarding the re-establishment of an effective disarmament regime in Iraq," the Canadian mission said.
Canada, which began a two-year stint on the council Jan. 1, originally suggested that the panels be headed by two UN undersecretaries-general -- Jayanatha Dhanapala, responsible for disarmament, and Sergio Vieira de Mello, responsible for humanitarian affairs.
Council members appear to favour a proposal by Argentina that both panels be headed by Brazilian Ambassador Celso Amorim. Brazil is currently serving a one-month term in the 15-member council's presidency, which Canada will assume on Feb. 1.
The UN-based diplomat said Russia was seeking to have a fresh UN team visit Iraq to report on its compliance with UN resolutions ordering the destruction of weapons systems, while France was insisting that the plan's objectives were unclear.
After a round of U.S.-British bombing raids, Iraq said last month it would no longer co-operate with the UN Special Commission set up in 1991 to report on Iraqi weapons systems. UNSCOM must certify that weapons of mass destruction have been dismantled before crippling UN sanctions against Iraq can be dropped. But the commission, which Iraq has accused of spying for the United States, says the regime of President Saddam Hussein continues to conceal critical information and equipment. Meanwhile, U.S. planes continue selective strikes against Iraqi targets.
The United States initially insisted that UNSCOM and its highly trained weapons experts be allowed back into Iraq before the air strikes ceased. In the council, however, it has shown support for the Canadian plan.
The panel looking at disarmament under the Canadian plan would include UNSCOM's 22 commissioners and officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has monitored Iraqi nuclear systems. The panels probably would take several days, if not weeks, to complete their assessments, the diplomat said.
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