Mideast situation/Iraq – SecCo meeting – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Provisional

Security Council

Fifty-eighth year 

4717th meeting

Tuesday, 11 March 2003, 3 p.m. 

New York

Agenda

The situation between Iraq and Kuwait

  Letter dated 7 March 2003 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2003/283).

    The meeting was called to order at 3.15 p.m.

Adoption of the agenda

   The agenda was adopted.

/…

 The President ( spoke in French ): …

  The next speaker inscribed on my list is the representative of Malaysia. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Zainuddin (Malaysia): …

/…

  At the outset, we are also pleased to inform the Council that the XIII Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was held from 24 to 25 February 2003 at Kuala Lumpur, was a major success. The Conference served as an extremely useful venue to exchange views covering many subjects of importance to the Movement, which embodies the hopes and aspirations for economic prosperity in a world that is peaceful, secure and just.

  It was also clear that the well-being of the world would be better served by a strong multilateral system revolving around a United Nations that is more representative and democratic, rather than by a unilateral system based on the dominance of one Power, however benign that Power may be. We need to strengthen and promote the multilateral process in the preservation and promotion of world peace through dialogue and diplomacy and by avoiding resorting to war to resolve conflicts. Apart from the adoption of the Kuala Lumpur declaration, which reaffirmed the Movement’s commitment to the pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous world order based on the principles of the Bandung Conference and the Charter of the United Nations, the summit at Kuala Lumpur also adopted two statements, namely, concerning Iraq and Palestine.

/…

  We believe that the peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis will ensure that the Security Council is also in a position to ensure Iraq’s sovereignty and the inviolability of its territorial integrity, political independence and security, in compliance with paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 687 (1991), on the establishment in the Middle East of a zone free from weapons of mass destruction that includes Israel.

/…

  We believe that the problem of Iraq can be resolved peacefully through the United Nations. That view is held by the majority of the members of the Security Council, permanent and non-permanent members alike, a fact that best reflects the views of the global community. The Council must strive to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis. We believe that this is possible without resorting to war. The Council should remain aware of the untold misery that war will inflict on the countries and the people in the region. The Middle East, already a flashpoint of conflict — primarily because of Israeli aggression and occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands — cannot afford any more turmoil. History has taught us that it is easy to start a war, but ending it is often an arduous and complex task that, in many recent cases, has been inconclusive.

/…

 The President ( spoke in French ): …

  The next speaker inscribed on my list is Mr. Yahya Mahmassani, Permanent Observer for the League of Arab States to the United Nations, to whom the Council has extended an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Mahmassani (League of Arab States) (spoke in Arabic) : …

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  While we were hoping and waiting for the initiation of good offices to put an end to the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories and to the Arab-Israeli conflict, in accordance with the Arab initiative and relevant United Nations resolutions, we were surprised at the massing of armies in preparation for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The danger that threatens the security and safety of the Arab nations is Israel’s possession of weapons of mass destruction — chemical, biological and nuclear — and their delivery systems; Israel’s continued occupation of the Arab territories; its policy of destruction against the Palestinian people; its rejection of Security Council resolution 487 (1981), which provides for the placement of its nuclear programmes and capabilities under IAEA safeguards; and its rejection of the implementation of paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 687 (1991), which provides for the declaration of the Middle East as a zone free from weapons of mass destruction.

  Why, then, be silent about the Israeli arsenal, Israel’s violation of Security Council resolutions and its threat to the security and safety of Arab States?

/…

 The President ( spoke in French ): I thank the Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States for his kind words addressed to me.

  The next speaker on my list is the representative of Algeria. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Baali (Algeria) (spoke in French ): …

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  What is at stake is the stability and security of the entire Middle East and, beyond that, international peace and security. Also at stake is the credibility and authority of the Security Council, which remains for us all, both large and small nations, the keystone of the system of collective security to which we have all freely adhered by becoming Members of the United Nations — credibility and authority that must be safeguarded at all costs. For there are other dangers and challenges, undoubtedly more imminent and more urgent, that threaten us. Who better than the Council can face them with the necessary legitimacy and wished-for success?

  That credibility and authority will obviously be better safeguarded and enhanced if the Security Council finally undertakes, with the same determination and rigour, to see that its resolutions are respected everywhere and in all circumstances, beginning in that part of the world where Israel, a serial aggressor of its neighbours, flouts international legality and is quietly amassing in complete impunity the most deadly weapons of mass destruction and regularly threatens the States in the region. By demonstrating firmness with regard to that country and by endeavouring resolutely to achieve a just and final settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Security Council will demonstrate to all that it is truly an irreplaceable tool in the service of peace, justice and security throughout the world.

