Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-12-Speech-3-162"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030212.5.3-162"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, this is an exceptionally important debate. Tensions are certainly rising in an international context. If we are not careful, and if this crisis is badly handled, this will only result in serious and long-term consequences for us all on many fronts.
It would be tragic if the authority of the United Nations is weakened to a point where it loses international credibility. That is why it is so necessary to guarantee that the United Nations is involved at each and every stage of the developments to disarm the Iraqi Government of its weapons of mass destruction. International security is best served in a collective sense, via global institutions such as the United Nations. In many ways, it is even more important for smaller Member States to have their security protected by an international organisation such as the United Nations.
This is the crux of the issue. There is genuine good will, support and confidence on the part of the people of Europe in the work of the United Nations. In fact, no one would dispute for one moment the professionalism and integrity of the United Nations officials who are officially involved in the inspection missions in Iraq. The United Nations has been involved in the whole process to disarm the Iraqi Government of its weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations must remain a central player in this ongoing process of disarmament. Any unilateral action in the coming weeks would gravely and seriously damage the authority and credibility of the United Nations as an organisation involved in maintaining international governance in the world.
Weapons inspections must continue as long as the inspectors themselves and the United Nations Security Council believe that they will serve a useful purpose. We all want to see a peaceful solution to this issue by guaranteeing the compliance of the Iraqi Government with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441. Saddam Hussein must recognise that the international community wants to resolve this issue by peaceful means. Disarming Saddam Hussein in a peaceful manner is by far the most acceptable and preferable course of action for all of us.
EU governments are meeting next Monday to review the political situation. This meeting is taking place at a time of rising tension between the different European Union states. I certainly hope that this meeting can and will be used to defuse this tension which simply serves no one's interests whatsoever. This meeting will take place only a few days after the next United Nations weapons inspectors' report is published.
We must continue to try to secure a common European position on Iraq, notwithstanding the very clear differences in approach to this issue that now exist between the different EU governments. We must all try to approach the next few weeks collectively in a calm and reasoned manner.
However, Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to defy the authority of the United Nations as he has sought to in the past. We must not forget that this is a man who brutally abuses the human rights of his people. He has used chemical weapons on his own people; he has invaded Iran and Kuwait and bombed Saudi Arabia and Israel in the past. This is certainly a track record of brutal belligerence. Saddam Hussein needs to be disarmed, and he must recognise that the international community will continue to demand that he does disarm. However, the United Nations must continue to be the organisation that oversees the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1441 or any future resolutions that may be agreed at the UN on this very important and sensitive matter."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples