articles from July 24 on removal of sancations.....

Iraq FM: U.N. sanctions need to end


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly two decades after the first Gulf war and six years after Saddam Hussein was removed from power, Iraq still is subject to 73 United Nations resolutions.
Now Iraq's foreign minister says his country "will not regain full sovereignty and independence without getting rid of these resolutions."
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Hoshyar Zebari said Monday that Iraq has paid "billions" of dollars under Chapter 7 of the U.N. sanctions placed on Iraq as a result of the 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait and subsequent war.
The U.N. Security Council is reviewing the sanctions, and Zebari said he had "intensive discussions" in New York with members of the Security Council. He said "I think the outcome is positive."
"We felt a great deal of good will that, really, time has come for Iraq to get rid of all these restrictions and to regain its international standing and position as a normal country."
The Iraqi foreign minister said bringing Iraq out of Chapter 7 is an "American commitment also" since Iraq signed the status of forces agreement with the United States, which governs the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq, based on its understanding that the U.S. would help Iraq to come out of Chapter 7.
Foreign Minister Zebari said the sanctions impose a heavy burden on Iraq -- it continues to pay 5 percent of its oil revenues to Kuwait, down from the initial 30 percent.
Iraq's security forces, he told reporters, have "proven they are capable of defending themselves and the country." In the next six months, however, he said, the country faces some risks.
"What can be seen as problems could become crises unless this administration keeps its focus and support to push the situation forward; otherwise this overall strategy of responsible redeployment could be undermined."

If that happens, Zebari said, it "will impact what the U.S. is doing in the Middle East, in the Arab peace process, with Iran, even in Afghanistan because Iraq is such a crucial player in the region."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/21/iraq.sanctions/

Iraq Lobbying For End to Hussein-Era Sanctions

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Iraq yesterday asked key nations on the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions left over from the Hussein era, including those related to WMD production, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 20).

(Jul. 23) - Iraqi security forces march through the city of Mosul this month. Baghdad yesterday urged U.N. Security Council members to eliminate remaining sanctions, some of which targeted the country's one-time WMD activities (Mujahed Mohammed/Getty Images).
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, then individually with representatives from the five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- in an effort to persuade them that with infamous dictator Saddam Hussein gone, Iraq is no longer dangerous.
"We were able to clarify to the United Nations as well as the permanent (Security Council) countries that Iraq doesn't appear to be a threat to the international community anymore," said al-Maliki.
The United Nations has gradually pulled back the sanctions it had imposed on Iraq following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It canceled economic sanctions against Baghdad shortly after U.S.-led forces toppled the government in 2003, then dropped a ban on conventional weapons imports a year later.
However, restrictions connected to potential nuclear-, chemical-, and biological-weapon activities have remained in place. Baghdad is also still not allowed to field missiles that could fly more than 93 miles.
At the request last year of the Security Council, Ban launched a review of the situation and the moves that would be necessary "for Iraq to achieve the status it enjoyed prior to the adoption of such resolutions." the report "will be issued shortly," according to U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.
Washington supports an end to the sanctions, but concerns from Kuwait could extend the process.
"There are a number of obligations on Iraq that relate to the Saddam era that we need to look at again, need to review," said British Ambassador to the United Nations John Sawers. "Some of these relate to the sanctions and proliferation regimes. Some of them relate to the outstanding issues vis-a-vis Kuwait" (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 22).