BackgroundWhen the Security Council met this morning, it had before it the Secretary-General’s latest report on Iraq, dated 5 December (document S/2003/1149), in which he says it is impossible to forecast, at this juncture, if and when circumstances will permit the full deployment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
Clearly, he states, the operation will need to build up incrementally, at a pace and scope that cannot yet be defined. Thus, the bulk of UNAMI staff will be located temporarily in Nicosia. Additional UNAMI staff will be deployed to a small office in Amman and to other locations in the region, as required.
He says he envisages an integrated core of approximately 40 international UNAMI staff in total –- consisting of political, human rights, public information, humanitarian and developmental programme officers, as well as security and administrative/logistics support specialists –- to be in place by early 2004. This number would be expected to increase to up to 60 international staff (to cater for a personal security detail and immediate front office staff) once a new Special Representative has been appointed. The core UNAMI team will initially be managed by Ross Mountain, who will serve as acting Special Representative, until a new Special Representative is appointed.
The report sets forth the following: United Nations activities and key developments in Iraq from 17 July to 19 August; the events of 19 August, when the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad was attacked “with devastating consequences and implications”; and the actions taken by the United Nations in the aftermath, including the relocation of most international staff; the United Nations relief, recovery and reconstruction planning activities; key political developments; and an action plan for security; the deployment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI); and the conduct of United Nations relief, recovery and reconstruction activities in Iraq.
It recognizes that in many areas, including the advancement of basic human rights, such as freedom of speech and of political assembly, as well as the provision of basic services and the reconstitution of the local police, very real progress has been made in Iraq in the past few months. This progress should not be underestimated; nor should the efforts of the Coalition Provisional Authority and newly emerging Iraqi institutions be overlooked.
At the same time, the report finds, the dangers posed by insurgents, whose attacks have been growing in sophistication and strength over the past months, are real. The activities of these insurgents, about whose nature more needs to be known, have inflicted serious damage on the United Nations, the diplomatic community, international non-governmental organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Coalition forces, in addition to killing a large number of Iraqis.
In order to mitigate the possibility that this insurgency will grow over time, quantitatively and qualitatively, various steps will need to be taken, the report states. First and foremost, actions need to be taken recognizing that the mounting insecurity problem cannot be solved through military means alone. A political solution is required. That entails making the political transition process more inclusive, so as to bring in additional groups and individuals that have thus far been excluded, or that have excluded themselves. It means truly empowering Iraqi institutions to take the decisions that will shape the political and economic future of their country.
In order to command widespread support, the report says, these institutions need to function effectively and transparently. Political steps of this kind would make it clearer that the foreign occupation of Iraq is to be short-lived –- and that it will soon give way to a fully fledged Iraqi Government empowered to rally support. Within that context, the announcement in the 15 November agreement setting forth a clear timetable and a precise date for the formation of a sovereign Iraqi Government and the dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority is an important step in the right direction.
According to the report, the second step involved the articulation of a national agenda, which is truly representative of all segments of Iraqi society. The third is intensified efforts by Coalition forces to demonstrate that they are adhering strictly to international humanitarian law and human rights instruments –- even in the face of deliberate and provocative terrorist attacks, sometimes against vulnerable and defenceless civilians. That would make it much more difficult for the insurgents to rally support for their cause. In this connection, the use of lethal force by the Coalition forces should be proportionate and discriminating. Special care should be taken to avoid inflicting casualties in innocent Iraqi civilians.
The Secretary-General says in the report that, although he has had to temporarily relocate most United Nations international staff outside the country, the United Nations will not disengage from Iraq. On the contrary, even following the tragic events of 19 August, the United Nations has carried out a massive amount of assistance, in large measure through the skilled and heroic efforts of its Iraqi staff, as well as those who were relocated to Amman, Kuwait and other locations in the region. He has now set in motion the process of assembling in the region a core of UNAMI so that the United Nations can be in a position to move swiftly back to the country if the Iraqi people seek the Organization’s assistance, and if circumstances on the ground permit.
On the political front, the Secretary-General says he has been personally engaged with heads of State and government and foreign ministers around the world in an effort to help forge an international consensus on the way forward. Regarding a physical presence inside Iraq, the United Nations will continue to operate under severe constraints in the coming weeks and months. He cannot afford to compromise the security of our international and national staff. In taking the difficult decisions that lie ahead, he will be asking himself questions such as “whether the substance of the role allocated to the United Nations is proportionate to the risks we are being asked to take, whether the political process is fully inclusive and transparent and whether the humanitarian tasks in question are truly life-saving, or not”.
