UN backs Iraqi deal

2004-06-08 23:14

New York - The UN Security Council unanimously backed a US-British resolution on Iraq's future on Tuesday in a major step to healing the deep international divisions over the war that brought down Saddam Hussein.

Capping weeks of negotiations, the council voted 15-0 in favour of the resolution endorsing the new interim government that will take power after the June 30 handover and setting out a timetable that will lead to democratic elections next year.

The United States and Britain clinched the diplomatic victory late on Monday with a compromise on US-led forces that won over France and Germany, two of the council's most vocal critics of the war.

US envoy to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said the vote was a "vivid demonstration of broad international support."

"With today's vote we acknowledge an important milestone," he told the council. "This resolution makes clear that Iraq's sovereignty will be undiluted."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also called the vote a "milestone".

"We all now want to put the divisions of the past behind us and unite behind the vision of a modern, democratic and stable Iraq that can be a force for good, not just for Iraqis but for the whole region and thus the whole world," Blair said.

International legitimacy

"This is a very important moment," US President George W Bush said before the vote.

"A free Iraq will serve as a catalyst for change in the broader Middle East, which is an important part of winning the war on terror."

The resolution gives international legitimacy to the caretaker government that will take over from the unpopular US occupation, and pledges Iraq will be "fully sovereign" to run its national affairs.

But it also authorises US-led troops to remain at Iraq's request, and gives them leeway to take "all necessary measures" in fighting the bloody insurgency that has undercut US efforts to stabilise the country.

The extent of Baghdad's control over military operations emerged as the main sticking point in negotiations, with the US and Britain refusing a call by France and others to give Iraq a veto over major offensives.

But Washington offered a compromise in lengthy talks on Monday, adding a pledge to co-ordinate "sensitive" military operations with a national security committee headed by new Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

France and Germany announced they would back the measure after that pledge, clearing the way for the unanimous support that the United States and Britain wanted to signal strong international backing for its plans.

'Ultimate vote'

"We could have got the nine votes, which is the minimum required for passage of a resolution, some time ago," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said. "What we wanted was a unanimous vote."

He stressed that Iraq would have an "ultimate veto" under the resolution, which allows the government to request an earlier end to the mandate of the US-led force, which was set by the council for December 31, 2005.

Several diplomats praised the United States and Britain for their willingness to compromise after the allies put forward four different versions of the resolution in response to the concerns of council members.

Diplomats said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari helped melt away much of the council opposition last week when he told members that the troops were essential now to keep Iraq from sliding into chaos and civil war.

"The significance of this resolution for us ... is really to take away the concept of occupation," CNN quoted Zebari saying on Tuesday.

The wide-ranging resolution touches on almost all aspects of Iraq's reconstruction, aiming to rebuild a nation devastated by the war, a decade of sanctions and the long years of Saddam's iron-fisted rule.

It gives the new government control over oil and gas revenues, and adds an Iraqi member to the international advisory board charged with ensuring fiscal transparency.

It also provides for the establishment of a dedicated force to provide security for UN staff in Iraq, a key concern for the world body after a bombing at the UN's Baghdad offices in August killed 22 people.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Security Council on Monday that the United Nations was ready to do its "utmost" to help Iraq on the path to democracy and full sovereignty.

"I think it shows the international community coming together again to support the Iraqi people in their efforts to build a country that rests on the foundation of democracy and freedom and the rights of all," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said.

- AFP