Iraqi oil revenues to be transferred to pay for consequences of Kuwait invasion.

UN inspectors enter Baghdad Ministry after 22-day stand-off

The Security Council on 2 October decided to assume control of Iraq's assets frozen outside that country - estimated at between $500 million and $1 billion - to compensate victims of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and to defray the costs of UN activities related to Iraq.

In unanimously adopting resolution 778(1992) by a vote of 14 to none, with 1 abstention (China), the Council condemned Iraq's continued failure to comply with its obligations under relevant Council resolution. The resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Iraqi oil funds specified in the resolution would be transferred to a UN escrow account administered by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who would use the fund to pay for UN activities related to Iraq and shift 30 per cent of that account to the UN Compensation Fund, created by the Council on 20 May 1991 to pay claims against Irag arising from its invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

The Council decided that the resolution would be suspended if Iraq agreed to export its oil, pursuant to the system provided in Council resolutions 706 (1991) of 15 August and 712 (1991) of 19 September or if it decided to lift sanctions against Iraq.

(By resolution 706, the Council had stipulated terms for the limited sale - not to exceed $1.6 billion initially - of Iraqi oil and oil products under strict conditions and close UN monitoring, with the revenues to be used for humanitarian purposes. Under resolution 712, the Council created a basic structure and set out measures for the sale of Iraqi oil.)

In resolution 778, the Council reaffirmed its concern about the nutritional and health situation of the Iraqi civilian population and the risk of a further deterioration of that situation. It also deplored Iraq's refusal to cooperate in the implementation of resolutions 706 and 712 which, it stated, "provide a mechanism for providing humanitarian relief to the Iraqi population". Iraq, the Council said, was putting its civilian population at risk by refusing to cooperate.

During the Council debate, the United States stressed that resolutions 706 and 712 had created a mechanism to fund UN operations - mandated by resolution 687 (1991), as well as UN humanitarian relief operations in Iraq - from Iraqi oil sales.

Resolution 687, adopted on 3 April 1991, set detailed conditions for a formal cease-fire, ending the hostilities resulting from Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and provided conditions essential to the restoration of peace and security in the region. Among the conditions was total Iraqi compliance with UN decisions.

A reasonable response

The United States said that resolution 778 was a "reasonable and proportionate" response to Iraq's intrasigence. Iraqi asset would thus be "borrowed" for the Secretary-General's use to pay for UN operations, such as the Special Commission on Iraqi disarmament, the Compensation Fund and humanitarian programmes.

China, in explaining its vote, said it hopped for an agreement between the UN Secretariat and Iraq on the export of Iraqi oil, so that relevant Council resolutions could be effectively implemented. In view of that, it was unnecessary to "take so extraordinary a measure as the seizure of frozen assets overseas". The seizure of a country's frozen assets abroad was a matter that concerned its sovereignty and involved complicated legal implications.

Funds to be transferred

The text of resolution 778 states that the Council has decided that all States in which there were Iraqi funds derived from the sale of Iraqi petroleum or petroleum products should transfer those funds to a UN escrow account administered by the Secretariat-General.

States in which there was petroleum or there were petroleum products owned by the Iraqi Government or its State bodies, corporations or agencies were to purchase them or arrange for their sale and transfer the proceeds to the escrow account, the Council decided.

The Council asked the Secretary-General to determine the location and amounts of Iraqi oil and the proceeds of its sale, as well as the costs of UN activities related to Iraq, including the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, the provision of humanitarian relief, facilitating the return of Kuwaiti property and the work of the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission.

Iraq position

On 30 September, Iraq told the General Assembly that attempts were being made to seize Iraq's frozen assets which had no justification or legality whatsoever, since Iraq had cooperated in good faith with the UN to agree on the export of Iraqi oil and the use of the revenues thereof.

While Iraq endeavored in earnest to implement its obligations under Council resolutions, the Council had failed to take any step in return towards lifting the blockade or even easing the economic fetters imposed on Iraq. The campaigns of threats and intimidation under cover of UN resolutions continued unabated, Iraq said, in order to create the right climate for the economic blockade to remain in place and for new military strikes to be perpetrated against Iraq to destabilize its political system.