He says he will also ask what the Iraqis themselves expect of the United Nations, and whether its activities serve the cause of restoring to them, as soon as possible, full control over their own destiny and resources. Meanwhile, though the context for their deployment will and must change soon, it is likely that Iraq will continue to require assistance, in the form of a substantial military presence, for a number of years to come. The Iraqi people need to be reassured that, if and when a new Iraqi Government requests such assistance on behalf of the Iraqi people, it will be forthcoming, not only from the current contributors to the United States-led Coalition, but from a broad range of other countries, as well.
“The future of a nation of more than 26 million people and of a volatile region is at stake”, the Secretary-General concludes. The process of restoring peace and stability to Iraq “cannot be allowed to fail”. The consequences for Iraqis themselves, the region and the international community as a whole would be disastrous. Too many Iraqis and representatives of the international community, including deeply respected and gifted United Nations colleagues, have sacrificed their lives. Their sacrifice cannot be allowed to have been in vain.
Statement by Secretary-General
Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Iraq this morning, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the capture of Saddam Hussein was not just a symbol of the downfall of the former regime in Iraq, but also a chance for a new beginning in the vital task of helping Iraqis to take control of their destiny.
He said it was right that Mr. Hussein should be held to account for his past deeds, through a procedure that met the highest international standards of due process, he said. Accounting for the past would be an important part of bringing about national reconciliation -- a process that was vital to Iraq and to all Iraqis.
The Secretary-General said that the 26 million people of Iraq had endured decades of war, sanctions, tyranny and misery. They were now living through a process that would define the future of their country. For their sake, and for the memory of those who had given their lives to help the people of Iraq, that process must be made to succeed.
Describing as urgent the task of restoring the effective exercise of sovereignty to Iraqis, in the form of a provisional government, he said that Iraqis must have real ownership of the process by which they were governed. The United Nations was ready to play its “full part” in helping Iraqis resume control of their destiny and build a better future. But it was also mindful of the fact that, owing to persistent security concerns, few international United Nations staff could operate inside the country for the time being.
The challenge, therefore, had been to find creative ways of intensifying United Nations’ engagement despite its diminished capacity on the ground, he said. As his latest report made clear, despite the temporary relocation of international staff outside the country, “the United Nations had not disengaged from Iraq. Far from it. Nor does it mean that we will not return in full force when circumstances permit”, he stressed.
It was impossible to say with any certainty when circumstances would permit the return of international staff to the country on a permanent basis, he said. However, there was much that could be done -- much that was already being done -- from outside the country.
He himself remained in close contact with heads of State and government, foreign ministers and ambassadors, trying to help forge international consensus on the way forward, he added. To that end, he had convened on 1 December a meeting of members of the Security Council and States in the region. For its part, the core team of UNAMI based in the region would keep abreast of key developments on the political and human rights fronts and explore avenues of United Nations assistance, while preparing the ground for United Nations involvement in the longer term.
Meanwhile, as the report indicated, much greater clarity on what was expected of the United Nations by Iraqis and by the Coalition in terms of assistance to the political transition was needed, he said. That was not, however, as some had concluded, a formula for the United Nations to stand aloof from the process. The stakes were too high for the international community just to watch from the sidelines.
Rather, clarity had been called for because, in taking the difficult decisions that lay ahead, he needed to weigh the degree of risk the United Nations was being asked to accept against the substance of the role it was being asked to fill, he explained. It was necessary to know how responsibilities would be allocated and who would be taking what decisions. Above all, it was necessary to know what the Iraqis expected of the United Nations, and whether the Organization would be in a position to meet those expectations.
Iraq was likely to remain a difficult environment, he stressed. The end of the occupation and the formation of a provisional Iraqi Government should not be expected automatically to bring about an end to insecurity, even though some improvement should be expected. The events of the past three days should serve as a reminder to remain prudent on assessments. There was no panacea.
However, a credible and inclusive transition, he said, one that broadened the base of support for the provisional Iraqi Government, offered the best hope of stability and of political mobilization by Iraqis against the violence. At every step along the road ahead, there would be formidable challenges. But those challenges would not be insurmountable if a genuinely national Iraqi agenda was forged, and if it was supported by a united international community, including Iraq’s neighbours and key States in the region, who had a crucial role to play.
Political, financial and military assistance would be required for quite some time, he concluded. As emphasized in the report, the Iraqi people must be reassured that the international community -- current Coalition and non-Coalition members alike -- would respond generously to their requests for help. They must also be confident that the commitment would be maintained down the road, when a provisional government had been formed and the situation in Iraq no longer dominated news headlines.
