Security Council to vote tomorrow to phase out Iraq-Kuwait border mission

The United Nations Security Council today discussed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recommendation to phase out by 6 October the UN peacekeeping operation that for nearly 12 years monitored the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait, and is set to vote tomorrow on a draft resolution approving the measure.

The Council, meeting in closed session, was briefed by Julian Harston of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on Mr. Annan's latest report on the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM), which has been overtaken by the new situation arising from the war in Iraq.

A draft resolution approving the recommendations, including the disposal of UNIKOM's non-removable property, was introduced and will be voted on tomorrow, the Council President for the July, Ambassador Inocencio F. Arias of Spain, told a news briefing.

Praising the operation, which was created to deter violations and report on hostile action along the border following Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Persian Gulf war, Mr. Annan said in his report: "From April 1991 to mid-March 2003, UNIKOM was a successful and in many ways a model United Nations peacekeeping operation."