IRAQ: DESTRUCTION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION (Hansard, 18 November 1991)

§ Lord Cavendish of Furness

The United Nations Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have made substantial progress in dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability in the 22 inspections which have been mounted since May 1991, despite deception and obstruction by Iraq in flagrant breach of its obligations under Security Council Resolutions (SCR) 687 and 707.

SCR 687 required Iraq to make a declaration of the locations, amounts and types of all the items related to its WMD programmes. In making its original declaration, Iraq denied having a nuclear weapons programme or a biological weapons programme, and declared only some 11,000 chemical munitions and only 52 ballistic missiles, with no mention of a supergun. Revised declarations by Iraq and subsequent inspections have revealed: an enormous covert nuclear weapons development programme; a biological research programme for military purposes; some 46,000 filled chemical munitions, 79,000 unfilled 53WA chemical munitions, over 600 tons of chemical weapon agent and some 3,000 tons of chemical precursors; 62 ballistic missiles and supergun assemblies and parts. We do not believe that the full extent of the Iraqi WMD programmes has yet been uncovered.

Under the terms of SCR 687, items relating to Iraq's WMD programme are to be destroyed, removed or rendered harmless. Inspectors have so far supervised the destruction of 62 ballistic missiles; 10 missile launchers, 18 fixed Scud missile launch pads, 11 dummy missiles, 32 ballistic missile warheads, 127 missile storage support vehicles, a substantial amount of rocket fuel, an assembled 350 mm supergun, components for 350 mm and 1,000 mm superguns, one tonne of supergun propellant and over 11,800 unfilled chemical munitions. In addition, inspectors have confirmed the destruction, by coalition bombing, of several missile repair and production facilities. Plans are now in hand for the destruction of the chemical munitions and bulk agents. Destruction of the equipment used in Iraq's nuclear weapons development programme has begun and the IAEA is preparing to remove nuclear weapons usable material from Iraq.

At present sanctions apply to all exports to Iraq other than food, medicine and essential civilian supplies for humanitarian purposes. Under paragraph 22 of SCR 687 sanctions will be lifted only when the Security Council agrees that Iraq has completed all the actions concerned with the destruction of its WMD. Even then all states will be required to prevent the sale or supply to Iraq of arms, weapons technology and military training facilities for the foreseeable future —i.e., until a further decision of the Security Council.

Moreover, Iraq's ability to use, develop, construct or acquire weapons of mass destruction in future should be precluded by the stringent monitoring and verification regimes embodied in two detailed plans approved under SCR 715 on 1lth October. One plan, submitted by the Secretary General pursuant to paragraph 10 of SCR 687, covers chemical weapons, biological weapons and ballistic missiles. The other,

Date¹	Inspection²	UK inspectors³/Technical experts	Equipment/Assistance provided
14–22 May	UNSCOM 1—first nuclear inspection by the IAEA.	—	Eight landrovers and trailers.
9–15 June	UNSCOM 2—first chemical weapons inspection.	Three	Chemical agent monitors, individual protective equipment, tropical bleach and Fullers' Earth for decontamination, sampling kits and RAF transport. CBDE, Porton Down analysed sample.
30 June to 7 July	UNSCOM 3—first ballistic missile inspection.	One	—
22 June to 3 July⁴	UNSCOM 4—second IAEA nuclear inspection.	One	Use of British landrovers.
6–19 July	UNSCOM 5—third IAEA nuclear inspection.	Two	Analysis of centrifuge components.
27 July to 10 August	UNSCOM 6—fourth IAEA nuclear inspection.	Two	—

54WA submitted by the Director General of the IAEA pursuant to paragraph 12 of SCR 687, covers the nuclear field. The plans entered into force with the adoption of SCR 715 and will remain in force until otherwise determined by the Security Council.