Recent development and the current situation concerning Iraq

March, 1998

1. Iraq's Noncompliance with Its Obligations to Destroy Weapons of Mass Destruction

(1) U.N. Security Council Resolution 687

The U.N. Security Council Resolution 687 adopted on April 3, 1991, decided that Iraq shall accept unconditional destruction, removal or rendering harmless, under international supervision, of its weapons of mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles. It was also decided that Iraq shall agree to on-site inspections for monitoring and verifying the elimination processes. The resolution also decided that a formal cease-fire is effective upon Iraq' s acceptance of these obligations. Iraq accepted these obligations in its letter, dated April 10, to the President of the U.N. Security Council, and consequently the cease-fire went into effect.

(2) Iraq Impedes Inspection by U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM)

The United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) has been established under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 687. Pursuant to the resolution, UNSCOM commenced on-site inspections in Iraq to monitor and verify the processes of eliminating weapons of mass destruction by Iraq. Since June 1997, however, Iraq has repeatedly obstructed the inspection. (Obstructive acts by Iraqi officials include blatant ones: In one instance, an Iraqi official on a UNSCOM helicopter interfered with the operation of the helicopter and jeopardized the safety of the inspectors. In another, Iraqi officials destroyed relevant documents before the eyes of inspectors.)

On June 21, 1997 the Security Council adopted a resolution 1115 and condemned such acts of the Iraq authorities which constitutes a clear and flagrant violation of the relevant Security Council resolution.

(3) U.N. Security Council Responds to Iraq's Repeated Defiance to U.N. Inspection

While Iraq refused to rectify its defiant attitude, the Security Council adopted two additional resolutions (resolution 1134 and 1137) and adopted presidential statements on several occasions from October to December 1997. In these resolutions and statements, the Security Council, declaring that the Iraqi attitude constituted flagrant violations of Security Council resolutions, demanded that Iraq allow the UNSCOM inspection teams immediate and unconditional access to all sites, and banned Iraqi government officials involved in the obstruction of inspection from entering the member States of the United Nations.

(4) UNSCOM Chairman Visits Iraq but Presidential Facilities Arbitrarily Barred from Inspection

Under these circumstances, UNSCOM's Executive Chairman Richard Butler (Australia's former Permanent Representative to the United Nations) visited Iraq December 12-16, 1997, intending to resolve the matter with the Iraqi government. During the talks, however, the Iraqis arbitrarily classified the target facilities of inspection as "ordinary facilities" and "national security facilities," and among them, the "presidential sites" were totally barred from U.N. inspection on grounds of national sovereignty.

(5) The Iraqi Government Decides on January 12, 1998 to Refuse Weapons Inspection by UNSCOM

On January 12, the Iraqi government decided not to accept the UNSCOM's inspection team led by American Scott Ritter on the grounds that the team was dominated by American and British members. Subsequently, UNSCOM's Chairman Butler visited Iraq once again, but the Iraqis did not agree to an unconditional inspection, and proposed, instead, to postpone discussions about the inspection of the presidential sites until April, 1998 when UNSCOM is scheduled to submit its report to the Security Council.