UN: The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said yesterday the UN Security Council could consider a second resolution on Iraq authorising "serious consequences" if Baghdad obstructed UN weapons inspectors.
The United States has always opposed a second resolution for fear of a veto on the use of force, and has stated that it will not be "hand-cuffed" if the Security Council fails to act.
Mr Cowen, in an interview at the UN in New York, also agreed however that he could envisage all 15 countries in the UN Security Council - of which Ireland is a member until December 31st - supporting US-led military action "if that is what is necessary in all the circumstances at that time". Mr Cowen was speaking at the end of three days of meetings with UN officials in New York, including chief UN weapons inspector, Dr Hans Blix.
Weapons inspections resumed yesterday for the first time in four years on the basis of UN Resolution 1441 passed earlier this month by the Security Council, and Iraq must now provide the UN with a full declaration of its weapons programs by December 8th.
Iraq "would have to produce really convincing documentary evidence" in the December 8th statement to substantiate its recent statement that it has no weapons of mass destruction programmes, Mr Cowen said. "The onus is on them, they have to satisfy the international community they are no longer a threat to peace."
With speculation growing that the US could force a crisis by claiming the Iraqi declaration was inadequate or misleading, Mr Cowen declined to say whether Ireland would consider an evidently false declaration as grounds for military action.
"It's a matter for the Security Council to make that judgement," he said.
Ireland's view was that "should military action be taken as a last resort under Article 42 of the UN Charter then that is a matter that would be best founded in law in terms of its legitimacy by a further decision of the Security Council." Asked how such a decision might be taken, Mr Cowen said "you can have a \ resolution at that stage".
Regarding the threat by the US to go it alone if the Security Council did not sanction military action, Mr Cowen said "We are of the view that any party who would be advocating military action would be well-minded to obtain the approval of the Security Council for that to be regarded as wholly legitimate in the international community."
Mr Cowen insisted that it was a matter for the Security Council to decide on imposing on Iraq the "serious consequences" mandated in Resolution 1441 in the event of non-compliance, despite the insistence of America's UN ambassador John Negroponte that the resolution "does not constrain any member" from taking action in the event of a material breach.
The UN resolution calls on the council to "consider" the situation in the event of non-compliance by Iraq and the need for full compliance with UN resolutions "to secure international peace and security".
Resolution 1441 was the best prospect of averting war, Mr Cowen said. It gave the Iraqis "an opportunity to solve this problem diplomatically".
Asked if he envisaged all members of the council supporting war against Iraq in the event of non-compliance, Mr Cowen said he could, "if that is what is necessary in all the circumstances at that time as the only way of resolving this problem.
"Much as we would like to avoid it, we would never give the impression that if it comes to the crunch we would evade that possibility. Otherwise the regime with which we are dealing would see that as a definite sign of weakness and continue its procrastination." Mr Blix, in his briefing for Mr Cowen, commented that "truth is what is ordered" [by the regime], when speaking about whether Iraqis were telling the truth about weapons. He said 30 inspectors were now on the ground in Iraq, building up to 100 by Christmas.
On the Middle East, Mr Cowen said he had "grave concerns" about the use of force by the Israeli military on the west bank.
Asked about the recent killing by Israeli soldiers of a UN official and the wounding of an Irish civilian on the West Bank, Mr Cowen said these incidents "made it very questionable that the use of force was proportionate in a whole range of circumstances. We have grave concerns about a number of incidents."
Mr Cowen, who will today take part in all-party talks in Belfast, said the people of Northern Ireland wanted both sides to embrace the idea that unionists and nationalists can work together for the benefit of all the people.
"That's what the people want, it's time the politicians caught up with where the people are at," he said.
Both sides needed to make a "quantum leap" to give the unionists a sense that the conflict was over for good and to assure nationalists on the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in terms of "demilitarisation, normalisation and all the rest of it".
Asked about Mr David Trimble's remarks in Chicago that the Republic would have no reason to exist "if you took away Catholicism and anti-Britishness, Mr Cowen commented, "They were far too succinct to be accurate".