United Nations: Stressing the need to disarm Iraq through peaceful means, India has
asserted that force should be used only as the "very last, unavoidable" option and
as authorised by the UN Security Council.
As the discussions on disarmament of Iraq enter a critical phase, it is important to
underline that "our focus should be on the need to secure disarmament without
resorting to force as far as possible", India's Ambassador to UN, Vijay Nambiar,
said participating in the Security Council debate on the situation in Iraq.
The international community, he emphasised, has to strike a balance between the
objective of achieving Iraq's full compliance with UN resolutions and the means
adopted to reach goal.
"The balance can be best achieved through a collective decision of international
community through the United Nations," he said.
"If the actions of the Council are to be seen to possess legitimacy, they must be
issued from a body, which is united and acts responsibly towards ensuring compliance
by the regime in Iraq, ensures stability in the immediate neighbourhood and
safeguards international peace and security in the region as whole," Nambiar said
Warning that the cost of war would be "incalculable" in material and human terms in
the region and beyond, he urged Iraq to co-operate "actively" with the weapons
inspection process and comply fully with the Council resolutions.
Nambiar also asked the Council to act unitedly on the issue to ensure that
credibility of the UN is not weakened.
Referring to proposals about establishing benchmarks for Iraq to achieve within a
specified period, Nambiar said if giving some more time and the laying down of
clearer criteria were to help the process of UN-based decision making, these should
be given a chance.
The Indian Ambassador also urged the Council to take steps to ensure that the action
taken by it does not have an adverse impact on the humanitarian situation of the
Iraqi people and that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country is
maintained.
He cautioned the delegates that what the Council does at this juncture could well
represent a "defining moment" in the way the relations among nations are ordered.
In this context, Nambiar called for active exploration under UN auspices of possible
alternatives to avoid recourse to use of force and military action.
He also stressed the need to safeguard the interests of the countries in the region
as well as those that have vital stake in the area.
PTI
