§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the United Kingdom named Iraq as being in breach of the 1925 chemical weapons obligation; when his Department first became aware that Iraq had breached its 1925 obligations; what action ensued in respect of Iraq as a result of it being so named; and what assessment his Department made as to the adequacy of these actions.
§ Mr. BaldryIn a written answer to the House on 20 March 1986,Official Report, column 260, the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) condemned Iraq's
clear breach of the Geneva protocol".He referred to a report by a team of specialists which had been released on 14 March 1986 by the UN Secretary-General which confirmed the use of chemical weapons by Iraqi forces in the conflict between Iran and Iraq.
The Security Council subsequently considered the report, and on 21 March 1986 the president of the council 278W made a statement on behalf of all the members of the council, including the United Kingdom. The statement considered the
continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the General Protocol".On 3 December 1986, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution referring to the Geneva protocol, calling for compliance with
existing international prohibitions on chemical and biological weaponsand condemning actions contravening such obligations. The United Kingdom voted in favour of this resolution.United Kingdom controls on the export to Iraq of chemical precursors and dual-use equipment were introduced in 1985.
Following the Gulf war and the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 687, Iraq was required to accept the destruction of all its chemical and biological weapons and all related subsystems, components and research facilities. Iraq is now subject to long-term monitoring by the UN special commission—UNSCOM.