U.N. to expand political role in Iraq

By Patrick Worsnip and Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Security Council voted on Friday to give the United Nations an expanded political role in Iraq, promoting reconciliation between its rival factions and dialogue with neighboring countries.

The 15-nation council unanimously approved a U.S.-British resolution boosting the responsibilities of the four-year-old U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, or UNAMI, whose existing mandate expired on Friday.

U.S. and British officials have denied that their aim is to offload Iraq's political problems onto the United Nations, then pull their forces out. But they want the U.N. to take a shot at peace, especially in recruiting help from neighboring nations.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has initiated a compact for Iraq with regional states that sets benchmarks for Baghdad in exchange for debt forgiveness and other aid.

As architect of the resolution, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the unanimous approval showed "a new page had been turned in regard to the Security Council's role in Iraq," a reference to the council's refusal to approve the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"This resolution underscores the widespread belief that what happens in Iraq has strategic implications not only for the region, but for the entire world," he said.

Khalilzad said he hoped the world body would convene meetings among political factions "and propose bridging formulas," as well as make sure Baghdad's neighbors "assist the Iraqis in overcoming their difficulties."

The United Nations has had a muted political role in Iraq for the past few years. The resolution gives it a larger mandate to lead efforts in uniting Iraq's feuding factions.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari made clear in a letter to Ban, however, that any U.N. action needed "prior consent" of the Iraqi government.

Ban, in answer to questions, emphasized "promoting and encouraging political facilitation and dialogue among different factions and ethnic religious groups" as U.N. duties.

Pakistani Ashraf Qazi ends his term in Iraq as chief U.N. envoy later this year, but a replacement has not been named. Khalilzad said Staffan De Mistura, a Swedish national who last served in Lebanon for the world body, was "the likely person to be selected" but the decision was up to Ban.

Another candidate is Radu Onofrei, a former Romanian envoy to several Middle East nations, U.N. officials said.

SECURITY CONCERNS

Some major Iraqi players, like top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, were willing to talk to the United Nations, but not the United States or Britain, Khalilzad, formerly U.S. envoy to Baghdad, said earlier.

Coincidentally, the new mandate will come amid a fresh political crisis in Iraq, with nearly half the Cabinet having quit, or boycotting meetings.