Time running out for Iraqi compliance with demands to disarm, Security Council told

Warning that time was running out for Iraq to comply with resolutions calling for the dismantling of its weapons of mass destruction, some members of the United Nations Security Council said today that the 15-nation body needed to uphold its responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.

Welcoming the presentation by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell of his country's evidence of Iraq's failure to comply with the Council's demands, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of the United Kingdom said the Council had united to send Iraq an uncompromising message: cooperate fully with weapons inspections or face disarmament by force. Resolution 1441 is a powerful reminder of the importance of international law and the authority of the Security Council itself, but its logic was now inescapable: time was now very short, he stressed. If non-cooperation continued, the Council must meet its responsibilities. Now was a moment of choice for Saddam and the Iraqi regime, Mr. Straw emphasized, adding that it was also a moment of choice for the United Nations. The League of Nations had failed because it could not create actions from its words. "We owe it to our history, as well as to our future, not to make the same mistake again," Mr. Straw said.

Mr. Solomon Passy

Solomon Passy, Bulgaria's Minister for Foreign Affairs, stressed that Iraq's cooperation has been unsatisfactory on substantive issues identified by the UN inspectors, and he insisted that Iraq provide all additional information confirming the destruction of any available weapons of mass destruction. Bulgaria expected Iraq to comply fully with its disarmament obligations by the next briefing by inspectors, scheduled for 14 February. "Effective and peaceful disarmament of Iraq is still possible through the implementation of 1441," he said. At the same time, the world community must assume its responsibilities. If, in the near future, inspectors did not report a change of attitude on Iraq's part, the Council will have to take "all necessary and appropriate action to ensure implementation of relevant resolutions adopted since 1990," he told the ministerial-level meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany, which holds the Council's rotating presidency for the month of February.

Ms. Ana Palacio

Foreign Minister Ana Palacio of Spain said the data presented today led to a conclusion that Iraq was "deceiving the international community" and violating its obligations established under resolution 1441. "It is time to send a message that accumulation of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq is a threat to international peace and security," she said, adding that the inspection process was not "an end in itself." The inspections could only bear fruit with active cooperation by Iraq and so far, that was not the case. The Council's credibility was at stake in the face of 12 years of consistent non-compliance by Iraq. Even though Iraq "must face the most serious consequences for its non-compliance," there was still a chance for that country if it radically modified its behaviour. "Now, the international community is offering the last chance to Saddam Hussein, "and I hope he will not miss that opportunity," Ms. Palacio said.