Are they out of CH. VII?
"Technically"-- NO.
I have searched and discovered a couple of things.
1) If a resolution is pursuant to Ch. VII, it will say it (this is why the UNAMI extension is not relevant).
2) UN Resolution 1284 specifically states it is "pursuant to Ch. VII".
3) UN Resolution 1284, paragraph 14 is still outstanding. Here's the excerpt:
"14. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council every four months on compliance by Iraq with its obligations regarding the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third country nationals or their remains, to report every six months on the return of all Kuwaiti property, including archives, seized by Iraq, and to appoint a high-level coordinator for these issues;"
Source: http://www.un.org/De...sres99-1284.htm
The most recent required report on paragraph 14 of this resolution was dated June 20, 2011 here: http://www.securityc...02011%20373.pdf
In this recent report, it was noted that NO progress had been made in locating Kuwaiti national archives (see para. 12 in the report). It also asked for an extension to Dec. 2011 for the UN Coordinator to assist in this respect (this is also noted on the UNSC July Report).
This is just dealing with these oversight issues that are in addition to the oversight they will still have to maintain to ensure Iraq continues to pay 5% of its oil proceeds to Kuwait each quarter, as well as come to some sort of international treaty agreement with Kuwait concerning their borders.
So....
Are they "out of Ch. VII?" Aside from the "technically No" answer, the practical answer (for purposes of moving forward on the world scene) is well, perhaps so. It seems that the UN still has them on a leash to monitor their continued compliance (and movement toward it) and can reign them back in at any time they step out of line or fail to live up to their obligations. But as it pertains to their ability to import and export and do commerce on the world scene-- they have no prohibition, sanction, or hindrance. All of the sanctions that were a hindrance to import and export were removed in December, and the remaining economic one (DFI fund) had its strings cut last week. It appears to me they are calling it done for purposes of letting them go forward, but they are still retaining the right to yank them back in line if need be.
If you think about the practicality of it, if they had to wait until Kuwait was completely paid in full on the 20 billion still owed them, and they had to wait until every grave was uncovered for every missing Kuwaiti, and every artifact returned to their archives, they might NEVER get out of Ch. VII.
In addition to the above though, I did see that they also have these two technical sanctions still remaining under Res. 1518:
1) Arms Embargo which prohibits sale of arms in the country (but the GOI is specifically exempted, so it only applies to sale of arms to citizens);
2) Continuing to identify and freeze assets and accounts belonging to those of the former regime (although they admit in the latest UNSC report that with the DFI account now being closed, they need to make arrangements for these funds to go to the new account).
Source: http://www.un.org/sc...518/index.shtml
The annual report associated with this is here: http://www.un.org/ga...ymbol=S/2011/40
This news article recognizes Iraq is still expected to continue to comply with "relevant resolutions" still in effect.
The main thing I want to see in the news, is something concerning the border issue with Kuwait. There was a treaty possibility mentioned in the news recently that was a good sign, but I haven't seen anything more about it.
