Iraq sovereignty strengthened, US and UK bow to pressure

12.00pm

NEW YORK - The United States and Britain revised on Tuesday their UN resolution on Iraqi sovereignty after the June 30 handover and gave a target date for foreign forces to withdraw, diplomats said.

The resolution, to be circulated at hastily called Security Council consultations late on Tuesday, tries to meet objections from China, France, Russia, Germany and others, who said too much was implied rather than spelled out on what Iraqi leaders could do when the occupation ends officially this month.

An interim Iraqi government is to take office on June 30 while elections for a transitional government are to be held in January 2005, with a permanent government envisaged to be in office around December 2005.

The main purpose of the resolution is to back the formation of a sovereign interim Iraqi government as well as a US-led multinational force, empowered to take "all necessary measures" to keep the peace.

The original measure had an open-ended mandate for the multinational force.

"The revised text makes clearer that the occupation ends on June 30th and that the Iraqi interim government will be fully sovereign," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. "I think that in a nutshell is the main thrust of the revisions that were made.

"And it makes clear that the objective for Iraqis is to progressively play a greater security role and ultimately to assume responsibility for maintenance of security and stability in Iraq," Boucher said.

The new draft says the mandate would expire at the end of the "political process" after a constitution is approved and a permanent Iraqi government takes power in about December 2005, US and British officials said.

Until then, a transitional government, to be elected by January 2005, would be able to request the withdrawal of the troops but the Security Council will have to adopt another resolution to that effect.

On sovereignty, the resolution would make clear that Iraq has immediate control of its natural resources but that an international advisory board to audit books of a fund that receives oil revenues would stay in place for the time being.

The transitional government next year, rather than the new interim government that takes office on June 30, will have the right to ask the UN Security Council for a review on whether the international auditing board should continue.

Unclear is whether a new fledgling Iraqi army would have the right to refuse a battle order by the US command. The United States has said such arrangements would be spelled out in letters between Iraqi leaders and the US military that would be attached to the resolution.

Boucher also said he expected a delegation of Iraqi leaders to consult with the council before the resolution is adopted. No voted has been scheduled.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq