***** Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 14:03:54 +0000 (GMT) From: Rania Masri <rmasri at leb.net>
Dear friends,
This is the fourth resignation of a leading UN official: first, Denis Halliday, the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq resigns, then two years, his successor Hans von Sponeck, and Jutta Burghardt, the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program in Iraq, resign, and now - the acting executive-chairman of the UN agency responsible for Iraqi disarmament has resigned. We should also remember that Scott Ritter, a former weapons-inspector, also resigned two years ago and has been speaking out against the economic sanctions on Iraq.
Charles Duelfer has resigned "rather than work for a successor agency that will continue inspections and monitoring of Iraqi programs." (see AP article below) This is truly empowering news.
Let's share any additional information we can find, and also publicize this news to our local media outlets. Both humanitarian officials and weapons-inspectors have resigned rather than continue their work within the frameworks of this poilcy against Iraq.
-Rania Masri -----------------
Iraq Inspection Agency Head Resigns Friday, 25-Feb-2000 6:40PM Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The acting executive-chairman of the U.N. agency that was responsible for disarming Iraq since 1991 said Friday he has resigned rather than work for a successor agency that will continue inspections and monitoring of Iraqi programs.
Charles Duelfer, an American, submitted his letter of resignation as acting head of the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq to Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday.
He said he planned to leave his post by Wednesday -- the day the new U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, headed by Hans Blix starts its work.
``I can help, more by my absence,'' said Duelfer, adding that he has no definite future plans.
Duelfer took over running the Special Commission in June, after its executive chairman, Richard Butler of Australia, left to become a diplomat-in-residence at the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York-based think tank.
The commission was created in 1991 to oversee the destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- a requirement under the U.N. resolutions that ended the Gulf War.
Inspections ground to a halt, however, in December after the United States and Britain launched airstrikes to punish Baghdad for failing to cooperate with arms experts.
The commission, which was also tainted by allegations the United States used it to spy on Baghdad, was replaced in December by a new inspection agency, the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, known as UNMOVIC.
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