Security Council near to expanding UN role in Iraq: US ambassador

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Washington's UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said yesterday he is confident that the UN Security Council will soon pass a resolution granting the world body an expanded role in Iraq despite chronic insecurity there.

"We're well on our way to the adoption of this resolution on Thursday," Khalilzad told reporters after talks on the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

The draft, sponsored by the United States and Britain, aims to prolong UNAMI's mandate, which expires August 10.

It also paves the way for the UN special envoy in Iraq to "as circumstances permit ... (to) advise, support and assist" the Iraqi government in political, economic, electoral, legal, constitutional, refugee and human rights matters.

The text also highlights the "important role" of multinational forces in Iraq and says "security is essential for UNAMI to carry out its work on behalf of the people of Iraq."

UNAMI was set up under resolution 1500 of the Security Council of August 14, 2003, and fields several hundred international civilian personnel and local civilian staffers.

The United States has for months been pushing for an expanded UN role in Iraq, an idea to which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon lent his support during a meeting with US President George W. Bush last month.

Khalilzad, who was US ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007 before moving to the United Nations, said Iraq's future is important not only for the country itself but also the region as a whole.