[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 125 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H.J. RES. 125
Finding the Government of Iraq in material and unacceptable breach of
its international obligations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 1998
Mr. Gingrich (for himself and Mr. Gilman) introduced the following
joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Finding the Government of Iraq in material and unacceptable breach of
its international obligations.
Whereas hostilities in Operation Desert Storm ended on February 28, 1991, and
the conditions governing the cease-fire were specified in United Nations
Security Council Resolutions 686 (March 2, 1991) and 687 (April 3,
1991);
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 requires that
international economic sanctions remain in place until Iraq discloses
and destroys its weapons of mass destruction programs and capabilities
and undertakes unconditionally never to resume such activities;
Whereas Resolution 687 established the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq
(UNSCOM) to uncover all aspects of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction
programs and tasked the Director-General of the International Atomic
Energy Agency to locate and remove or destroy all nuclear weapons
systems, subsystems or material from Iraq;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 715, adopted on October 11,
1991, empowered UNSCOM to maintain a long-term monitoring program to
ensure Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs are dismantled and
not restarted;
Whereas Iraq has consistently fought to hide the full extent of its weapons
programs, and has systematically made false declarations to the Security
Council and to UNSCOM regarding those programs, and has systematically
obstructed weapons inspections for seven years;
Whereas in June 1991, Iraqi forces fired on International Atomic Energy Agency
inspectors and otherwise obstructed and misled UNSCOM inspectors,
resulting in UN Security Council Resolution 707 which found Iraq to be
in ``material breach'' of its obligations under United Nations Security
Council Resolution 687 for failing to allow UNSCOM inspectors access to
a site storing nuclear equipment;
Whereas in January and February of 1992, Iraq rejected plans to install long-
term monitoring equipment and cameras called for in UN resolutions,
resulting in a Security Council Presidential Statement of February 19,
1992, which declared that Iraq was in ``continuing material breach'' of
its obligations;
Whereas in February of 1992, Iraq continued to obstruct the installation of
monitoring equipment, and failed to comply with UNSCOM orders to allow
destruction of missiles and other prescribed weapons, resulting in the
Security Council Presidential Statement of February 28, 1992, which
reiterated that Iraq was in ``continuing material breach'' and noted a
``further material breach'' on account of Iraq's failure to allow
destruction of ballistic missile equipment;
Whereas on July 5, 1992, Iraq denied UNSCOM inspectors access to the Iraqi
Ministry of Agriculture, resulting in a Security Council Presidential
Statement of July 6, 1992, which declared that Iraq was in ``material
and unacceptable breach'' of its obligations under UN resolutions;
Whereas in December of 1992 and January of 1993, Iraq violated the southern no-
fly zone, moved surface to air missiles into the no-fly zone, raided a
weapons depot in internationally recognized Kuwaiti territory and denied
landing rights to a plane carrying UN weapons inspectors, resulting in a
Security Council Presidential Statement of January 8, 1993, which
declared that Iraq was in an ``unacceptable and material breach'' of its
obligations under UN resolutions;
Whereas in response to continued Iraqi defiance, a Security Council Presidential
Statement of January 11, 1993, reaffirmed the previous finding of
material breach, followed on January 13 and 18 by allied air raids, and
on January 17 with an allied missile attack on Iraqi targets;
Whereas on June 10, 1993, Iraq prevented UNSCOM's installation of cameras and
monitoring equipment, resulting in a Security Council Presidential
Statement of June 18, 1993, declaring Iraq's refusal to comply to be a
``material and unacceptable breach'';
Whereas on October 6, 1994, Iraq threatened to end cooperation with weapons
inspectors if sanctions were not ended, and one day later, massed 10,000
troops within 30 miles of the Kuwaiti border, resulting in United
Nations Security Council Resolution 949 demanding Iraq's withdrawal from
the Kuwaiti border area and renewal of compliance with UNSCOM;
Whereas on April 10, 1995, UNSCOM reported to the Security Council that Iraq had
concealed its biological weapons program, and had failed to account for
17 tons of biological weapons material resulting in the Security
Council's renewal of sanctions against Iraq;
