UN Debates Iraqi Self-Rule Resolution

The United Nations Security Council meets shortly to consider a report urging the United States to act swiftly to establish full democracy in Iraq.

The report, prepared by the UN special representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, calls for a clear timetable for the return of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

It also says that UN involvement will be essential in any process intended to give legitimacy to a new government.

The BBC's David Bamford, in New York, says this is the first opportunity for the UN to take stock of the situation in Iraq since US-led forces invaded the country without Security Council backing.

He adds that there is a sense at the UN headquarters that it is now trying to regain the initiative, partly to reaffirm its own relevance in the world.

Living conditions

Addressing issues on the ground in Iraq, the report says that security — or the lack of it — remains the priority for most Iraqis.

It adds that post-war living conditions, at least in urban areas, have not improved and may have got worse.

But Mr Vieira de Mello says the report should not be seen as criticism of the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.

He told the BBC there was in the short term no alternative to such a body.

Among those due to take part in the Security Council session are three members of the governing council — Adnan Pachachi, Ahmed Chalabi and Akila Hashemi — but they will not be allowed to take Iraq's seat at the UN.

The governing council is to appoint a constitutional council which will set a date for elections.

But, even before it has been formed, the constitutional council has been criticised as undemocratic by the senior Shia cleric in Iraq, the Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

The BBC's Paul Wood, in Baghdad, says that behind this lies the wish of some clerics to make sure that Iraq is declared an Islamic state, rather than a secular state.

He adds that there is intense debate in some hardline Shia circles as to whether a jihad, or holy war, should be declared to recruit an army to challenge American rule.

International criticism

The UN debate about Iraq's future comes amid concern in the US about the rising costs of military occupation, in terms of both soldiers' lives and dollars.

On Tuesday, one American soldier was killed and another wounded in an ambush north of Baghdad.

There is also continuing international criticism of the occupation.

In a televised address, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak spoke of insecurity and lawlessness in Iraq having a bad effect on the region at large.

He said the only way to restore calm and order was through an elected Iraqi government.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, said the situation in Iraq was continuing to deteriorate very rapidly, and called for a new Security Council resolution that would provide the legal basis for international action.