PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL ADVISER LAKHDAR BRAHIMI

PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL ADVISER LAKHDAR BRAHIMI

“The UN was not looking for a job, not begging for a role in Iraq, but if the Iraqis wanted it, whatever capabilities the United Nations had were at their disposal”, Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, said today at a Headquarters press briefing.

He reminded correspondents that the Secretary-General had received a letter from the President of the Governing Council in December asking the United Nations to help see if elections could take place in Iraq before June and, if not, what was the alternative to the elected government.  He also recalled that, following that letter, the Secretary-General had invited both the Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) for a meeting here on 19 January.  On that occasion, both sides repeatedly asked the United Nations to help find an answer to those two questions.  The Secretary-General responded and sent a team to Iraq to try and see how the United Nations could help.  Following that visit, the Secretary-General passed on a report to the Security Council, the CPA and the Governing Council.

An answer had been provided to the first question during that visit, namely, that an Iraqi consensus had emerged that elections that would be credible, acceptable and help move Iraq forward towards security, independence, unity and sovereignty would simply not be able to be held before June.  He had the very strong impression that most of the Iraqis with whom he had spoken had agreed with that finding.  The second question remained unanswered, but the consensus among the Iraqis on the first question had given them more time to debate among themselves about how they were going to form the administration, which was to receive sovereignty on 30 June/1 July. 

He said that the Secretary-General had also indicated in the report that, if the Iraqis wanted the United Nations to continue to provide support, help, and advice on how to proceed in finding, again, a consensus among Iraqis leading to the formation of a government or administration before 30 June, the United Nations was “willing and able, if asked, if required, to help with the preparation of the elections”.  He had been authorized by the Secretary-General to say today that the United Nations’ readiness was there.  If required, it was willing to help with either or both of those tasks that needed to be performed in Iraq.

A correspondent noted that the “vibes” coming out of Iraq indicated that the United Nations was not wanted.  Mr. Brahimi said that had not been his impression.  He believed that a lot of Iraqis did want the United Nations back.  There had been some items in the newspaper indicating that the Ayatollah was objecting to a United Nations role.  The Secretary-General had received a message a few days ago directly from the Ayatollah saying that he had had nothing to do with those articles and that, indeed, he wanted the United Nations to continue to play a role.  Now, the Organization was “waiting for the CPA and the Governing Council to tell us if the UN was required to play a role, and we will take it from there”, he said.

Asked why there was delay in defining a possible role for the United Nations and whether time was not running out, he said there had been very serious discussions on other issues, which had held up a decision by the Governing Council on that question.

To a question about whether he had any sense of what might be acceptable to the broadest segment of the Iraqi population, he said, “the short answer is I don’t know”.  A lot of discussion was taking place, but no structured debate had yet started.

What would it take for you to go back? another correspondent asked.  Mr. Brahimi said he thought the United Nations needed a formal reply to the report that the Secretary-General had forwarded on the first phase of United Nations’ involvement.  He thought that would be forthcoming sometime soon, he said, adding, “We are not looking for a job, not pressing for a job.  We will, if we are needed, be very happy to help”.  As the Secretary-General had stated on several occasions, and as contained in the language of the report, a clear request from the parties in Iraq, namely the Governing Council and the CPA, was needed, along with clear support from the Security Council, which was “our governing body”.

Asked to what extent the credibility of the United Nations in other parts of the world depended on its success or failure in Iraqi, he said he hoped that if the United Nations had a role it would be “up to the job and we will be up to the expectations that would be asked of us”.  Absent elections in June, a kind of space had been created to debate.  At the same time, working on the fundamental law had taken a lot of time.  He did not wish to prejudge a United Nations role.  “We are very relaxed and waiting for them to come back to us in their own time.  We will work on any answer they come up with”, he said.

Responding to a question about Mr. Brahimi’s expressed view that the holding of elections by the end of the year would happen only if preparations began now, he explained that, from what he had heard in Iraq, something like eight months was needed after the legal framework was finalized.  The earlier work began on a legal framework, the better, but it was not yet too late.  True, eight months was a very tight time frame, so time lost now would require more time later to meet a deadline.

Another reporter, saying that the CPA would cease to exist in a little over three months, asked what needed to happen between now and then to facilitate something taking its place.

Mr. Brahimi said there were numerous questions around that issue.  What did it mean that the CPA would cease to exist?  What kind of government would be formed to take over on 1 July?  And, what would be the relationship between the CPA and the administration?  He did not have any answers, only questions.  He hoped the Iraqis, the CPA, and the United Nations, if it helped, could start struggling with those questions as early as possible.

To a further question, he said that the CPA, the Governing Council and everybody else had recognized that the administration to be created needed to be the result of wide consultations in Iraq.  The Governing Council was the official body for the moment, but they and everybody else agreed that the next phase needed wider consultation and that that phase would be for a very limited period until the election.

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