Iraq wanted to be allowed to export crude oil and oil products to produce a net return of no less than $4 billion for a period of six months. Net returns of exports should be deposited in a UN escrow account to purchase foodstuff, medicines and other civilian needs. The Council should name certain countries from which goods might be purchased in line with normal commercial practices.

Iraq would grant 5 per cent of the net return to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as a contribution towards international relief work in Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries.

Staff-off ends

Iraq on 26 July agreed to allow members of a UN inspection team of the Special Commission on Iraqi disarmament into the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation building in Baghdad, ending a 22-day stand-off.

The incident began on 5 July when access was denied to the UN team, which suspected that Iraq was storing documents relevant to ballistic missiles, as well as information on military suppliers, in the building. Iraq said a search would violate its sovereignty.

Team members kept a round-the-clock watch on the building to prevent removal of material.

On 22 July, after 17 days, team members left the area on the Chief Inspector's indication that there was a threat of violence against the team and totally inadequate Iraqi Government security protection, according to the Special Commission. The body is mandated by the Council to monitor and inspect Iraq's activities in the area of weapons of mass destruction - biological, chemical and nuclear.

Commission Chairman Rolf Ekeus joined a new team of inspectors in Baghdad on 28 July after being assured that the Commission would have full access to the Ministry.

On 6 July, Council members had expressed concern at Iraq's refusal to permit the team to enter certain premises designated by the Commission for inspection.

In a statement issued by Council President Jose Luis Jesus of Cape Verde following consultations, members recalled that under resolution 687 Iraq was required to permit the Commission to undertake immediate on-site inspection of any locations designated by the Commission.

The statement pointed out that Iraq had agreed to such inspections as a condition precedent to the establishment of a formal cease-fire between Iraq and Kuwait and the Members States cooperating with Kuwait, in accordance with Council resolution 678 of 29 November 1991. That text, among other things, authorized the use by Member States of "all necessary means" to implement relevant Council resolutions and to restore international peace and security in the area.

An unacceptable breach

The Council said Iraq's refusal to permit access constituted a material and unacceptable breach by Iraq of resolution 687.

Council members demanded that Iraq immediately admit the inspectors so that the Commission might establish whether or not any documents, records, materials or equipment relevant to the Commission's responsibilities were located there.

Mr. Ekeus, after visiting Baghdad, told the press that Iraq was prepared to invite experts from neutral and non-aligned countries to visit the building. While in Baghdad, he warned Iraq of "serious, even tragic consequences" if it persisted in its refusal to authorize an inspection of the building

He also said Commission personnel had been increasingly subjected to acts of harrassment, including one in which a man with a skewer attempted to stab a UN inspector.

Iraq on 22 July said (S/24336) that, since the Commission began work in April 1991, it had provided complete security for inspectors and Commission members, even though some members had "tried in every way to incite and provoke the Iraqi officials and citizens".

The inspection team at the Agriculture Ministry had been provided with all the protection requested. The decision to withdraw "stems from the dilemma in which the Special Commission found itself after Iraq had expressed its readiness to accept the formation of a neutral team to inspect the Ministry in order to ascertain the falsity of allegations concerning the presence of prohibited materials on its premises". The underlying intention was to create a situation enabling influential Council members "harbouring hostility towards Iraq to commit unlawful intervention, thereby achieving their political aims through aggression", Iraq maintained.

After an agreement was reached on 26 July, ending the 22-day stand-off, the Commission team inspected the Ministry building, accompanied by Chairman Ekeus. On 30 July, after reporting to the Council, he said the search was a full and complete success, adding that no material relating to Iraq's proscribed weapons programme had been found.

The team's Chief Inspector, Achim Biermann of Germany, reported on 5 August that no documentation or equipment of direct relevance to resolution 687 had been found. He also stated that it could not be excluded that documents or equipment were removed during the period when the team could not carry out its inspection.

Other inspections

The 26 July inspection was the twelfth in a series of inspections of Iraq's ballistic missile capabilities. Eleven earlier inspections had been carried out between 30 June 1991 and 12 May 1992.

The thirteenth ballistic inspection took place from 7 to 18 August, when a team headed by Nikita Smidovich of the Russian Federation visited Iraq. The team reported it had obtained |important new information on proscribed Iraqi programmes". However, no evidence was found that Iraq had the capability indigenously to produce complete guidance and control systems for ballistic missiles, nor were any weapons or key components prohibited under resolution 687 discovered.

