NZ must back friends and allies in UN

The National Party Foreign Affairs spokesman says the US President's State of the Union address has spelled out in graphic detail the failure of Iraq to disarm.

Dr Wayne Mapp says it follows the Hans Blix report on Iraq's unwillingness to comply with the United Nations resolution 1441.

"Our Prime Minister has said that Iraq has not fulfilled its United Nations obligations.

"It must now be clear to her that Iraq will not disarm unless the international community, led by the United States and Britain in particular, is willing to give teeth to the UN resolutions," Dr Mapp says.

"These nations are New Zealand's most longstanding allies and New Zealand needs to be willing to back their leadership within the Security Council.

"It is obviously in New Zealand's interests to build upon the improving relationship with the United States and New Zealand should work with the US to secure a UN resolution," he says. "The next few weeks will be the test of the integrity of the UN process to ensure that a recalcitrant state such as Iraq complies with international law.

"I believe that in these testing times, it's crucial for New Zealand to stand firm with its traditional friends and allies," Dr Mapp says.

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