WORDS BY H.E. AMBASSADOR ADOLFO AGUILAR ZINSER AT THE SECURITY COUNCIL
REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 1441 (2002) RELATIVE TO IRAQ.
New
York, November 8th, 2002
UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION
Mr. President:
Mexico recognizes the efforts
by the members of the Security Council in order to reach an agreement which is
reflected in this revised resolution of the United States and The United Kingdom,
just adopted , after several weeks of intense negotiations in New York and our
capitals.
This period of negotiation
allowed the Security Council to come up with a text which clearly reflects the
concerns of its Member States regarding the need that Iraq complies with its
obligations on disarmament and renounces to weapons of mass destruction. In case
of non-compliance, the action of the Security Council will be defined taking
into account its determination on the existence of a threat to international
peace and security.
The unity of the Council
towards this resolution gives a clear message, without ambiguities, to the
international community, thus responding to the appeal of the Secretary General
of the Organization in several opportunities. Mexico considers that the decision
of the Security Council preserves the legitimacy, efficacy and validity of this
organ in the fulfillment of its mandate in preserving international peace and
security. It strengthens the Security Council, the United Nations and
multilateralism in the construction of an international system of rules and
principles. All these concerns have been the guideline of Mexico’s performance
in the Security Council.
This resolution is the result
of negotiations in which those who advocated for an automatic use of force
accepted to give a last chance to the voluntary compliance by Iraq, immediate
and unconditional, regarding the Security Council resolutions. Iraq is now
obliged towards the Council and the international community to fulfill its
international obligations.
It also represents a step
forward because it eliminates the concept of automaticity in the use of force as
a result of a "material breach" without the previous consent of the Security
Council.
We congratulate in the
acceptance of the two stage approach, which was explicitly and specifically
supported by Mexico since the intervention of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge
Castañeda at the General Assembly on September 13th according to which any
decision taken as a result of a possible non-compliance by Iraq of the relevant
resolutions should be established considering two basic conditions.
My country proposed that the
action of the Security Council should be based in two time frames clearly
differentiated: a) a reliable evaluation process of the real military capacity
of Iraq as well as the intentions of use of this armament or the capacity of
terrorists groups to have access to it; b) the agreement of the Security
Council and other States involved over the measures that should be taken in case
that the evaluation process detects a threat to the international peace and
security.
But the resolution over which
we vote also includes the modifications to the modalities of the revised
inspection regime which will allow the inspectors to have a renovated mandate
for their efficient work. The insistence that the Security Council should
preserve in all time the authority to determine the rules and composition of the
inspector teams, avoiding armed inspections or escorts by representatives of the
permanent members, was also taken into account. The draft resolution adopted
insures the neutrality and impartiality of UNMOVIC and renews the principle that
the inspectors answer to the Security Council as a whole and not to any country
in particular.
Mr. President:
Mexico expresses its agreement
with the mechanism of inspection established by UNMOVIC and the AIEA and its
confidence in the integrity, professionalism and independence of Dr. Hans Blix and
Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei.
We are satisfied also with the
possibilities opened by this successful negotiation in order to secure full
compliance by Iraq of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council and we
underline the importance of decisions taken by the Security Council in this
respect will continue to be guided by the principles of the Charter and of
International Law, based on facts objectively verifiable. We renovate the
conviction of Mexico, reflected in the agreed text, that the possibility of the
use of force is only valid as a last resource with the previous and explicit
authorization by the Security Council.
To sum up, Mr. President, the
resolution foresees that in case Iraq does not comply, it will be the inspectors
who will inform the Council so that its will be this multilateral organ who determines the
nature of such a breach, judges whether it poses a risk to international peace
and security and decides whatever corresponds according to the United Nations
Charter.
It is considering all these
aspects that Mexico decided to vote in favor of the present resolution convinced
that it is an important step towards the solution of a crisis that can imperil
the international peace and security.
Mexico is satisfied to see that
all members of the Security Council have assumed their responsibilities
according to the Charter of the United Nations, preserving the unity and
authority of this organ and strengthening the higher interest of the
preservation of international peace and security.
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