U.N. Passes New Iraq Resolution, but its Role Remains Unchanged

The U.N. Security Council voted 14-0 on Thursday to adopt resolution 1500 "welcoming" the creation of Baghdad's new interim Governing Council, formed and overseen by the United States and Great Britain. Syria, the Council's sole Arab nation, chose to abstain from the vote arguing that only the Iraqi people could decide what is best for them.

The U.S.-drafted measure co-sponsored by Great Britain authorizes an initial 12-month mandate for the new U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), as Secretary General Kofi Annan had urged. The formal mandate allows UNAMI to provide humanitarian assistance and political advice and to monitor the reconstruction efforts and progress towards the creation of a democratic government in Iraq.

The resolution does not, however, call for a full-fledged mandate for the world body as countries like France and Germany had requested.

France, which is a permanent member in the Security Council, and India had pressed for a resolution giving the U.N. greater responsibility in Iraq, arguing that doing so would make it easier for other members to participate in peacekeeping missions and in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

Many member states, Germany included, had resisted U.S. requests for military assistance in Iraq unless the country came under a full U.N. mandate. But the United States brushed aside the demands, saying the current resolution allowed for countries to help out in Iraq.

Broadly representative first step

The resolution stops just short of recognizing the interim authority as Iraq’s official government, as Washington had originally requested. Instead it calls the creation of the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, which was set up by the United States and Britain last month, "broadly representative." The Council sees it as "an important first step towards the formation of a legitimate independent government in the country," but stresses that it is only temporary.

The United States, nonetheless sees the resolution as a milestone to restoring peace in the country. "In its expression of support for the Governing Council of Iraq, this hastens the day when the people of Iraq are in full command of their own affairs, a condition they have not known for some three decades," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte said following the vote.

Germany, France and Russia greeted the authorization of UNAMI as an important step towards increasing the United Nation’s role in Iraq. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said he was "pleased to see that the new resolution calls for integrating the U.N. in the process of rebuilding the country."

As to German military involvement in Iraq, Schröder said nothing was to be decided at the moment. Berlin is first interested in seeing that reconstruction takes place peacefully, he stressed. The question of Germany sending troops to Iraq has been hotly debated in the last several days, with the minister for defense saying soldiers could be sent under a U.N. mandate. Schröder, however, has warned against "wild speculations" on possible troop deployments and insists nothing has changed regarding Germany’s position on Iraq.

Carefully worded resolution

Thursday’s vote marks the second attempt by Washington to get an Iraq resolution adopted by the U.N. since the official end of fighting.

An earlier resolution proposal foundered in July after debate flared over the language used in the original U.S. draft, which said U.N. members "endorse" the Governing Council of Iraq. But the Security Council members balked at giving too much legitimacy to the interim Baghdad administration set up by the United States and Britain and overseen by the senior civilian U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. The word "endorse" was therefore dropped from the text and replaced with "welcomes."

The approved resolution still does not go as far as Washington would like in formally recognizing the Governing Council as the representative of the Iraqi people, but it is as Negroponte said, a "clear signal to those who oppose the political transformation underway in Iraq that they are out of step with world opinion."