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New U.S. draft offers bigger role for U.N. in Iraq

United Nations May 20. In an effort to win widest possible support, especially from France and Russia, the U.S. has offered independent authority and bigger role to the U.N. envoy in Iraq in a revised draft resolution in the Security Council.

The U.N. envoy, which resolution wants the Secretary-General to appoint, would, under the new draft, work independently and would not be answerable to the occupying powers, diplomats said.

The revised draft seeking to lift sanctions against Iraq also allows six months, instead of four, for phasing out ``oil-for-food'' programme, permits weapons inspections sometime in future and allows lawsuit against new Iraqi interim authority for any environmental disaster, they said.

Offering concessions in the second revision of the draft, Washington indicated that this is as far as it would go to accommodate critics but did not rule out negotiations to fine tune the draft.

It indicated it wants a vote on the resolution by the end of the week and has asked the Council members to be prepared for vote by Thursday.

Diplomats said the members would send the draft to their respective capitals and expect instruction within next 48 hours at the latest.

The draft, which is co-sponsored by Britain and Spain, was never threatened with veto by Russia, France or China but Council diplomats said the U.S. is keen to have on board all major powers especially France with whom it is trying to mend fences after acrimonious confrontation on the issue of war against Iraq which Paris vehemently opposed.

PTI

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