The thirteenth and fourteenth inspections of Iraq's nuclear capabilities took place from 14 to 21 July and from 31 August to 7 September, respectively. Twelve previous inspections were carried out between 14 May 1991 and 4 June 1992.

The IAEA reported (S/24450 and S/24593) that the work begun during the twelfth inspection to destroy key installations at the Tarmiya and Ash Sharqat electromagnetic isotope separator (EMIS) sites was largely completed during the thirteenth inspection. Eight buildings, four at each site, were destroyed. The Iraqi side was asked to complete the new remaining activities before the end of August for verification by the next team.

Among other things, the fourteenth team verified the completion of the destruction by the Iraqi side of selected buildings at the EMIS sites at Tarmiya and Ash Sharqat.

A team of three scientific experts visited Iraq from 5 to 12 September and inspected and tested two plants built to destroy Iraq's chemical weapons. The results were described as "very successful". The experts inspected and ran commissioning tests on the two plants, constructed at Muthanna by Iraq after a design that was approved and supervised by the Special Commission. The destruction of Iraq's chemical weapons is expected to take 6 to 12 months.

It was announced on 24 September that the Special Commission had begun the destruction of nerve agents on a large scale in a newly-commissioned hydrolysis plant.

The ninth in a series of inspections of Iraq's chemical capabilities took place from 21 to 29 September. The first eight were held between 9 June 1991 and 29 April 1992. The ninth team conducted a survey of the quantities and locations of chemical agents and munitions awaiting destruction.

Humanitarian aspects

On 22 October 1992, an agreement was reached in principle on a Memorandum of Understanding until the end of March 1993 for the UN humanitarian programme in Iraq.

The previous Memorandum was originally signed on 18 April 1991. It had been extended in November 1991 and had expired on 30 June 1992.

In a 25 September statement, the Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council - Qian Qichen of China, Roland Dumas of France, Andrei V. Kozyrev of the Russian Federation, Sir David Hannay of the United Kingdom (representing Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd) and Acting Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger of the United States - deplored persistent Iraqi non-compliance with relevant Council resolutions and expressed deep concern at the deteriorating conditions affecting the safety of UN personnel in Iraq.

On 4 September, Jan Eliasson, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the press in New York that there were security problems for the personnel carrying out the humanitarian programme in Iraq. Working conditions were far from ideal in several parts of the country, and travel and visa restrictions made it difficult for those people to operate. The programme was grinding to a halt.

On 4 September, Iraq told the Council President (S/24520) that security measures could only be effective if the movements of UN staff were "closely coordinated with the competent Iraqi authorities".

Iraq had warned UN officials in charge that "some parties loyal to the Western countries", together with Iranian and Kurdish elements protected by those countries, sought

Highlights

The Assembly's plenary is to review and act on a wide variety of topics, including the Middle East, Central America, Cambodia, southern Africa and the consequences of Iraqi occupation of an aggression against Kuwait.

The Assembly was expected to adopt a resolution commending the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction that was adopted in Geneva by the Conference on Disarmament, and recommending its opening for signature with the formal signing ceremony envisaged to take place in Paris, probably in January 1993. The new Convention creates the most extensive verification mechanism ever included in an international disarmament convention.

The Assembly is also expected to decide to hold a World Summit on Social Development in 1995 and establish a Sustainable Development Commission to assess national environment policies and implementation of "Agenda 21", the international plan adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June.

The Assembly is expected to adopt a set of principles, developed over 13 years of debate in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, containing goals and guidelines to ensure the safe use of nuclear power sources in outer space, to be known as the Principles Relevant to the Use of the Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space.

The forty-seventh Assembly is schedule to recess on 18 December and officially conclude on 20 September 1993.

Among the 167 participants in the general debate - a record number - were 24 Heads of State, 1 Vice-President, 13 Prime Ministers, 10 Deputy Prime Minister, 103 Foreign Minister and 16 Chairmen of delegations. The annual exercise took place between 21 September and 8 October.

On 25 September, the Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council issued a statement following a meeting with the Secretary-General, which reviewed the Organization's priorities over the past year.

