Amendments proposed by Syria

The text below is a translated extract from an article printed in Al-Hayat newspaper on September 12 2003. It describes amendments to this draft resolution

The Syrian amendments and observations which Al-Hayat learned about object to placing the Iraq issue in the framework of the "war on terrorism". They indicated that Resolution 1373, to which the US draft resolution refers, does not apply to the situation in Iraq. The amendments state: "The threat to world peace and security does not emanate from terrorist acts, as the draft resolution indicates, but from mistakes made by the occupation authority, and mainly the dissolution of Iraqi institutions, primarily the military and security establishments. The threat also emanates from the lack of a clear and definitive timetable assuring Iraqi citizens that the occupation will end and from the delay in drafting a constitution and electing a national government."

The Syrian amendments call for:

• Allowing the UN to participate in rebuilding Iraqi economy, not only to support the occupation authority's activity;
• "Welcoming", not "endorsing" or "supporting", the interim Iraqi Governing Council;
• Cancelling the US draft resolution's paragraph which calls on the region's states, namely Iraq's neighbours, to "prevent terrorists from crossing into Iraq and ensure that terrorists receive no weapons and funding that may support terrorism" on the grounds that this paragraph implicitly accuses the neighbouring states of exporting terrorism to Iraq to undermine its security;
• Adding a paragraph under which the Security Council calls on "the occupation authority to draw up a clear timetable to end the occupation"; and
• Replacing the phrase "deploying multinational forces" with the phrase "deploying UN forces under a unified command appointed by the secretary-general and calling on the secretary-general to submit a report on the formation, tasks and leadership of this force".

The Syrian proposals differ from the Russian, French and German ones with regard to the multinational force and drawing up a timetable to end the occupation, but agree with them on the status of the neighbouring states and key role of the region's states.

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