Secretary-General discusses 'outline plan' during trip to Teheran, Baghdad.Secretary-General discusses "outline plan' during trip to Teheran, Baghdad "Big Five' Foreign Ministers call Council resolution 598 "sole basis' for settlement SECRETARY-GENERAL Javier Perez de Cuellar Pé·rez de Cuél·lar , Javier Born 1920. Peruvian diplomat who served as secretary-general of the United Nations (1982-1991). , during a five-day peace mission to Iran and Iraq in September, presented to both parties an "outline plan' for implementation of Security Council resolution 598. That text, adopted unanimously on 20 July, calls for an immediate cease-fire, an end to all military actions in the region, withdrawal of forces to internationally recognized boundaries, dispatch of a team of United Nations observers to supervice those actions, and consideration of the question of entrusting an impartial body to inquire into responsibility for the conflict (see story, p. 19). The plan, Mr. Perez de Cuellar reported at a press conference on his return to Headquarters on 16 September, had been "very carefully considered and discussed'. Earlier that day, he had reported in private session to Council members on his mission, which he described as "useful and extremely interesting' and had helped him find out what the two parties "had at the back of their minds'. The Council must now assess the situation according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. what he had told them, he added. A United Nations spokesman on 9 September described the Secretary-General's mission as taking place within the framework of mandates given him by the Security Council to seek prompt implementation of resolution 598. In Teheran, which he visited from 11 to 13 September, the Secretary-General met President Ali Khamenei, Majlis Majlis (مجلس) is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting" used to describe various types of formal legislative assemblies in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries. Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani, Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati (علیاکبر ولایتی; born June 25, 1945 in Shemiran) is an Iranian politician and a pediatrician, currently an Advisor in International Affairs to the Supreme Leader. and other senior officials. In Baghdad from 13 to 15 September, the Secretary-General conferred with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. , Deputy Prime Minister A Deputy Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting Prime Minister when the real Prime Minister is temporarily absent. and Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz Mikhail Yuhanna, later and more popularly known as Tariq Aziz or Tareq Aziz, (Arabic: طارق عزيز, Syriac: ܜܪܩ ܥܙܝܙ and senior Foreign Ministry officials. Mr. Perez de Cuellar told reporters that he had been warmly received in both capitals, and had discussed, at the highest levels, point by point, all of resolution 598. There had also been full discussion of implementation of the resolution. All discussions had been "extremely frank', he said. In April 1985, the Secretary-General had visited Iran and Iraq to discuss an eight-point peace plan he had proposed a month earlier. The underlying premise of those proposals, he said at that time, was that his "overriding constitutional responsibility' under the Charter was to seek to end the conflict. Those proposals had envisaged that both parties would enter into sustained discussions to deal with the issues of attacks on civilian population centres, use of chemical weapons, treatment of prisoners of war prisoners of war, in international law, persons captured by a belligerent while fighting in the military. International law includes rules on the treatment of prisoners of war but extends protection only to combatants. and safety of navigation and civil aviation, in the framework of the broader efforts by the Secretary-General to end the conflict. Efforts commended On 25 September, the Secretary-General met with the Foreign Ministers of the five permanent Security Council members-- Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Xuequian, French Foreign Minister Jean-Bernard Raimond Jean-Bernard Raimond (born February 6, 1926 in Paris) is a conservative French politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of Jacques Chirac from 1986 to 1988, as French ambassador to a number of states from the 1970s to the 1990s, and as a deputy in the French , Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ შევარდნაძე; Russian: , United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, PC, QC (born 20 December 1926), known until 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, is a senior British Conservative politician. and United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Secretary of State George Shultz. In a statement issued after that meeting, Mr. Perez de Cuellar said that the goal of the five permanent members and that of the Council as a whole was to bring an end to the Iran-Iraq conflict. The permanent members regarded implementation of Council resolution 598 as the "sole basis for a comprehensive, just, honourable and durable settlement of the conflict'. The permanent Council members, the Secretary-General stated, had commended him for his efforts thus far and gave full support to his efforts to implement the resolution. They had stated their determination to continue to work with each other within the Council, and said they would "continue to work on the ways and means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. to secure full and rapid implementation of resolution 598', as well as on further steps to ensure compliance with that resolution. On 29 September, a spokesman for the Secretary-General said that Mr. Perez de Cuellar was awaiting the Security Council's further guidance before taking any further action. Give peace a chance During August and September, Security Council members held informal consultations regarding the intensifying conflict between Iran and Iraq, and the Secretary-General continued his private contacts with officials of both countries. On 11 August, following Council consultations on the situation, Mr. Perez de Cuellar had told correspondents that he had "detailed ideas' on how resolution 598 should be implemented, but nothing could be done without the political will of all concerned. "The choice is not between confrontation and appeasement appeasement Foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved nation through negotiation in order to prevent war. The prime example is Britain's policy toward Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. . The choice is between giving peace a real chance or continuing to use force to pursue one's own aims.' Under resolution 598, in paragraph 10, the Council decided to meet again as necessary to consider "further steps to ensure compliance' with the resolution, giving rise to widespread speculation as to whether it would ultimately decide to impose an arms embargo An arms embargo is an embargo that applies to weaponry. It may also include "dual use" items. An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:
On 28 September, General Assembly President Peter Florin welcomed the Secretary-General's 25 September statement, stating that a cease-fire and independent body to look into the responsibility for the conflict would "certainly contribute to a rapid withdrawal of the foreign warships from the Gulf' and "also reduce the danger of an escalation of the military conflict in this very sensitive region'. Gulf situation The Secretary-General has indicated that the situation in the Gulf was included in his mandate, because of paragraph 8 of resolution 598. Under that provision, the Council asked the Secretary-General to examine, in consultation with Iran and Iraq and with other States of the region, measures to enhance the security and stability of the region. On 22 September, the United States informed the President of the Security Council (S/19149), that it had "exercised its inherent right of self-defense under international law by taking defensive action' against an Iranian naval vessel it said it discovered laying mines in shipping lanes used by United States and other vessels in international waters 50 miles north-east of Bahrain. The same day, Iran told the Secretary-General (A/19153) that a United States helicopter gunship gun·ship n. An armed aircraft, such as a helicopter, that is used to support troops and provide fire cover. "attacked, without warning' an Iranian commercial vessel A commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel (i.e. boat or ship) engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire. This would exclude pleasure craft that do not carry passengers for hire or warships. , which it said was carrying "materials and victuals'. That constituted "another serious attempt to block any constructive activity towards achieving a just and durable peace'. On 29 September, Iran (S/19161) told the Secretary-General that the United States claim that the Iranian ship was laying mines was "total fabrication'. Photo: Representatives of the world's press question the Secretary-General outside the Secretariat building after his return from his peace mission. Photo: A Pilgrimage of Peace In Teheran with President Ali Khamenei In Baghdad with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz A packed gallery in the Security Council witnesses adoption of resolution 598 on 20 July. |
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