Vol. 571 No. 1
416 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether the USA and Britain invaded a sovereign country on a dubious pretext and are in flagrant violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the 1954 Convention of the Hague, in addition to the International Criminal Courts Charter; and if he will make a statement on the Government's position on this issue. [19756/03]
On 20 March 2003, the President of the Security Council was informed by the permanent representatives of the US and the UK to the United Nations that coalition forces had commenced military operations in Iraq in response to Iraq's failure to comply with its disarmament obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions. These Security Council resolutions included Resolution 1441 which mandated arms inspectors to verify Iraqi compliance. This inspection process has not been completed. In their reports to the Security Council, the inspectors indicated that Iraq had failed so far to co-operate satisfactorily and that many major questions about Iraqi holding of weapons of mass destruction remain unanswered.
The Government made it clear, on the adoption of Resolution 1441, that it expected any decision to sanction the use of force to be taken by the Security Council itself in a further resolution. Alongside this, we recognise that the US and UK in carrying out military action claim they were doing so under an existing mandate arising from previous UN resolutions.
The Government has from the outset called on all parties in the conflict to respect their obligations under international law. Furthermore, Security Council Resolution 1483 "Calls upon all concerned to comply fully with their obligations under international law including in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Hague Regulations of 1907". This should be interpreted as including all relevant international legal instruments, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The US and UK have publicly committed themselves to doing so. However, the situation on the ground remains volatile, creating difficulties for the occupying powers in immediately meeting all their obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and also under the 1954 Hague Convention with regard to the protection of cultural property.
