U.N. Welcomes Iraqi Governing Council, Establishes Iraq Mission
Negroponte says vote "paves the way for peace, stability, democracy"
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- The U.N. Security Council August 14 established a "U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq" and welcomed the
establishment of the Governing Council of Iraq.
The council adopted a resolution setting up the mission by a vote of 14 to 0 with Syria abstaining. The resolution was
co-sponsored by the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Guinea, Chile, and Angola.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that the council's support for the Governing Council of Iraq "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."
"This resolution helps pave the way toward the peace, stability, and democracy that the long-afflicted Iraqi people so
richly deserve. It also sends a clear signal to those who oppose the political transformation under way in Iraq that
they are out of step with world opinion," the ambassador said.
The resolution endorses "the vital role that the United Nations is playing in Iraq," Negroponte told the council.
In its resolution the Security Council welcomed the "establishment of the broadly representative Governing Council of
Iraq on 13 July 2003, as an important step towards the formation by the people of Iraq of an internationally recognized,
representative government that will exercise the sovereignty of Iraq."
The U.N. assistance mission was established for an initial period of 12 months. In a July report to the Security
Council, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended the creation of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq to
better enable the United Nations to fulfill its responsibilities under resolution 1483. U.N. activities in Iraq are
currently being overseen by the secretary general's personal representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Annan has
recommended that the assistance mission be made up of about 300 civilian staff to deal with humanitarian, political,
human rights, and reconstruction issues.
Three representatives of the 25-member Iraqi council met with the Security Council and U.N. officials at U.N.
headquarters in July, asking the international community to support their efforts to rebuild their country and establish
democracy.