  The President (spoke in French ): I thank the representative of Algeria for his kinds words addressed to me.

  The next speaker inscribed on my list is the representative of Egypt. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

  Mr. Aboul Gheit (Egypt) (spoke in Arabic): …

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  The Middle East, whether in the Gulf region or in Palestine, needs to attain the objectives of peace and stability. It must give its peoples the opportunity for economic and social development and growth in order that they may all enjoy well-being. No doubt the deteriorating, even dire, circumstances in Palestine and the attempts to break the will of the Palestinian people, who resist occupation, will not help in realizing those hopes for growth and development. They will not give freedom and independence to this people, who have long suffered and whose rights have been usurped.

/…

  The President (spoke in French ): The next speaker on my list is the representative of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Own (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic ): …

/…

  In conclusion, we are confident that the promotion of peace and security in the Middle East region and neighbouring areas can be achieved only through a just and comprehensive settlement of all outstanding problems and issues through resort to reason, which has been given by God to man alone of all His creatures ; the renunciation of the use of force and the voluntary and full renunciation of all weapons of mass destruction; the transformation of the region into one free from weapons of mass destruction, through effective international arrangements and actions without discrimination or exception; the granting to the Palestinian people of their full rights, the establishment of an independent State on all their national soil and the withdrawal of all forces from Arab territories under Israeli occupation; support for the inspections and the efforts of the inspectors, whose success is undeniable; and the immediate lifting of the sanctions imposed against Iraq since 1991.

  The President (spoke in French ): The next speaker inscribed on my list is the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Zarif (Islamic Republic of Iran): …

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  While members of the international community, including my Government, are unanimous about the need to fully implement the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the rush to war is clearly undermining the momentum built up to bring this crisis to a successful conclusion. The division and tension that rush creates is alienating world public opinion and the great majority of Governments, thus creating serious doubts about the agenda behind it. The different, and sometimes conflicting, reasons invoked to justify a premature recourse to military action cannot but significantly strengthen doubts. And that is a new layer of doubts that are added to the previous layers that resulted from selectivity in enforcing United Nations resolutions, particularly on Palestine, and treaties on non-proliferation, more specifically as regards Israel. Allowing the Security Council to have the final word in bringing the current crisis to a successful conclusion, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, would certainly be a signif icant step in the right direction.

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 The President (spoke in French): …

  The next speaker inscribed on my list is the representative of Indonesia. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Hidayat (Indonesia): …

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  We continue to believe that there can be no solution to the situation in the Middle East that ignores the reality of the entire region. I state this with particular reference to the situation in Palestine, which continues to deteriorate daily, although that may conveniently — but unwisely — be ignored. It is the belief of my delegation that the solution to the core issue of Palestine would, accordingly, contribute to the comprehensive settlement of all aspects of the problems in the Middle East and that we should never concentrate so much on other issues in the region that we overlook that fact.

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  The President (spoke in French ): The next speaker on my list is Mr. Mokhtar Lamani, Permanent Observer for the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the United Nations, to whom the Council has extended an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement.

 Mr. Lamani (Organization of the Islamic Conference) (spoke in Arabic ): …

…

  It is sad indeed that the noise surrounding the possibility of war in Iraq is distracting from the aggressive and illegitimate practices of the extremist Israeli Government against the Palestinian people. The increasing pace of assassinations, the demolition of homes, acts of destruction and other forms of collective punishment continue unabated. The Security Council stands with its arms folded as it witnesses Israel’s war crimes. It is unable to provide security and protection to the Palestinian people, which is languishing under a brutal and illegitimate occupation.

  We wonder how long this double standard with respect to the norms governing international issues will continue, given the current international situation, in which Iraq is being threatened with destruction and annihilation and the killing of tens of thousands of innocent citizens, while the State of Israel is allowed to acquire all types and categories of weapons of mass destruction, openly and in large quantities. It is also allowed to perpetrate all forms of war crimes proscribed by international law and international norms and conventions against the Palestinian people — whose rights, freedoms and lands have been raped; whose economy has been destroyed; and which has been dispersed in refugee camps and exile.

  We hope that the Security Council will, at this critical juncture, shoulder its historic responsibilities, address the difficult situation facing it and overcome its deficit of wisdom. Let it prove to the international community that it is worthy of the trust placed in it to maintain international peace and security.

/…

The meeting was suspended at 7 p.m.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council . Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A.