S/PV.6990 Security Council

Under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Iraq to participate in this meeting. On behalf of the Council, I welcome the presence at the Council table of His Excellency Mr. Hoshyar Zebari, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2013/379, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Australia, France, Morocco, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2013/357, which contains the thirty-fifth report of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 14 of resolution 1284 (1999), and to document S/2013/358, which contains a letter dated 12 June 2013 from the Permanent Representatives of Kuwait and Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, China, France, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Morocco, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Togo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2107 (2013). I now give the floor to Mr. Zebari:

At the outset, allow me to thank you, Sir, for convening this important meeting and to express my appreciation to the countries that sponsored resolution 2107 (2013) and contributed to its enrichment, and to the friendly the members of the Security Council that voted on adopting it. I cannot but express my Government’s gratitude to the Secretary-General for his report contained in document S/2013/357, which contains important proposals and evaluations, and to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), led by Special Representative of the Secretary General Martin Kobler, for its efforts to fulfil the requirements of its mandate in Iraq, as well to the State and Government of Kuwait for their support and assistance to Iraq in emerging from under the provisions of Chapter VII. I also wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to the late Ambassador Vorontsov and Mr. Tarasov, the high-level coordinators, for their efforts to achieve progress in the humanitarian files of missing Kuwaiti persons and property. The Security Council meets today to adopt a resolution in the context of resolutions and measures taken by the Council to remove Iraq from the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. When we carefully consider the past few years, we can see how far Iraq has come along the path of constructive cooperation with the objective of enabling Iraq to finally fulfil all its obligations under Security Council resolutions. Our foreign policy and international relations have been focused mainly on how to free the people and country of Iraq of the burdens of those resolutions. Those burdens would never have been imposed on Iraq had it not been for the aggressive policies of the former regime of waging wars against its neighbours and internally against its own people. Those resolutions have hindered Iraq’s progress, prosperity and integration into the regional and international communities. Looking back at what we have achieved over the past few years towards Iraq regaining the international standing it enjoyed prior to resolution 661 (1990), we note the crucial resolution 1762 (2007), which ended the mandate of the United Nations Commission on Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission. The resolution strengthened the sovereignty of Iraq, lifted the weight of political constraints from its shoulders, paved the way for Iraq’s return to the regional and international communities, and contributed to the stability of the region. Resolution 1762 (2007) represented the international community’s recognition of the correct approach taken by Iraq in fulfilling its obligations in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation. It is with great pride that Iraq currently chairs the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, which confirms the validity of the path Iraq has taken, particularly after the ratification of the Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Furthermore, in resolution 1859 (2008), the Council decided to review the resolutions concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait and the situation in Iraq in order to identify together the mutual obligations falling to the international community, represented by the Council, and to Iraq. As a result, the Council adopted three important resolutions on 15 December 2010 — resolutions 1956 (2010), 1957 (2010) and 1958 (2010)  — under which all of Iraq’s obligations were ended, with the exception of three issues relating to the situation between Iraq and Kuwait: missing Kuwaitis and property, the maintenance of the border, and compensation. With regard to the first issue, significant progress has been achieved under bilateral cooperation between the two countries. None of that cooperation could have been achieved without the serious cooperation of the Iraqi authorities. We shall continue to cooperate and to step up the pace of our cooperation in the near future, now that the issue has been transferred to coverage under the provisions of Chapter VI of the Charter. With respect to the maintenance of border markers, Iraq and Kuwait have created a mechanism through the establishment of a joint ministerial committee, and put in place the necessary measures indicated in resolution 833 (1993). In that regard, I refer to the letter of the Secretary-General to President of the Security Council dated of 12 June 2013 (S/2013/358), which refers to the end of the mission entrusted to him under resolution 833 (1993). Therefore, on this basis, Iraq has fulfilled all its obligations under that resolution. As for the issue of compensation, Iraq is committed to paying the percentage decided by the Security Council based on the mechanism set out by the United Nations Commission on Compensation, as cited in resolution 1956 (2010) under the mechanism of the successor arrangements for the Development Fund for Iraq. We therefore believe that, through the adoption of resolution 2107 (2013), Iraq has fulfilled all its obligations under the resolutions of the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter. We believe that today’s date, 27 June 2013, would be a milestone in the history of the relationship between Iraq and the international community, indicating that the resolutions imposed on Iraq under Chapter VII of the Charter now belong to the past. This date will also represent a significant development in the relationship between Iraq and Kuwait. All the negative aspects of the relationship between the two countries are now bygone, and we will focus on the present, on the future, and on what brotherly relations can achieve to consolidate peace, security and stability in the region. We shall focus on directing the efforts of these two rich countries to promote sustainable development that reflects positive results on both countries and the Arab region. The achieved cooperation between Iraq and Kuwait will serve as a model for resolving disputes between States by peaceful means. Iraq is a rich country, possessing wealth and human, material and natural resources that qualify to play an important, indeed critical role in ensuring the stability of the Middle East. Although these capabilities have been affected by the challenges to our internal political process, the war on terrorism, and regional political changes, all Iraqi parties involved in the political process are united in their resolve to confront these challenges through a national partnership that prioritizes national interests above all else and benefits the stability of the region. All Iraqi parties will work to secure social peace and to prevent Iraq from returning to sectarian fighting. We will resort to our Constitution to resolve our issues and to the polls to choose our representatives in the provincial councils and the Government. In the recent past, we have already held successful provincial elections, and will convene the upcoming legislative elections by adhering to the same principles that we have upheld in previous elections, which were characterized by transparency and integrity and monitored by the international community. This will result in a Government elected by the people that leads a democratic, federal Iraq to progress, security and stability and contributes to the security of the region. Having discharged all the requirements of the international community, we still face two main challenges. First and foremost, we must win the war on terrorism and defeat religious extremism, which we cannot do without national efforts and international cooperation, because terrorism has assumed a cross- border, global dimension and cannot be defeated without international cooperation. The second challenge is reconstructing Iraq in such a way that guarantees sustainable development for future generations. This, too, will be difficult to achieve without a peaceful environment and international assistance. We therefore look to the international community for its assistance in order to achieve our goals. In conclusion, we reiterate our gratitude and appreciation to the Security Council. Iraq will continue to cooperate with international organizations, the United Nations first and foremost, and to make such cooperation the foundation of our foreign policy and international relations. As a responsible and fully sovereign country, Iraq has regained to its natural place in the international community. It will play a positive and constructive role in promoting peace and stability and in achieving development for its people and the region. Just as Iraq was the cradle of civilization, it will be the cradle of cooperation, peace and fraternity for its people, its neighbours and the world. From this international forum, I congratulate the people of Iraq on the great achievements of the current and previous Governments in freeing our country from the burden of sanctions and embargoes, and on their efforts to achieve prosperity and security.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.