Paris, 3 June, 2004 – The Assembly of WEU on Wednesday passed a resolution in which it urged governments to give Iraq extensive powers of sovereignty and stressed the need to secure its agreement on the composition and period of deployment of the multinational force stationed in the country.
Following a debate on the Iraq question under the urgent procedure, the Assembly adopted a draft resolution submitted on behalf of the Political Committee by Mrs Elsa Papadimitriou (Greece, Federated Group) who insisted that the “United Nations must play a leading role in the process of political transition in Iraq”.
The resolution stresses “the utmost importance of proceeding with an appropriate transfer of power and sovereignty to the Interim Government in Iraq” and considers that it must be given “the powers and authority it will need to govern ... and ... prepare free and fair elections as soon as possible”. The Assembly recognised “the need to secure the agreement of the Government of Iraq on the mandate, composition and period of deployment of the multinational force that is to be stationed in Iraq to maintain security and stability in the country”.
The Assembly accordingly urged the member governments of WEU represented in the UN Security Council to strive to reach agreement so that power can be transferred to Iraq under the aegis of the United Nations, ensuring that all the above requirements are taken into consideration.
During the debate a number of speakers warned that the Interim Government ran the risk of failure if it did not have wide-ranging political and economic autonomy vis-à-vis the countries making up the coalition forces currently deployed in Iraq. Mr Michael Hancock (United Kingdom, Liberal Group) said: “Iraq will not be a democratic state if the only people who seek power are those who agree with the administrations in Whitehall and Washington”, adding that “we want the people of Iraq ... to feel confident with their government” so that it could provide them with the support and protection they needed.
Mr Lluis Maria de Puig (Spain, Socialist Group) took the view that the first priority of the Interim Government was survival. He considered that the occupation of Iraq under false pretences had led to a “disaster”.
For Mrs Christina Lucyga (Germany, Socialist Group) the British-American draft resolution being submitted to the Security Council contained “serious shortcomings” regarding the roles of the Interim Government and the coalition forces. She believed far more involvement on the part of the United Nations was necessary and said the Interim Government should take its own decisions on the country’s resources. She pointed out that “the situation will continue to be unmanageable for as long as foreign troops are seen as an occupation force”.