UN agrees on Iraq resolution

2004-06-08 12:27

NEW YORK - The UN Security Council has reached agreement on a new Iraq resolution, and a formal vote on the document was due to take place on Tuesday, German ambassador to the UN Gunter Pleuger has said.

Pleuger's comments came following a consultation among the 15- member body, which received the final draft resolution Monday. It calls on the Security Council to support the newly formed interim government in Iraq, which will be given "full sovereignty" on June 30.

The resolution, submitted by the United States and Britain, also calls on the council to establish a multinational force with the authority to take "all necessary measures to contribute to the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq" in accordance with an agreement on security arrangements between the United States and the interim government in Baghdad.

The draft of the resolution, which has been through many revisions over the past several weeks, says the current US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) - the occupying forces - "will cease to exist and that Iraq will reassert its full sovereignty" on June 30.

The coalition will become the multinational force and will remain under US command, the draft resolution says. The Iraqi interim government has requested the multinational force to remain in the war-torn country, and its mandate will be reviewed in June 2005.

The draft enumerates the numerous steps to be taken by the interim government for the political transition to a democratic government. The timetable for the transition includes convening a national conference reflecting the diversity of the Iraqi society and holding direct, democratic elections between December 31 and January 31 for a transitional government and a National Assembly.

A new constitution will be drafted in 2005 and a full-fledged government will be elected by December 31, 2005, according to the draft.

A UN mission in Iraq will help the interim government and the transitional government to implement the timetable for the democratic transition.

The draft was circulated to the council's 15 countries following the security agreement reached between Washington and Baghdad on Sunday.

It said the multinational force will also assist in training and equipping Iraq's security forces and a police and border force. The interim government in Baghdad will also assume responsibility of its economy and development on June 30, the draft said.

The council held an open meeting at which UN secretary general Kofi Annan and his envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, reported on their past activities regarding the transition in Iraq.

"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."

- SAPA