Negotiations continue on new resolution

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- As the Security Council continued negotiations on a new resolution June 7, U.N. senior officials reported on the U.N. work in Iraq and urged the international community -- especially Iraq's neighbors, its creditors, and the Security Council -- to be generous in its support of Iraq, especially in creating conditions for genuine and credible elections by January.

The Security Council heard reports from Secretary General Kofi Annan and his special advisor for Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi on the United Nations involvement in Iraq since February. The aim was to officially put into the public records of the council an account of the United Nations activities in Iraq during the past five months to help form an interim government and begin preparations for elections which will be held no later than January 2005.

Annan told the council, "for my part, I would like to state that the process which began on the basis of the fact-finding team's report has been completed on time and in full." The February report, prepared at the request of the Iraqi Governing Council, was to determine whether it was feasible to hold elections for an interim government by June 30, 2004 and if not, by what alternative means could an interim government be formed.

"The role of the United Nations, through the good offices of Mr. Brahimi, was to help facilitate a process of national dialogue and consensus-building among Iraqis, leading to the formation of an Iraqi Interim Government," he said. "Though they are not elected, we have in place a capable and reasonably balanced interim government, poised to take power by 30 June 2004. The United Nations was fully involved in facilitating consensus on its structure and composition."

Annan also appealed to the Security Council and the international community to respond generously to Iraqi's request for assistance and support.

"Iraq is not a failed state," Annan said. "I am confident that, through the talent of its people and the natural resources it enjoys, Iraq will soon be able to resume its rightful place among the family of nations."

Referring to the role for the United Nations described in the draft resolution now under consideration by the council, he secretary general said that the U.N. is ready to do its utmost "as circumstances permit."

"We look forward to a clear definition of our role, and to the creation of all the conditions -- including the provision of security for our staff, and adequate resources -- which would allow us to implement the mandate given to us to the satisfaction of the people and to the satisfaction of this council," Annan said.

Brahimi, who also briefed the council privately over the weekend, said that "after a long, complicated and delicate process which took place under less than optimal conditions, Iraq has two institutions which are essential for the next phase: an Interim Government and a National Independent Electoral Commission."

"As you may have seen through the media, this government is generally found acceptable by the Iraqi people," Brahimi said. "Some are more cautious and, in some quarters, there may be stronger opposition but the Iraqi people seem to be willing to give them a chance to prove themselves."

"There should be no illusion, however. The days and weeks ahead will severely test this new government and the solutions to Iraq's current challenges will take years, not months to overcome," he said.

June 30 will be the beginning of a new phase in Iraq's political process, not the end, Brahimi said.

The focus of the council's work, meanwhile, is reaching agreement on the text of a resolution that will acknowledge Iraqi's sovereignty, define the relationship with the multinational forces, and set out the role for the United Nations in Iraq. The United States and United Kingdom, co-sponsors of the draft resolution, are pressing to move quickly to a vote, as early as June 8.

The council is working to reach consensus on the resolution. The unanimous adoption of the resolution, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, "would help us move forward."

Zebari's meeting with the council last week helped speed the negotiations as he told the council that it would not be helpful for the council to set a fixed date for the withdrawal of the multinational forces (MNF) as some council members wanted.

Nevertheless, the council is still working on the language dealing with the relationship of the Iraqi government and its security forces and the MNF.

On June 6 the United States, on behalf of the coalition partners, and Iraq presented the council with letters outlining an understanding on the relationship.

In his letter, Ayad Allawi, prime minister of the new interim government, described his intentions to establish security structures that will allow the interim government and Iraqi security forces to progressively take on the responsibility for the country's security and to develop mechanisms to "ensure that Iraqi security forces will coordinate with the MNF on all security policy and operations issues in order to achieve unity of command of military operations in which Iraqi forces are engaged with MNF."

The structures, the prime minister said, "will serve as the fora for the MNF and the Iraqi government to reach agreement on the full range of fundamental security and policy issues, including policy on sensitive offensive operations and will ensure full partnership between Iraqi forces and the MNF."

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell recognized that Iraqi security forces are responsible to the Iraqi government and said that "the MNF will coordinate with Iraqi security forces at all levels -- national, regional, and local -- in order to achieve unity of command of military operations in which Iraqi forces are engaged with the MNF."

"In addition, the MNF and the Iraqi government leaders will keep each other informed of their activities; consult regularly to ensure effective allocation and use of personnel, resources, and facilities; will share intelligence; and will refer issues up the respective chains of command where necessary," Powell said.

The MNF will undertake a broad range of tasks, including combat operations against forces seeking to influence Iraq's political future through violence; "internment where this is necessary for imperative reasons of security," and the search for "weapons that threaten Iraq's security," the secretary said. The MNF will also train and equip Iraqi security forces.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte explained that "the whole purpose of these two letters directed to the Security Council was twofold: first, to demonstrate clearly that the full sovereignty of Iraq was being respected in these security arrangements . . . secondly, that the mechanism, indeed several mechanisms, will be established to ensure the fullest possible coordination between the Iraqi government on the one hand and the MNF on the other."

The letter from the United States on behalf of the coalition partners is to "show respect for Iraqi sovereignty and to show there will be a partnership between the Iraqi and MNF forces," Negroponte said. "Structures are or will be created and efforts will be made to ensure the maximum possible coordination of these security operations between the respective parties."

The letters make clear that both Iraqi security forces and Iraqi police forces "will be under the authority of the sovereign government of Iraq," the ambassador said.

The main purpose of the resolution is to mark the beginning of a new phase in the history of Iraq -- the regaining by Iraq of the full exercise of its sovereignty, to reaffirm the mandate for the Multinational Force, spell out a role for the United Nations, and appeal to the international community to lend its support to assist in the nurturing and establishment of a strong and free Iraq, Negroponte said.

Negroponte, the chief U.S. delegate to the United Nations, is the U.S. ambassador-designate to Iraq. He will leave his post in New York at the end of June to head the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, which will be established when the Coalition Provisional Authority ends June 30.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)