DECLARATION ON IRAQ

22ND AFRICA-FRANCE SUMMIT

FRENCH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

February 20, 2003

The heads of State and government of Africa and France meeting at their 22nd Conference, referring to the declaration adopted by the Central Organ of the African Union Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management And Resolution at the Addis Ababa Summit on 3 February 2003.

- Reassert that the disarmament of Iraq is the shared goal of the international community, and that the only legitimate framework for handling this issue is the United Nations ;

- Call on the Iraqi authorities to immediately, actively and fully cooperate with UNMOVIC and the IAEA ;

- Express their support for the continuation of the inspections and the substantial enhancement of their human and technical capacities, within the framework of Resolution 1441, whose possibilities have not yet been entirely exhausted ;

- Reiterate their entire confidence in Messrs Blix and El Baradei ;

- Consider that the use of force, which entails serious risks of destabilisation for the region, for Africa and for the world, should only be a last resort.

There is an alternative to war.