UN teams ready to go back

2003-06-05 09:04

New York - Chief UN inspector Hans Blix says his search teams are ready to return to Iraq to pursue new leads and try to answer outstanding questions about Saddam Hussein's programmes for weapons of mass destruction - but the United States doesn't want their help.

Blix, who is retiring after his contract ends on June 30, will present his final report to the security council on Thursday and the issue of future UN inspections is almost certain to be raised - especially since US-led teams have found no illegal weapons after visiting more than 230 suspected sites over the past 11 weeks.

The failure of US teams to find any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons has become a major issue in Washington, London and other international capitals, since Saddam's possession of banned weapons was the main US and British justification for invading Iraq.

In his report to the council on Monday, Blix said his teams found no evidence Iraq had chemical or biological weapons during three and a half months of inspections, but they still had many questions and leads to follow up when their searches were suspended just before the United States attacked in March.

Blix said UN inspectors didn't have time to follow up on some late information provided by Saddam's government.

Iraq provided 31 lists of names of people associated with its weapons programmes, and Blix said interviews "might have provided significant information" - including talking to Iraqis who helped destroy anthrax after the 1991 Gulf War.

The security council, in a resolution adopted May 22 that lifted economic sanctions against Iraq and authorised the US-led administration of the country, left the issue of future UN weapons inspections unclear.

Under the 1990 resolution imposing sanctions, UN inspectors had to certify that Iraq was free of weapons of mass destruction before sanctions could be lifted. The resolution ended sanctions without that certification.

But it reaffirmed that "Iraq must meet its disarmament obligations" and said the council would discuss the inspectors' mandate later. It gives no time frame.

In his report, Blix said his inspectors are ready to resume work, to confirm any findings since their departure and to continue monitoring Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programmes.

Many council members would like to see UN inspectors return, including Britain, the closest US ally, but the Bush administration has insisted it will conduct its own searches.

The United States is allowing a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Iraq later this week to try to determine how much nuclear material was looted from a storage site near the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center after the war - but their activities and movements will be strictly limited. - Sapa-AP

- SAPA