IRAQ WEBLOG

UNITED

NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will tell Iraq on Thursday to stop defying the United Nations and allow

the return of weapons inspectors "for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world order."

"If Iraq's

defiance continues, the Security Council must face its responsibilities," Annan said in a draft of his speech to be delivered

Thursday to the 57th U.N. General Assembly.

But the secretary-general also had a message for the United States,

saying countries do have a right to self defense, but no U.N. member nation "large or small" should act alone on major global

issues as "a simple matter of political convenience."

"It has consequences far beyond the immediate context," he

said. "When states decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no

substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations."

Annan's speech outlined what he called "four

current threats to world peace:" Iraq, the crisis in the Middle East, tensions between India and Pakistan, and the continued

instability in Afghanistan.

With much of the international community voicing opposition to military strikes on Iraq,

Annan said the "primary criterion for putting an issue" before the Security Council "should not be the receptiveness of the

parties, but the existence of a grave threat to world peace."

"The leadership of Iraq continues to defy mandatory

resolutions adopted by the Security Council," Annan said.

The secretary-general said he has "engaged Iraq in an

in-depth discussion on a range of issues," including the need for the return of weapons inspectors.

"Efforts to

obtain Iraq's compliance with the council's resolutions must continue," he said.

"I appeal to all who have

influence with Iraq's leaders to impress on them the vital importance of accepting the weapons inspections. This is the

indispensable first step towards assuring the world that all Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have indeed been eliminated.



"And let me stress towards the suspension and eventual ending of the sanctions that are causing so many hardships for

the Iraqi people. I urge Iraq to comply with its obligations for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world order."



The speech is to be delivered Thursday morning ahead of an address to the U.N. General Assembly by President Bush.

Security will be extremely tight, with at least six blocks around the building closed off. The United Nations described the

security as "at the highest level."

An FBI bulletin said there were no specific threats against the United Nations,

but "such an event in New York City within the general time frame of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks of

September 11, 2001, represents a potentially attractive target for terrorists."

One senior U.N. official said the

United Nations took the unusual step of releasing Annan's speech to the press in advance because they were afraid the speech

would get overlooked by Bush's address.

This official said the primary message of the speech is that nations have a

right to self-defense, but "when it goes beyond that" -- when "broad threats" are at stake -- then the United Nations and

Security Council are there for that.

"This is a strong restatement of the multilateralist faith on which the U.N. is

based," this official said.

More highlights from the speech include:


Middle East: Annan said the United

Nations "must return to the search for a just and comprehensive solution" to the Middle East crisis. He said U.N. resolutions

have long spelled out the "ultimate shape" of a peace settlement: "land for peace; an end to terror and to occupation; two

states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders."

"Both parties accept this

vision. But we can reach it only if we move rapidly and in parallel on all fronts. The so-called 'sequential' approach has

failed," Annan said.


Afghanistan: He urged "leaders of the international community to maintain your commitment to

Afghanistan." He welcomed new Afghan President Hamid Karzai to the assembly and said his country needs help in two primary

areas: Help to "extend its authority throughout the country" and the need for nations to "follow through on their commitment

to help with rehabilitation, reconstruction and development."

"Otherwise, the Afghan people will lose hope -- and

desperation, we know, breeds violence."


India-Pakistan tensions: He said the two South Asia nations recently came

"closer than for many years past to a direct conflict between two nuclear weapon capable countries." He thanked member states

for helping find an immediate solution, but said the international community may have a role to play should "a fresh crisis"

erupt.

"The situation may now have calmed a little, but it remains perilous," he said.




http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/11/annan.speech/