Amendments propose time limits for MNF, clarify U.N. role

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The United States and the United Kingdom have presented amendments to their draft U.N. Security Council resolution on the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty in an effort to refine the role of the multinational force (MNF), including setting a time limit to its mandate.
 
The text was presented June 1, hours after the interim Iraqi government and cabinet members were announced in Baghdad, Iraq, and the Iraqi Governing Council disbanded rather than wait until the June 30 transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
 
The amendments, said U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham, "focus the resolution text more clearly on the objective that is before the council -- which is to mark the end of the occupation and the restoration of full sovereignty to Iraq."
 
Talking with journalists after the private council meeting, Cunningham said that "a number of the amendments we proposed goes to clarifying the role of the U.N., the duration of the multinational force, how some of the economic and other aspects of the framework will come into being."
 
The U.S. ambassador said the amendments take into account many of the comments made over the past week by members of the Security Council, Iraqis, and other U.N. member nations. He said that the council now wants to hear from U.N. Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been in Iraq for several weeks helping the Iraqis form the interim government, and representatives of the new government.
 
Diplomats said that Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari is on his way to New York to meet with council members. No time has been set for the meeting, but it is expected to take place within the next few days so that the council can vote on the draft resolution as quickly as possible.
 
The amendments state that the MNF mandate shall be reviewed in 12 months, or at the request of the transitional government. The mandate will expire at the completion of the political process, or earlier if requested by the elected transitional government.
 
Cunningham defined the end of the political process as "the coming into being of a constitutionally elected government."
 
"That is when we foresee this phase of Iraq's political transformation ending and the point at which we would peg the end of the MNF mandate," he said.
 
The political process sets the holding of elections for a transitional national assembly no later than January 31, 2005. That assembly will form a transitional government and draft a new constitution leading to a constitutionally elected government. That phase of the process is expected to take until early 2006.
 
The interim government, which takes over June 30 with the end of the Coalitional Provisional Authority (CPA), will be responsible for the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi police, and border control. The relationship between the interim government and the MNF will be worked out between the two, according to the proposed amendments.
 
"What we are creating here is a partnership between the MNF and a sovereign Iraqi government," Cunningham said. "That is a relationship between two sovereigns -- those who are willing to contribute to the MNF and help Iraq -- and the sovereign (Iraqi) government."
 
"We are just beginning those discussions right now on how we're going to do that. That is something to work out amongst ourselves," the ambassador said.
 
"The point of what we are proposing is to put that kind of decision and the nature of the relationship, particularly in the future, between the MNF and the transitional government of Iraq, into the hands of Iraqis and to signify in the resolution that that's our intention," Cunningham said.
 
British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry emphasized that the amendments "will underline the full transfer of sovereignty (and) actually put in place mechanisms for a multinational force to support the stability of Iraq and to move forward in a very positive way."
 
Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali said that his first impression of the amendments "is quite positive."
 
"We believe many improvements have been brought into the draft resolution, which we welcome. They correspond to some of our concerns and preoccupations," Baali said.
 
But the Algerian ambassador said that "there is still a need to improve the text," especially paragraphs dealing with the relationship between the interim government and the multinational force.
 
"We wish to see interim government views on major military operations prevail when the MNF intends to carry out major operations. This does not appear clearly in the draft resolution," Baali said.
 
Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz recognized the effort by Britain and the United States to accommodate many of the suggestions made by members of the council since the first draft of the text was presented May 24.
 
"We are satisfied that many of those suggestions presented have been incorporated," Munoz said. "However the task is not done. We need to listen first to Ambassador Brahimi and his suggestions, to the [U.N.] secretary-general, and, most importantly, to the representatives of the sovereign interim government that has just been announced. ... Those inputs will be absolutely fundamental to improve the resolution."

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