Ambassador Ole Petter Kolby

Statement on the Iraq conflict in the Security Council

New York, 26 March 2003

We had hoped that disarming Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction could have been done peacefully, through a united approach by the Security Council. This was unfortunately not the case.

A major task before us now is to ensure the protection of the civilian population by all parties to the conflict and to alleviate suffering through effective humanitarian assistance. For the longer term, Iraq and the Middle East must be ensured a stable future based on peace and prosperity for the peoples of the region.

As the war unfolds, the international community must be prepared to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people.

Norway will shoulder its responsibility by playing an active role in easing the suffering by increasing our humanitarian assistance and participate in the reconstruction of Iraq. We will continue our close dialogue with the UN, its specialized agencies and the Red Cross system.

We will also support Norwegian humanitarian NGOs already active in the region.

In addition to our contributions to meet the acute humanitarian needs, we will also consider assistance towards reconstruction of infrastructure. Norway will contribute in the areas where we have capabilities and competence on the basis of assessed needs and in coordination with others.

There are considerable resources vested in the Oil-for-Food Program. Norway joins others in urging the Security Council to keep this program running to meet the most immediate humanitarian needs of the population. The Oil-for-Food-program should be used to alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis and for reconstruction. In this respect we would like to appeal to the Security Council to quickly agree on the continuation of the Oil-for-Food- program, giving the UN Secretary General the necessary authority and flexibility to respond to urgent humanitarian needs. Iraq is a country rich on resources and human capital, and will no doubt also contribute to rapid reconstruction once the present conflict is over.

It is important that the overall international assistance is coordinated by the UN. We welcome the statement by the Secretary General outlining such a role for the UN.

If the Security Council is to play its role of safeguarding international peace and security as envisaged in the UN Charter, it is imperative that the unity of the Council is maintained. This must be the lesson learned.