By its resolution 687 of 3 April 1991, the United Nations Security Council established the terms and conditions for the formal cease-fire between
Iraq and the coalition of Member States co-operating with Kuwait. Section C of this resolution called for the elimination, under international supervision, of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres (km), together with related items and production facilities. It also called for measures to ensure that the acquisition and production of prohibited items were not resumed. The United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was set up to implement the non-nuclear provisions of the resolution and to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the nuclear areas. The precise terms are laid out in paragraphs 7 to 13 of the resolution.
The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (
UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999. UNMOVIC was to replace the former UN Special Commission (
UNSCOM ) and continue with the latter’s mandate to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction (
chemical,
biological weapons and missiles with a range of more than 150 km), and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and verification to check Iraq’s compliance with its obligations not to reacquire the same weapons prohibited to it by the Security Council.
