Consolidated Progress Report to Security Council on IAEA Verification Activities in Iraq Pursuant to Resolution 687 (1991) and Other Related Resolutions

Letter of IAEA Director General Dated 13 October 2005 to Mr. Mihnea Motoc, President of UN Security Council

In paragraph 16 of resolution 1051 (1996), the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was requested to submit consolidated progress reports every six months to the Security Council, commencing 11 April 1996, on the IAEA´s verification activities in Iraq pursuant to paragraphs 12 and 13 of United Nations Security Council resolution 687 (1991)and related resolutions.

Since 17 March 2003, the IAEA has not been in a position to implement its mandate in Iraq under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991)and related resolutions.

Pursuant to Iraq´s Safeguards Agreement with the Agency in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), on 17 and 18 September 2005, the IAEA carried out its annual physical inventory verification of the nuclear material in Iraq located at the storage facility near the Tuwaitha complex south of Baghdad. The Agency inspectors were able to verify all nuclear material subject to safeguards.

The number of staff of the Iraq Nuclear Verification Office (INVO) has been minimized to reflect the current level of activities being implemented pursuant to the relevant Security Council resolutions. As a result the overall cost of maintaining INVO has been substantially reduced while maintainingthe Agency´s continuity of knowledge and flexibility.

During the period covered by this report, INVO has focused on the further development of an archive system for the storage and retrieval of electronic and hard copy information collected and generated by the IAEA in the course of its Security Council mandated activities in Iraq. Satellite imagery of the most significant sites continues to be collected and assessed.

States are reminded again that items listed in Annex 3 of the IAEA´s Ongoing Monitoring and Verification (OMV) plan (see S/2001l561) are to be reported to the IAEA both by Iraq and States that either export to or import from Iraq such items, in accordance with the export-import mechanism approved by the Security Council in resolution 1051 (1996). Pursuant to the OMV plan, Iraq is expected to declare semi-annually changes that have occurred or are foreseen at sites deemed relevant by the Agency. During the past six months, no reports have been received by the IAEA from Iraq and/or other States in this regard.

I should be grateful if you would arrange for the present letter to be distributed as a document of the Security Council.