The United States and Britain introduced a resolution this morning that would end 12 years of UN sanctions against Iraq and give them control of the country's oil revenues for at least a year.
The tough resolution in effect relegates the United Nations and other international institutions to an advisory role. It would phase out the existing UN oil-for-food humanitarian program over four months.
The United States and Britain, which sponsored the US-drafted measure along with Spain, want a vote by June 3rd, when the oil-for-food program, which gives the United Nations control over the oil revenues, needs to be renewed. Without an adopted resolution, no Iraqi, US or UN entity in Baghdad has the legal authority to export oil.
The Bush administration is counting on approval from Russia, France, China and Germany, who had the strongest anti-war position in the 15-member council, with officials saying there was little enthusiasm for another fight.
Nevertheless, the text, which two senior council diplomats called "hard" and "in your face," will probably face amendments from France and Russia, who have favored suspending the sanctions but leaving some control with the United Nations until an Iraqi government is established.
The US proposal would deposit Iraqi oil revenues in an "Iraqi Assistance Fund" for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes, to be held by the Iraqi Central Bank, which is currently managed by a former deputy US Treasury secretary.
The fund would have an advisory board that would include officials appointed by UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan as well as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others. This group would audit expenditures.
But decisions on where to spend the money would be made mainly by the United States and Britain, in consultation with an Iraqi interim authority Washington is now setting up until a new government is formed, which could take years.