In the statement, Qian Qichen of China, Roland Dumas of France, Andrei V. Kozyrev of the Russian Federation, Sir David Hannay of the United Kingdom (representing Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd) and Acting Secretary of State Lawrence. S. Eagleburger of the United States pledged support for the Secretary-General's "Agenda For Peace" report, issued on 23 June (A/47/277-S/24111).

The Agenda, a multi-faceted plan to enable the UN to take up a wider mission in the pursuit and preservation of world peace, features many novel proposals designed to hone the UN's ability to identify conflicts, bring about their short-term and long-term resolution, and foster peace among former adversaries.

Yugoslavia

On 22 September, the Assembly decided that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Serbia and Montenegro) could not automatically continue the UN membership of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and that it should apply for membership and "shall not" participate in the Assembly's work.

Resolution 47/1 was adopted by a recorded vote of 127 to 6 (Kenya, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe), with 26 abstentions.

The Assembly's action marked the first time it has explicitly decided that a Member State may not participate in its work. In 1974, the Assembly upheld a ruling by its President, interpreting the Assembly's rejection of South Africa's credentials, which had the effect of barring South African representatives from participating in the work of that session.

Before the vote, Milan Panic, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said his Government was pursuing a programme of peace and needed the Assembly's understanding and help. From the first day that the new Government of Yugoslavia had been formed two months ago, it had cooperated with the UN in every way and would continue to do so regardless of the action taken by the Assembly. He formally requested membership in the UN on behalf of "the new Yugoslavia".

Introducing the draft resolution, Sir David Hannay of the United Kingdom said the Council on 19 September had recommended the action in line with UN Charter procedures on membership questions. The Council, which would consider the matter again before the end of the year, had adopted resolution 777 (1992) by a vote of 12 to none, with 3 abstentions (China, India, Zimbabwe).

Conditions for admission were clear, he went on. The applicant must be a peace-loving State, it must accept obligations contained in the Charter an it must, in the Organization's judgement, be able and willing to carry out those obligations. The authorities in Belgrade should convince the UN that they have met those admission requirements. The resolution was neither a punitive measure nor was it designed to undermine the peace process. ulations with practically no protection or support.

Recent bombardment by Iraqi aircraft of the southern marshes pointed to a possible major military effort by the Government to restore control over that region, regardless of casualties.

Iraq rejected the allegations, stating that the Special Rapporteus should have sought clarification from the Government. Iraq had not mistreated either its northern or southern populations.

No-fly zone

On 26 August, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, members of the coalition in the Persian Gulf war, demanded that Iraq cease all aircraft flights over the southern part of that country within 24 hours, stating that the ban was required to prevent Iraqi armed repression of the region's large Shi'ite Muslim population. The ban would include Iraqi military and civilian flights below the 32nd parallel, a swath covering the lower quarter of Iraq.

United States President George Bush warned that the coalition would "respond decisively" if Iraq ignored the order. Surveillance missions would begin over southern Iraq to monitor the situation there, he added.

On 21 August, Iraq told the Secretary-General (S/24475) that the true objective of the operation was to "divide Iraq on an ethnic and confessional basis in order to control it, plunder its wealth and enslave its people". relief operation.

International agencies had gradually withdrawn because of continuing harassment, travel restrictions and Iraq's refusal to grant visas, leaving those populations with practically no protection or support.

Recent bombardment by Iraqi aircraft of the southern marshes pointed to a possible major military effort by the Government to restore control over that region, regardless of casualties.

Iraq rejected the allegations, stating that the Special Rapporteur should have sought clarification from the Government. Iraq had not mistreated either its northern or southern populations.

No-fly zone

On 26 August, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, members of the coalition in the Persian Gulf war, demanded that Iraq cease all aircraft flights over the southern part of that country within 24 hours, stating that the ban was required to prevent Iraqi armed repression of the region's large Shi'ite Muslim population. The ban would include Iraqi military and civilian flights below the 32nd parallel, a swarth covering the lower quarter of Iraq.

United States President George Bush warned that the coalition would "respond decisively" if Iraq ignored the order. Surveillance mission would begin over southern Iraq to monitor the situation there, he added.

On 21 August, Iraq told the Secretary-General (S/24475) that the true objective of the operation was to "divide Iraq on an ethnic and confessional basis in order to control it, plunder its wealth and enslave its people".