Former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar Dies at 100: How he helped to end Iran-Iraq war

New York, Mar 04: Javier Perez de Cuellar, the fifth United Nations Secretary-General, died on Wednesday, according to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry. He was 100.

In his two terms, Javier Perez helped to end a prolonged war between the Iran and Iraq.

In 1991, Javier Perez had submitted important reports that he had prepared to the UN Security Council which were based on Paragraph 6 of Resolution 598.

This resolution was adopted by the Security Council on July 20, 1987.

In his reports, Paragraph 5 said that the war between the two countries - Iran and Iraq - had continued for several years through breach of international law. He added that the breach added the responsibility for the beginning of the conflict which was the main subject of Paragraph 6 of Resolution 598.

During that war, the then UN Secretary-General noted that there were many cases of breach on international humanitarian law.

Paragraph 6 of his report stated that Iraq's response contained no required information and hence relied on previous explanations provided by the Iraqi government.

In his reply, Javier Perez said that those explanations by the Iraqi government fell short of convincing the international community. He also mentioned the attack against Iran in 1980 as the "most important breach of international law".

Years after Iraq invaded Iran and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Secretary-General said that the Security Council should have immediately proclaimed following the invasion of Iran by Iraq.

According to Article 24 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council is responsible for protecting international peace and security. If the Council had recognized Iraq as aggressor in the beginning of the war, it would not have lasted for years and claimed thousands of people's lives and caused billions of dollars damages.

The Security Council's Resolution 598 (July 20, 1987):

• Paragraph 5 - Determined to bring to an end all military actions between Iran and Iraq
• Paragraph 6 - Convinced that a comprehensive, just, honourable and durable settlement should be achieved between Iran and Iraq
• Paragraph 7 - Recalling the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular the obligation of all Member States to settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered