PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR IRAQ
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR IRAQ
19980309
The newly appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Prakash Shah, said at a Headquarters press briefing today that the Secretary- General had indicated in a letter dated 5 March to the Security Council what was expected of him. Mr. Shah said he planned to leave New York on Wednesday or Thursday and set up his office in Baghdad before the end of March.
A correspondent asked whether his presence in Iraq could undermine the actions of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) set up to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, Richard Butler. Mr. Shah said the Secretary-General believed there could be improved lines of communication between the Iraqi Government and United Nations Headquarters, and having a Special Envoy for Iraq would help achieve that. Mr. Butler had his own job as head of UNSCOM, which had been functioning for several years. He did not see any problem or difficulty regarding the work of Mr. Butler or the work the Secretary-General believed his Special Envoy should do in Iraq.
Asked about his capacity in Iraq, Mr. Shah said it was felt that the United Nations had a major involvement in the country. There were a number of Special Representatives in various places where the United Nations was involved, and after his trip to Baghdad, the Secretary-General felt there was a lacuna there that needed to be filled. He had therefore indicated to the Council that he wanted a Special Envoy mainly for the improved lines of communication between him and the Government of Iraq.
Would he play a "buffer role" between UNSCOM and the Iraqi Government and what was his relationship with Mr. Butler? a correspondent asked. Mr. Shah said he would be in a better position to answer that question after he returned from Iraq. However, when referring to either Mr. Butler or the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, it was important to understand that "we are all working for the same side, which is the United Nations".
The United Nations had certain objectives, the Security Council had passed certain resolutions and there should be no difficulty for all those who were involved or had been given certain obligations to fulfil, Mr. Shah continued. Personally, he and Mr. Butler were, and continued to be, very good friends, and he did not see any possibility of any difficulty in working with him or others who were already with the United Nations in Iraq.
Iraq had complained repeatedly that the United States was dominating the work of the United Nations and that was affecting UNSCOM's work and relations with Iraq, a correspondent said, and asked whether there was any validity to those complaints and how Mr. Shah intended to "smooth out" any problems or Iraq's perception of the situation. Mr. Shah noted that he had not yet been
Shah Briefing - 2 - 9 March 1998
to Iraq. He would be holding discussions with the Iraqi authorities and would deal with such points as they arose.
Given India's close relations with Iraq and the position it took during the Persian Gulf war, was he worried that he might be seen as a "soft touch" who might not stand up to the Iraqi authorities? a correspondent asked. Mr. Shah replied that he had retired as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations last year. He was not going to Iraq as a representative of India but as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General. Those who knew him and his career would have a different view than the one the correspondent was suggesting.
Asked whether he would be dealing with all aspects of the United Nations activities in Iraq, including the "oil-for-food" programme, Mr. Shah said his duties, as described in the Secretary-General's letter to the Council, included lending himself to existing United Nations activities in all the fields, including humanitarian ones. After he had been to Iraq, he would be in a better position to answer such questions.
Would he be setting up a separate headquarters in Baghdad and would he be operating as a separate entity? a correspondent asked. Mr. Shah said he was currently discussing such arrangements. It had been already decided that he would have a separate office in the sense that some United Nations and local staff would be made available. He would decide on arrangements for the actual physical office after he arrived in Baghdad, as he did not yet know if there was sufficient space in existing United Nations offices.
Asked if he would be returning to Headquarters before he went back to Iraq, Mr. Shah said he planned to stop over in Iraq at the end of the week for a couple of days before travelling on to New Delhi. He would then return to Baghdad to set up his office and did not plan to come back to New York until after that.
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