Inspectors: 63 Experts from 27 Countries

The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, better known by the acronym Unmovic, was created in December 1999. It inherited the mandate of the United Nations Special Commission, known as Unscom, which the Security Council inaugurated at the close of the Persian Gulf war in 1991 to disarm Iraq of chemical and biological weapons and missiles with a range of more than about 100 miles, and to ensure that Iraq not reacquire such weapons.

A separate 15-member group from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency is authorized to carry out nuclear inspections. Like Unmovic, the team handles monitoring and verification duties in addition to on-site inspections. But it reports to the director of the energy agency, not to the United Nations secretary general.

Unmovic inspectors include weapons specialists drawn from the military; scientists like biochemists; and engineers and operational planners.

At a minimum, inspectors must undergo a monthlong training course, covering topics like the legal framework for inspections, operational procedures, inspection history, health and safety issues, and the social, religious and cultural ramifications of inspection work.

In January 2000, soon after Unmovic's creation, Hans Blix of Sweden, the former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was selected to lead it. The United Nations secretary general also appointed 16 people to serve on a college of commissioners to advise and guide Mr. Blix.

Unmovic, based in New York, draws its inspectors from a staff of 63 experts from 27 countries..

The group gets its staff from the United Nations, and inspectors are not allowed to seek or receive instructions from any United Nations member government. They are required to respect strict confidentiality rules..

Unmovic is amply financed from a small percentage of the money from the export of oil from Iraq, under the United Nations oil-for-food program. It hopes eventually to have about 80 arms inspectors in Iraq at any given time, from a roster of 300 experts worldwide and a staff of 80 in New York.

As for the nuclear inspection team, about half are experts in the production of fissile material, and half in the weaponization process. A group of outside experts, assembled during earlier years of inspections, is available for specialized expertise in areas like analysis of air, water and soil samples for radiation; import and export of goods and materials; and imagery analysis. An inspection group in the field might consist of five or six members of the inspection team and four or five outside specialists, the spokesman said.