UN to start talks on new Iraq resolution

1.00pm - By EVELYN LEOPOLD

UNITED NATIONS - Britain will host the first talks on Thursday of all UN Security Council ambassadors on a new resolution approving an Iraqi interim government and a multinational force after the US-led occupation officially ends on June 30.

The text, still being drafted by the Bush administration and close ally Britain, will not be distributed since no Iraqi interim government has been selected, according to diplomats invited to the informal session.

With UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi trying to form a caretaker government now, the handover of sovereignty leaves many questions about how much power Iraqis will actually have.

"We want to get to know elements they are putting on the table, see how far they will be fleshed out." said Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram, this month's president of the 15-nation council. "It's the first meeting to see the general trend of opinion within the council."

One point of dispute may be the US intention to hold on to 8000 Iraqi prisoners in American custody, including Saddam Hussein, particularly after the world recoiled from pictures of abuse by US personnel in at least one Iraqi jail.

In Washington, a US military official said authority to do so stemmed from the interim constitution passed by the current US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and a previous UN resolution that permitted a military presence in Iraq.

"In the course of security and stability operations, you are going to continue to have to detain and hold people -- security detainees," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"I know of no plan to turn them over to Iraqi authorities on June 30th," the official said.

In addition to approving whatever caretaker government Iraqis may select by the end of May, the resolution would approve again a multinational force, led by the United States, in an effort to get more countries to send troops to Iraq.

However, Iraq's security forces will remain under US command. John Negroponte, the new US ambassador in Baghdad, said last month that Iraqis "were not in a position to fully exercise their powers" in the field of security.

Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali, the only Arab representative on the council, said he expected clarity on a UN mandate, how the multinational force was expected to operate and details on a special contingent meant to protect future UN staff in the country.

"And how much sovereignty will be transferred might be a good question to ask," Baali told Reuters.

Another open question is the handling of Iraqi oil revenues, currently deposited in a UN-authorized development fund controlled by the US-run Coalition Provisional Authority and monitored by an international advisory board.

Diplomats said it was not decided yet whether the international board that monitors accounts would remain in place once the CPA goes out of business on June 30.

Several envoys said the United States, Britain and France favoured keeping the account under international scrutiny but would hand over control of expenditures to Iraqis.

The resolution would also attempt to define the role of the United Nations, which has no foreign staff in Iraq at this time, in helping with elections, human rights and the writing of a new constitution.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq