Iraq text to be completed shortly - UNSC President

Iraq text to be completed shortly, Security Council President predicts

4 November – With a draft resolution on Iraq on the table, and countries having already expressed their views on the situation, the Security Council should be quickly wrapping up its work on the issue, the President of the 15-member body for the month of November said today.

Zhang Yishan, the Deputy Permanent Representative of China, told a press briefing that although it was presently not known when the Council will take up the issue of Iraq next, it was the general belief of Council members that discussions should conclude as soon as possible.

The co-sponsors of the draft resolution had told him they had to take the views of Council members and other States on board, Ambassador Zhang said in response to a question. No delegation was delaying anything, he added, recalling that an open debate on the issue had taken place last month.

As for the rest of the Council's approved programme of work for November, Ambassador Zhang said it would include discussions of reports by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Iraq "oil-for-food" programme, Timor-Leste, Somalia, Angola, Georgia, Kosovo and children and armed conflict.

Other issues that might come up in the Council include Burundi and Côte d'Ivoire, he said, adding that regular reviews and briefings such as on the Middle East and Afghanistan were also on the docket.

Regarding the method of work, Ambassador Zhang said he would try his best to contact other Council members and to arrange as many open meetings and consultations as possible. He also pledged to keep the work of the Council transparent, briefing non-Council Member States after closed-door consultations.

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