Thanks Perfcnsltn from DR for the full report!
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has finally wrapped up the world body's long-awaited report on Iraq, a UN official tells Oil Daily. Security Council members will use the report as a basis for deciding whether to lift UN sanctions imposed against the country after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 that force Iraq to pay some of its oil revenues in reparations, most to Kuwait.
Ban had hoped to have the report completed by Jul. 10, but it was delayed by wrangling between Iraqi and UN diplomats, the UN official said. It was finally completed this week after Ban met in the US with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and will be released soon, possibly on Friday.
The report reviews the sanctions imposed on Iraq in the wake of the 1990-91 Gulf war under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which not only require Baghdad to pay reparations, but also designates the country a threat to international peace and security, and allows a Security Council member to use force in Iraq.
Baghdad has been pushing for some time for the restrictions to be lifted and for reparations to be cut. It argues that the measures belong to an era when the country was ruled by a dictator.
Iraq has been banking on US support in the push -- and President Barack Obama lent his backing this week after a meeting with al-Maliki. "It, I think, would be a mistake for Iraq to continue to be burdened by the sins of a deposed dictator," he said. "We will work diligently with Iraq so that in fact Iraq is no longer within Chapter VII."
But the US president added that lifting the restrictions will require cooperation from UN members and Iraq's neighbors -- and Kuwait could prove a stumbling block.
Under the resolution, Iraq has to funnel 5% of its oil revenues into a fund created by the Security Council to pay reparations for damage caused during the invasion and subsequent war, of which the bulk goes to Kuwait. Recent Kuwaiti figures suggest the country has so far received around $15 billion and that Iraq owes a further $25 billion in reparations and $16 billion for older debts.
A key Iraqi target has been to persuade the Security Council to reduce the amount of money it has to pay, ideally down to 1% of its oil revenues, the UN official said.
Baghdad has also been trying to persuade Kuwait to accept less, most recently during a visit to the country by a team led by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. However, there is little sign of any softening on the part of the Kuwaiti leadership.
Despite its support for Iraq, Washington has said it won't ignore Kuwaiti sensitivities. There also appears to be a lack of consensus on the Security Council, where the UN official said "there is still a lot of sympathy for what Kuwait went through."
C. Onur Ant, Dubai
