Media Release
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AND TRADE, Australia
D13
The Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs called the
Iraqi Charge d'Affaires to the Department on 9 February to convey the
view that Iraq's continued refusal to cooperate with UNSCOM is
unacceptable to the Australian Government.
UNSCOM has a clear mandate, set out in UN Security Council
Resolution 687, to make on-site inspections of any locations it deems
necessary in order to destroy all of Iraq's chemical and biological
weapons and ballistic missiles.
Iraq's behaviour is in flagrant defiance of UN Security Council
Resolutions, the rule of law and the international community. It is
for the Security Council, not Iraq, to decide when UNSCOM's work is
complete.
Mr Flood expressed the concern of the Australian Government at the
serious escalation of tension in the region and sought Iraq's
cooperation with the efforts being made to find an acceptable
diplomatic solution to the current situation.
CANBERRA