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Posted 10:53 AM by The Moderator

Blix suspects there are no weapons of mass destruction
Rory McCarthy in Baghdad and Jeevan Vasagar Saturday May 24, 2003
The Guardian

The chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, said yesterday that he suspected that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, He added that "in this respect" the war might not have been justified.

"I am obviously very interested in the question of whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction - and I am beginning to suspect there possibly were none," he said in an interview with the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

Posted 10:36 PM by The Moderator

SECURITY COUNCIL REDEDICATES ITSELF TO PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS New York, May 13 2003 The United Nations Security Council rededicated itself today to seeking the peaceful settlement of conflicts with a triple firewall strategy: preventing disputes from arising, preventing existing disputes from escalating into conflicts, and containing and resolving conflicts when they occur.

"The Security Council reiterates its commitment to make a wider and effective use of the procedures and means enshrined in the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations on the pacific settlement of disputes," a presidential statement declared at the end of a meeting devoted to the 15-member body's role in peaceful conflict resolution.

The statement, read by Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri of Pakistan, which holds the Council's Presidency for May, came at the end of an all-day session that began with a call from Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the use of imagination and influence in pre-empting volatile issues before they erupt into full-fledged threats to peace.

Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs Brian Urquhart, speaking before Member States gave their views, called for the establishment of a rapid reaction force in an era marked by violent non-governmental groups and factions which had little knowledge of, or respect for, the Council.

In such situations, it was essential for the Council to have some reliable and highly trained capacity for rapid reaction and deployment - the capacity to quell brush-fire violence before it developed into major conflict or genocide, he said. That was an extremely controversial issue, but impressive sounding decisions followed by sluggish and ineffective action both made bad situations worse and undermined the reputation of and public confidence in the UN itself, he added.

The former Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, told the meeting the challenge was to reinvigorate the role of the UN, especially of the Secretary-General and his good offices, and of the Council in strengthening the mechanisms for pacific settlement of disputes. He remained convinced that, notwithstanding an uncomfortable increase in the climate of unilateralism in international affairs, the Council together with the Secretary-General could play a crucial role in the peaceful settlement of disputes.

For his part, Judge Nabil Elaraby of the International Court of Justice warned against States which sought assistance from the Council to score points and extract verbal condemnations against their foes, rather than to achieve genuine reconciliation. "This situation has to be radically altered," he stressed. UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Posted 8:27 PM by The Moderator

Ex-Soviet Leader Criticizes U.S. on Iraq
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said on Monday the United States cast aside international law by going to war in Iraq without United Nations approval.

Gorbachev praised resistance to the war in the U.N. Security Council by Russia, France and Germany, telling reporters the three countries ``showed great responsibility and were correct.'' ``International law was cast aside,'' the former Soviet leader said. ``The country that made democracy its banner ignored the majority.''

Gorbachev, calling for the Security Council to take control of postwar Iraq, accused Washington of ``imperial behavior.''
A November resolution required Iraq to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors or face ``serious consequences,'' but did not specify the use of force.

The United States launched military action in March after abandoning efforts to secure a second Security Council resolution approving an attack. President Jacques Chirac said France would use its veto to block the resolution.

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Posted 8:12 PM by The Moderator

SECURITY COUNCIL SCHEDULES FOUR MEETINGS ON IRAQ FOR MAY New York, May 2 2003 6:00PM The United Nations Security Council has scheduled four meetings this month on Iraq to discuss humanitarian issues and the Oil-for-Food programme which provided the sole source of food for 60 per cent of the population of the sanctions-bound country, the Council's President for the month of May said today.

Pakistan's Ambassador, Munir Akram, taking over from April's President, Mexican Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, told reporters that during his month in office he hoped to be able to heal the divisions that had split the Council over Iraq.

"The Security Council has passed through a difficult path during which there have been divergences of approach," he said, without referring to Iraq by name. "It will be Pakistan's hope and endeavour that during the current month we shall be able to serve in building back consensus, in building reconciliation among the membership of the Security Council and restoring order and peace in international discourse."

The meetings on Iraq comprise two briefings on humanitarian issues on 8 and 22 May and, on 12 and 29 May, two consultations on the Oil-for-Food programme under which Iraq was allowed to use oil revenues to buy food and which expires on 3 June. Action thus had to be taken, and if there was sufficient convergence of positions there was sufficient time to come to agreement, Mr. Akram added.

He said May's schedule also included a broad agenda, such as sanctions reviews for Liberia and peacekeeping mandate renewals for Timor-Leste and Western Sahara. Other issues on the Council's docket would be the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Burundi, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

A Council mission is scheduled to visit West Africa from 15 to 22 May and on 13 May there would be a public meeting on the Council's role in the pacific settlement of disputes.