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Australian takes over as Iraq watchdog
May 1, 1997
Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT)UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United Nations has found a new watchdog in its efforts to compel Iraq to destroy its weapons of mass destruction.
He is Richard Butler, Australia's ambassador to the United Nations and a man well-versed in international arms control.
Butler's appointment as chairman of the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq was announced Thursday, the same day the U.N. Security Council announced it would continue crippling economic sanctions on Iraq for another 60 days.
The sanctions were imposed after the Gulf War in 1991 to ensure that Iraq destroyed its long-range missiles and all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Butler replaces Rolf Ekeus, who is to become Sweden's ambassador to the United States. The two appeared Thursday at a press conference in New York, and Ekeus made it clear that the job is far from done.
"There remains, unfortunately, some ... highly significant items unaccounted for in Iraq," he said.
Iraq has accused Ekeus of misleading the Security Council about the extent of its compliance, and countries such as Russia, China and France have urged the commission to give Iraq an outline to follow.
Iraq still 'misleading, concealing, cheating'
Iraqi ambassador Nite-Nizar Hamdoon said, "Our hope is that Mr. Butler will expedite the work and try in the shortest time possible to close all the files."
But Ekeus says that although Iraq's biological and chemical weapons have been destroyed, Iraq has "decided systematically to mislead, conceal and cheat in an effort to preserve" other weapons capabilities.
He said he believes that Saddam Hussein wants to keep some of the banned weapons, particularly the long-range Scud missiles.
"I think that the Iraqi people are still victim of a policy which makes it impossible for the commission to reach a full clearing out of all the prohibited items in Iraq," he said.
Butler played a major role last year in salvaging the treaty which bans nuclear test explosions by successfully pushing it through the U.N. General Assembly. He also served as Australia's representative to a U.N. disarmament conference and on a commission which outlined a plan to rid the world of nuclear arms.
He has been ambassador to the United Nations since 1992.
Correspondent Richard Roth contributed to this report.
Related sites:
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- United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM)
- Arab.net: Iraq
- clari.world.mideast.iraq - News of Iraq
- Facts about Iraq
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