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UN draft resolution on Iraq good starting point: French FM
Paris, May 12: The draft United Nations Security Council resolution proposed by the United States is a good starting point for rebuilding Iraq but the UN needs to be more closely involved in ensuring its transition to democracy, French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin said today.
Paris, May 12: The draft United Nations Security Council resolution proposed by the United States is a good starting point for rebuilding Iraq but the UN needs to be more closely involved in ensuring its transition to democracy, French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin said today.
"A legitimate Iraqi administration must be installed even if for the moment it is only provisional. But who can confer international legitimacy except the United Nations?" De
Villepin said in a newspaper interview.
In New York on Friday the US, Britain and Spain released the draft text of a resolution under which the US would be recognised as the occupying power in Iraq -- with "specific authorities, responsibilities and obligations" -- while the UN would provide a supporting role. De Villepin said the text constituted "a good starting point" but said the US and its war allies needed to show their good faith by making a clearer statement of the UN's importance.
He said the US-run authority in Iraq should report every three months to the Security Council, submit to the rule of law, particularly as regards the country's oil industry, and accept a clear timetable leading to the handover of power. France was vehemently opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq but it has since sought to patch up its breach with Washington by promising a "pragmatic" approach to postwar reconstruction. Bureau Report
In New York on Friday the US, Britain and Spain released the draft text of a resolution under which the US would be recognised as the occupying power in Iraq -- with "specific authorities, responsibilities and obligations" -- while the UN would provide a supporting role. De Villepin said the text constituted "a good starting point" but said the US and its war allies needed to show their good faith by making a clearer statement of the UN's importance.
He said the US-run authority in Iraq should report every three months to the Security Council, submit to the rule of law, particularly as regards the country's oil industry, and accept a clear timetable leading to the handover of power. France was vehemently opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq but it has since sought to patch up its breach with Washington by promising a "pragmatic" approach to postwar reconstruction. Bureau Report