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22/10/2004
Iraq elections only 'technically possible' in current climate
Elections scheduled in Iraq for January are only "technically possible" if the security situation there does not improve, the UN secretary general has said.
Speaking to reporters upon arriving at UN Headquarters in New York, Kofi Annan said the polls will have the best chance of succeeding when the UN is able to send in more personnel to help with planning – making better security the key to progress.
He also stressed that it was up to the Iraqis – “who are planning the elections, who are organising the elections” – to decide if the polls go forward.
“We still have a couple of months yet," Mr Annan said. "But at this point, it is still technically possible, depending upon what happens in the next couple of months."
The Secretary-General acknowledged that additional UN staff must be sent to Iraq as developments move forward.
“But the circumstances have to be conducive in the sense that either we have to notice a genuine improvement in the security environment or solid arrangements for the protection of the staff,” he said.
Fiji has agreed to provide a protective security detail for senior UN officials in Iraq, as well as a guard unit for its facilities in Baghdad.
Talks are still ongoing with the US-led multinational force (MNF) on a unit to provide UN perimeter security, as well as armed escorts for UN personnel as they travel outside the international zone in Baghdad.
Mr Annan said the MNF has indicated it “will do that and we are in discussions with them to determine exactly how they will do it and what their capacity is for us to make the judgments that we have to make”.
(gmcg/mb)
Speaking to reporters upon arriving at UN Headquarters in New York, Kofi Annan said the polls will have the best chance of succeeding when the UN is able to send in more personnel to help with planning – making better security the key to progress.
He also stressed that it was up to the Iraqis – “who are planning the elections, who are organising the elections” – to decide if the polls go forward.
“We still have a couple of months yet," Mr Annan said. "But at this point, it is still technically possible, depending upon what happens in the next couple of months."
The Secretary-General acknowledged that additional UN staff must be sent to Iraq as developments move forward.
“But the circumstances have to be conducive in the sense that either we have to notice a genuine improvement in the security environment or solid arrangements for the protection of the staff,” he said.
Fiji has agreed to provide a protective security detail for senior UN officials in Iraq, as well as a guard unit for its facilities in Baghdad.
Talks are still ongoing with the US-led multinational force (MNF) on a unit to provide UN perimeter security, as well as armed escorts for UN personnel as they travel outside the international zone in Baghdad.
Mr Annan said the MNF has indicated it “will do that and we are in discussions with them to determine exactly how they will do it and what their capacity is for us to make the judgments that we have to make”.
(gmcg/mb)
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