*EPF204 06/29/2004
Text: United Nations Hails Iraqi Power Transfer
(Secretary-general, Security Council issue statements) (470)

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the U.N. Security Council issued statements June 28 welcoming the handover of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to the independent Interim Government of Iraq.

In its statement to the press, read by council President Lauro Baja of the Philippines, the council reaffirmed the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Iraq and also condemned "in the strongest terms, the continued violence in Iraq, which should not be allowed to disrupt Iraq's political and economic transition."

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued by his spokesman, welcomed "the State of Iraq back into the family of independent and sovereign nations" and called on "all Iraqis to come together in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation."

Following are the texts of the Security Council's and the secretary-general's statements:

(begin text)

Press statement on Iraqi sovereignty delivered by Security Council President Lauro L. Baja of the Philippines:

The members of the Security Council welcome the handover of full responsibility and authority for governing Iraq to the fully sovereign and independent Interim Government of Iraq, thus ending the occupation of the country. The members of the Council reaffirm the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq.

The members of the Security Council reiterate fully resolution 1546 (2004), including the proposed timetable for the political transition, the possibility of an international meeting, and the leading role of the United Nations to assist the Interim Government of Iraq in implementing the political process leading, inter alia, to elections no later than 31 January 2005. The members of the Council call on all Iraqis to implement these arrangements peaceably and in full.

The members of the Security Council reiterate their call to all States and relevant international and regional organizations to support the Interim Government of Iraq in the implementation of this process, and in its efforts to bring economic reconstruction, peace, unity and stability to Iraq.

The members of the Council condemn, in the strongest terms, the continued violence in Iraq, which should not be allowed to disrupt Iraq's political and economic transition.

(end)

STATEMENT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL:

Today, the Secretary-General welcomes the State of Iraq back into the family of independent and sovereign nations. He calls upon all Iraqis to come together in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation, through a process of open dialogue and consensus-building, to lay down secure foundations for the new Iraq. Their first duty is to assist their interim government to establish security for the population so that the difficult process of return toward normalcy can commence.

The Secretary-General commits the United Nations to do everything possible, as circumstances permit, to help the Iraqi people in this challenging yet vital process.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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