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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 002242 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: SECURITY CONCERNS DOMINATE DURING UNAMI/MNF-I 
QUARTERLY BRIEF TO SECURITY COUNCIL 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: On December 11, UN SRSG for Iraq Ashraf Qazi 
and Ambassador Sanders on behalf of MNF-I presented their 
quarterly briefings during a public meeting of the Security 
Council regarding the situation in Iraq.  In his remarks, 
Qazi issued a stark warning, saying that the recent quarterly 
report of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq 
(UNAMI) assessed that "Iraq stands on the brink of civil war 
and chaos."  He helpfully emphasized the need for "active 
cooperation" from states in the region as well as the 
international community.  Both, he argued, have a "real 
stake" in Iraq's success. Qazi concluded: "Failure in Iraq is 
not an option." He also confirmed that the deteriorating 
security situation had led UNAMI to temporarily reduce its 
staffing presence in Baghdad. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary continued: Interventions by Council members 
were largely in the same pessimistic vein, although most 
expressed clear support for the International Compact and 
UNAMI,s role.  Many countries also stated explicit support 
for the MNF-I,s continued presence.  Major exceptions were 
France and China, who called for a timeline for MNF-I,s 
withdrawal.  Russia did not mention MNF-I in its statement. 
Iraqi PermRep Hamid Bayati also spoke and urged UNAMI to play 
an increased role.  A report of briefings by Qazi and 
Ambassador Sanders is at paras 3-5, Council reaction is at 
paras 6-9, and final comments by Bayati and Qazi are at paras 
10-11.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
BRIEFINGS BY SRSG QAZI AND AMBASSADOR SANDERS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) SRSG Qazi briefed the Council December 11 on UNAMI,s 
quarterly report.  Saying that "Iraq stands on the brink of 
civil war and chaos," Qazi stated that "efforts made by the 
Government of Iraq and the Multinational Force have not 
prevented a continuous deterioration of the security 
situation which, if not reversed, will progressively 
undermine Iraq,s political prospects."  He listed a number 
of initiatives, including meetings sponsored by the Ministry 
of National Dialogue and the Baghdad Security Plan, and 
concluded that they had been ineffective in controlling 
violence.  In order to reduce the violence, Qazi said that "a 
collective international and regional initiative...is the 
only way forward."  He therefore supported the SYG,s call 
for a regional contact group - "a broader and more inclusive 
political approach that involves all the main neighbours of 
Iraq, as well as the P5 countries."  He also stated that 
regional states and the international community should 
provide "active cooperation" to Iraq because they have a 
"real stake" in Iraq's success, and asserted that "Failure in 
Iraq is not an option." 
 
¶4. (U) Qazi listed a number of issues for which he believed 
Iraqi consensus is needed.  Among them was "finding a 
mutually acceptable way to discuss the future of the MNF-I,s 
role as a key component of a national reconciliation 
process."  He concluded his presentation by vowing that UNAMI 
would continue to remain "actively engaged with national, 
regional and international actors to help Iraq arrest the 
further deterioration of an already critical situation." 
 
¶5. (U) Ambassador Sanders followed Qazi,s statement with a 
briefing on behalf of MNF-I.  She noted progress made by the 
Iraqi government on its reform agenda, as well as progress 
made on the International Compact with Iraq.  She also noted 
that the security situation causes "grave concern," and that 
sectarian violence had increased.  Ambassador Sanders 
underscored the importance of national reconciliation, MNF-I 
support for the Iraqi government as it prepares to assume 
full responsibility for the country,s security, and MNF-I 
support for a robust UNAMI presence. 
 
------------------ 
SC MEMBERS RESPOND 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (U) SECURITY SITUATION DIRE: All Security Council members 
began by commenting on and agreeing with the stark warnings 
 
USUN NEW Y 00002242  002 OF 002 
 
 
issued by Qazi during his presentation and as outlined in 
greater detail in the latest UNAMI report.  First to speak 
was the French PermRep, who said France was "deeply 
concerned" by the increasing violence and the "vast suffering 
endured by the Iraqi people."  He called for relaunching the 
Iraqi political process, restoring Iraqi sovereignty through 
a clear withdrawal process for MNF-I, and the support of the 
international community and the region, points echoed by the 
Chinese PermRep.  Russia, Argentina and Greece commented that 
the current situation is not working, and that both the 
international community and the Government of Iraq need to 
reexamine their positions.  They and other countries, 
including France and China, expressed support for the SYG,s 
call for a regional conference.  The UK PermRep said the 
security situation was serious, and that addressing it is the 
top priority of the Government of Iraq and the MNF-I, 
comments echoed by Slovakia and Denmark, fellow Council 
members and MNF-I contributors. 
 
¶7. (U) MNF-I SUPPORT: The majority of Council members 
expressly supported the work of MNF-I, although there were 
notable exceptions.  France and China said only that MNF-I 
should clearly present a timeline for leaving Iraq, while the 
Russian PermRep did not mention MNF-I at all in his 
statement. 
 
¶8. (U) SUPPORT FOR THE COMPACT: Most Council members stated 
strong support for the work of the International Compact for 
Iraq.  China, among other members, said it "fully supported" 
the Compact and encouraged the international community to 
support the initiative.  Only France and Russia did not 
mention the Compact in their statements. 
 
¶9. (U) SUPPORT FOR UNAMI: All Council members warmly thanked 
Qazi and UNAMI for their efforts, and said the UN,s efforts 
were needed in actively supporting the Compact and national 
reconciliation.  Several members, including Russia, France 
and Qatar, said action was needed to address the growing 
refugee problem, and UNAMI,s efforts in this would be 
welcome. 
 
------------------------------------ 
FINAL COMMENTS BY IRAQ AND SRSG QAZI 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (U) Iraqi PermRep Bayati took the floor following the SC 
statements, and began by stressing that a larger UN presence 
is required in Iraq.  He acknowledged the "dangerous slide to 
the brink of civil war," and attributed this slide to "Saddam 
loyalists, extremists (note: he used the Arabic word 
"taqfireen" which implies Sunni extremists) and criminal 
groups."  He agreed with statements by Council members on the 
necessity to enlarge the political and national 
reconciliation process, and added that the full transfer of 
security responsibility from MNF-I to the Iraqi Security 
Forces will occur as soon as possible.  Bayati ended with a 
plea not to view the human rights situation in Iraq 
independently of the worsening security context.  He stressed 
that human rights violations that occur between security 
forces and "terrorists and criminal groups" cannot be 
compared to the human rights violations that these groups 
precipitate upon Iraqi civilians.  He concluded that an 
improvement in the security situation would result in an 
improvement in the human rights situation. 
 
¶11. (U) Asked for his final thoughts before the session was 
gaveled to a close, Qazi emphasized the "debilitating human 
cost of the violence" in Iraq, which he termed "among the 
worst in the world."  He noted that "a lot is expected of 
UNAMI" and said UNAMI was ready to help.  Nevertheless, he 
said that UNAMI had decided to temporarily reduce its 
personnel in Baghdad because of security concerns, although 
he committed to increasing this number as soon as conditions 
improved.  Assistance to Iraq, he stated, is "a moral and 
strategic imperative that none of us can afford to ignore." 
WOLFF