The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999 and its mission lasted until June 2007.
UNMOVIC was meant to replace the former
United Nations Special Commission
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War. Between 1991 and 199 ...
(UNSCOM) to carry on with the mandate to disarm
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
of its
weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
(WMDs), and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and verification to check Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to reacquire the same weapons banned by the Security Council.
Background and UNMOVIC's predecessor UNSCOM
UNSCOM was created with the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 687
United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 was adopted on 3 April 1991. After reaffirming resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 660, 660, United Nations Security Council Resolution 661, 661, United Nations Security Council Re ...
in April 1991.
Lack of cooperation between UNSCOM and the Iraqi government, plus
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
's failure to provide unfettered access to UN arms inspectors, led the United States and the United Kingdom to launch air strikes during
Operation Desert Fox
The 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from 16 to 19 December 1998, by the United States and the United Kingdom. On 16 December 1998, President of the United States Bill ...
. Along with founded suspicion of the CIA interference and infiltration in UNSCOM, military intervention in Iraq in December 16–18, 1998 marked the virtual end of UNSCOM's legitimacy. Those facts led to its closing down and to, at least, one-year hiatus regarding weapon inspections in Iraq.
UNMOVIC
Organisation
UNMOVIC was created with the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1284
United Nations Security Council resolution 1284, adopted on 17 December 1999, after recalling previous relevant resolutions on Iraq, including resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 661, 661 (1990), United Nations Security Council ...
in December 1999.
In addition to the Office of the Chairman with executive, legal and liaison functions, UNMOVIC comprised four divisions (Planning and Operations, Analysis and Assessment, Information, Technical Support and Training) as well as an administrative service. The Commission maintained its headquarters at the United Nations in New York.
Operations
In December 1999 UNMOVIC was to take the token and even though
Resolution 1284 required its inspection teams allowance to "immediate and unconditional access to any weapons sites and facilities", Iraq rejected the resolution. UNMOVIC could not send inspections to Iraq well into November 2002 after
Resolution 1441
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 is a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted unanimously by the United Nations Security Council on 8 November 2002, offering Iraq under Saddam Hussein "a final opportunity to comply with ...
was passed.
In 2000, the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Dr.
Hans Blix
Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Sweden, Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party (Sweden), Liberal People's Party. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden), Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979 ...
of Sweden to be the Commission's Executive Chairman. He served from 1 March 2000 until the end of June 2003, roughly 3 months after Iraq had been invaded.
With no ongoing inspections on the ground in Iraq, political tension escalated in the period 2000-2002 and, in the aftermath of
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001 Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq became the spotlight of the ongoing
War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
policies in Washington.
Following the mandate of the
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 is a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted unanimously by the United Nations Security Council on 8 November 2002, offering Iraq under Saddam Hussein "a final opportunity to comply with ...
,
The president of Iraq,
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
, was forced to allow UN inspectors back to his country in November 2002.
UN Resolution 1441 was an actual enhancement of previous
United Nations Security Council Resolution 687
United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 was adopted on 3 April 1991. After reaffirming resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 660, 660, United Nations Security Council Resolution 661, 661, United Nations Security Council Re ...
and provided: "that Iraq shall provide UNMOVIC and the
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
(IAEA) immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all, including underground, areas, facilities, buildings, equipment, records, and means of transport which they wish to inspect, as well as immediate, unimpeded, unrestricted, and private access to all officials and other persons whom UNMOVIC or the IAEA wish to interview in the mode or location of UNMOVIC's or the IAEA's choice pursuant to any aspect of their mandates".
Along with IAEA, UNMOVIC led inspections of alleged chemical and biological facilities in Iraq until shortly before the
U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Findings and conclusions
UNMOVIC never found any operative
weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
in Iraq and although its inspectors were withdrawn in March 2003, continued to operate with respect to those parts of its mandate it could implement outside of Iraq and maintained a degree of preparedness to resume work in Iraq. It maintained a roster of more than 300 experts ready to serve and continued to conduct training.
Its Executive Chairman, Mr Blix, commented in March 2004 that
"in the buildup to the war, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqis were cooperating with UN inspections, and in February 2003 had provided UNMOVIC with the names of hundreds of scientists to interview, individuals Saddam claimed had been involved in the destruction of banned weapons. Had the inspections been allowed to continue, there would likely have been a very different situation in Iraq."
Blix also said that America's pre-emptive, unilateral actions "have bred more terrorism there and elsewhere".
He accused President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
of acting not in bad faith, but with a severe lack of
critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
.
The mandate of UNMOVIC was terminated on 29 June 2007.
See also
*
Iraq disarmament crisis
The Iraq disarmament crisis was claimed as one of primary issues that led to the multinational invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003. Since the 1980s, Iraq was widely assumed to have been producing and extensively running the programs of biolog ...
1990–2003
* UNMOVIC personnel:
Hans Blix
Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Sweden, Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party (Sweden), Liberal People's Party. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden), Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979 ...
,
Dimitris Perrikos
Dimitris Perrikos ( el, Δημήτρης Περρίκος, born December 1935 in Piraeus, Greece) is a Greek chemist working for the United Nations since 1975. He was the second Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection ...
,
Corinne Heraud Corinne Heraud was formerly a Chief Inspector of the Missile inspection team in Iraq, while working for the United Nation's Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Prior to that she held various other posts at UNMOVIC and had b ...
,
Alexander Coker Alexander Coker (born 1969) was formerly a Chief Inspector of the Chemical Weapons team in Iraq, while working for the United Nation’s Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Prior to that he held various other posts at UNMOV ...
,
Jack McGeorge
Harvey John "Jack" McGeorge II (September 29, 1949 – August 18, 2009) was a Marine, a Secret Service Specialist, and a munitions analyst for the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), as well as being a frequently re ...
References
[Bonnie Azab Powell.]
U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix faults Bush administration for lack of 'critical thinking' in Iraq
, Hans Blix
Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Sweden, Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party (Sweden), Liberal People's Party. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden), Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979 ...
interviewed by Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; fa, کریستیان امانپور, Kristiane Amānpur; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief ...
, University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
NewsCenter, 18 March 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
{{Authority control
Organizations established by the United Nations
Iraq War
1284
Year 1284 ( MCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Aragonese Crusade: The first French armies under King Philip III ( the Bold) and his ...
Iraq and the United Nations