UN resolution to give Iraq just days to disarm - Australia

A second resolution being put together by the US and Britain to present to the UN Security Council on Iraq would only give Baghdad a few days to disarm before it was attacked by US-led forces, the Australian government said today.

Foreign minister Alexander Downer said Australia had been discussing the resolution with Washington and London and expected it would be ready to go before the Security Council this week.

The minister said the second resolution would not immediately trigger military action but would only give Baghdad a few days to comply with disarmament demands made in the first resolution, 1441.

“The new resolution would be a message to Saddam Hussein that he had just a few days left,” Mr Downer told Nine Network television.

“Saddam Hussein would either have to dramatically change policy or else there would be military action, he would be disarmed forcibly.”

The minister said he expected the resolution would pass and that France – the most vocal opponent of war with Iraq – would abstain from the vote rather than use the veto power it holds as one of five permanent members of the Security Council.

Australia is not a member of the 15-nation Security Council, but is a strong supporter of Washington’s tough stance against Baghdad and has sent 2,000 troops to join US and British forces preparing for war in the Persian Gulf.

Despite overwhelming public opposition to a war without a UN mandate, Prime Minister John Howard will not rule out joining a US-led attack without Security Council backing.

Mr Downer said he would discuss the new resolution with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Seoul this week where both men would attend the inauguration of the new South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

“We’ve had communications with Washington day in and day out on this question,” he said.

The minister said he would also discuss with Mr Powell Australia’s view that the US must open bilateral talks with North Korea to defuse the crisis on the Korean Peninsular.

Mr Downer said the North Koreans had told Australian officials that the only arrangement they were prepared to make was directly with the US.

“We have to face the reality, whether the Americans like it or not, that there has to be some bilateral negotiation,” he said.

Australia is one of a few western countries that has full diplomatic relations with North Korea.