?Malaysia ?deeply regrets the statement by the ?President

? of the U.S. announcing the end of diplomatic efforts and

? the ?imminent ?use of unilateral force to ?disarm ?Iraq.

? The ?unilateral ?use ?of force, undertaken ?without ?the

? support and authorisation of the United Nations Security

? Council (UNSC) and not in self defense against any armed

? attack, ?is ?clearly in violation of the ?principles ?of

? international law and the United Nations Charter.

? ?

? Malaysia ?wishes ?to underline that the ?possibility ?of

? peaceful ?settlement of the dispute has not ?been ?fully

? exhausted and a viable mechanism still exists to address

? whatever ?concerns ?regarding ?Iraqi ?weapons ?of ? mass

? destruction. ? Indeed, ?both ?UNMOVIC ?(United ? Nations

? Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission) ?and

? the ?IAEA ?(International ?Atomic ?Energy ?Agency) ?have

? reported ?that ?Iraq ?is actively cooperating ?with ?the

? inspection missions. ?Both have also confirmed that ?the

? inspection is producing results. ?It is thus regrettable

? that ?UNMOVIC and the IAEA have not been given ?adequate

? time to fulfill their mandate.

? ?

? Malaysia wishes to point out that targeting Iraq despite

? its ?active ?cooperation ?with ?the ?United ?Nations ?in

? implementing UNSC Resolution 1441 betrays selectivity on

? the ?part ?of ?the ?U.S. ?and its ?allies ?in ?enforcing

? compliance with UNSC resolutions, particularly in ?light

? of ?the ?non ?compliance ?by ?Israel ?of ?relevant ?UNSC

? resolutions ?pertaining ?to the ?Israeli ?occupation ?of

? Palestinian and other Arab territories.

? ?

? While ?Malaysia shares the concern of the U.S. regarding

? weapons ?of mass destruction, we wish to underline ?that

? this does not justify the preemptive use of force, which

? under ?any ?circumstances is not permissible ?under ?the

? United ?Nations Charter and is thus illegal. ?What ?more

? the ?preemptive use of force by the U.S. and its ?allies

? directed ?against ?Iraq, based ?on ?a ?perceived ?threat

? founded upon tenuous evidence.

? ?

? Malaysia ?underscores ?that unilateral ?military ?action

? aimed ?at ?effecting a regime change is also an ?illegal

? act ?of ?aggression, ?constituting ?an ?invasion ?of ? a

? sovereign state.

? ?

? Malaysia ? is ? gravely ?concerned ?over ? the ? serious

? consequences ?arising from the use by the U.S. ?and ?its

? allies ?of ?the ?most ?advanced and devastating ?arsenal

? against a state that has been progressively disarmed and

? against its hapless people who have already endured more

? than 12 years of punitive sanctions.

? ?

? Malaysia ?is ?equally ?concerned ?about ?the ?inevitable

? humanitarian catastrophe that would befall the people of

? Iraq ?and ?the ?region, as well as the grave ?threat ?to

? regional ?and international peace and stability ?arising

? from ?unilateral ?military action. ?At ?the ?same ?time,

? Malaysia ?is apprehensive that this unilateral ?military

? action would set back the common efforts in the campaign

? against terrorism.

? ?

? Malaysia ?thus ?urges that, even at this eleventh ?hour,

? serious ?efforts be made by all concerned to ?avert ?war

? and ?to ?return to peaceful but firm methods in bringing

? about Iraq's compliance with relevant UNSC resolutions.

? ?

? In ?Malaysia's ?capacity as the ?Chairman ?of ?the ?Non-

? aligned ?Movement ?(NAM), Malaysia ?will ?be ?consulting

? member ?countries ?of NAM on the appropriate ?course ?of

? action.