S/PV.3880 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them a letter dated 9 April 1998 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting the fifth consolidated report of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, submitted under paragraph 16 of Security Council resolution 1051 (1996), document S/1998/312; and a note by the Secretary-General, transmitting the fifth consolidated report of the Executive Chairman of the Special Commission established by the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 9 (b) (i) of Security Council resolution 687 (1991), submitted under paragraph 16 of Security Council resolution 1051 (1996), document S/1998/332. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the following other documents: S/1998/176 and S/1998/308, letters dated 19 February and 8 April 1998, respectively, from the Executive Chairman of the Special Commission established by the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 9 (b) (i) of Security Council resolution 687 (1991) addressed to the President of the Security Council. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council has reviewed the report of 16 April 1998 from the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (S/1998/332) and the report of 9 April 1998 from the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (S/1998/312). The Council welcomes the improved access provided to the Special Commission and the “The Security Council expresses the hope that the agreement by the Government of Iraq to fulfil its obligation to provide immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to the Special Commission and the IAEA will reflect a new Iraqi spirit with regard to providing accurate and detailed information in all areas of concern to the Special Commission and the IAEA as required by the relevant resolutions. “The Security Council expresses its concern that the most recent reports of the Special Commission, including the reports of the technical evaluation meetings (S/1998/176 and S/1998/308), indicate that Iraq has not provided full disclosure in a number of critical areas, in spite of repeated requests from the Special Commission, and calls upon Iraq to do so. The Council encourages the Special Commission to continue its efforts to improve its effectiveness and efficiency and looks forward to a technical meeting of the members of the Council with the Executive Chairman of the Special Commission as a follow-up to the review of sanctions held by the Council on 27 April 1998. “The Security Council notes that the Special Commission and the IAEA must discharge their mandates as defined under resolutions 687 (1991) of 3 April 1991 and 707 (1991) of 15 August 1991 with full Iraqi cooperation in all areas, including fulfilment by Iraq of its obligation to provide full, final and complete declarations of all aspects of its prohibited programmes for weapons of mass destruction and missiles. “The Security Council notes that the investigations by the IAEA over the past several years have yielded a technically coherent picture of Iraq’s clandestine nuclear programme, although Iraq has not supplied full responses to all of the questions and concerns of the IAEA, including those specified in paragraphs 24 and 27 of the report of the Director General of 9 April 1998. “The Security Council acknowledges that the IAEA is focusing most of its resources on the implementation and strengthening of its activities under the ongoing monitoring and verification plan. This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/1998/11. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.