Whereas on July 1, 1995, Iraq admitted to a full scale biological weapons
program, but denied weaponization of biological agents, and subsequently
threatened to end cooperation with UNSCOM resulting in the Security
Council's renewal of sanctions against Iraq;
Whereas on March 8, 11, 14, and 15, 1996, Iraq again barred UNSCOM inspectors
from sites containing documents and weapons, in response to which the
Security Council issue a Presidential Statement condemning ``clear
violations by Iraq of previous Resolutions 687, 707 and 715'';
Whereas from June 11-15, 1996, Iraq repeatedly barred weapons inspectors from
military sites, in response to which the Security Council adopted United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1060, noting the ``clear violation
on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 687, 707 and 715'' and in
response to Iraq's continued violations, issued a Presidential statement
detailing Iraq's ``gross violation of obligations'';
Whereas in August of 1996, Iraqi troops overran Irbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan,
employing more than 30,000 troops and Republican Guards to suppress the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, in response to which the Security Council
briefly suspended implementation on United Nations Security Council
Resolution 986, the UN oil for food plan;
Whereas in December of 1996, Iraq prevented UNSCOM from removing 130 Scud
missile engines from Iraq for analysis, resulting in a Security Council
presidential statement which ``deplore[d]'' Iraq's refusal to cooperate
with UNSCOM;
Whereas on April 9, 1997, Iraq violated the no-fly zone in southern Iraq and
United Nations Security Council Resolution 670, banning international
flights, resulting in a Security Council statement regretting Iraq's
lack of ``specific consultation'' with the Council;
Whereas on June 4 and 5, 1997, Iraqi officials on board UNSCOM aircraft
interfered with the controls and inspections, endangering inspectors and
obstructing the UNSCOM mission, resulting in a UN Security Council
presidential statement demanding Iraq end its interference and on June
21, 1997, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1115 threatened
sanctions on Iraqi officials responsible for these interferences;
Whereas on September 13, 1997, during an inspection mission, an Iraqi official
attacked UNSCOM officials engaged in photographing illegal Iraqi
activities, resulting in the October 23 1997, adoption of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1134 which threatened a travel ban on Iraqi
officials responsible for non-compliance with UN resolutions;
Whereas on October 29, 1997, Iraq announced that it would no longer allow
American inspectors working with UNSCOM to conduct inspections in Iraq,
blocking UNSCOM teams containing Americans to conduct inspections and
threatening to shoot down U.S. U-2 surveillance flights in support of
UNSCOM, resulting in a United Nations Security Council Resolution 1137
on November 12, 1997, which imposed the travel ban on Iraqi officials
and threatened unspecified ``further measures'';
Whereas on November 13, 1997, Iraq expelled U.S. inspectors from Iraq, leading
to UNSCOM's decision to pull out its remaining inspectors and resulting
in a United Nations Security Council presidential statement demanding
Iraq revoke the expulsion;
Whereas on January 15, 1998, an UNSCOM team led by American Scott Ritter was
withdrawn from Iraq after being barred for three days by Iraq from
conducting inspections, resulting in the adoption on a United Nations
Security Council presidential statement deploring Iraq's decision to bar
the team as a clear violation of all applicable resolutions;
Whereas, despite clear agreement on the part of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to grant access to all
sites, and fully cooperate with UNSCOM, and the adoption on March 2,
1998, of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1154, warning that
any violation of the agreement with Annan would have the ``severest
consequences'' for Iraq, Iraq has continued to actively conceal weapons
and weapons programs, provide misinformation and otherwise deny UNSCOM
inspectors access;
Whereas on June 24, 1998, UNSCOM Director Richard Butler presented information
to the UN Security Council indicating clearly that Iraq, in direct
contradiction to information provided to UNSCOM, weaponized the nerve
agent VX;
Whereas Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threaten vital
United States interest and international peace and security; and
Whereas the United States has existing authority to defend United States
interests in the Persian Gulf region: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Government of Iraq is
in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations,
and therefore, the President of the United States is urged to act
accordingly.
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