The meeting was presided over by German Ambassador to the United Nations Gunter Pleuger, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation Security Council.

The representative of the Arab League is also on the speakers list, according to which none of the 15 council members will deliver a speech at the debate.

Dumisani Kumalo, South African UN ambassador, who was first to take the floor, told the meeting that a South African team is now on its way to Iraq to introduce its experience in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

Kumalo warned against jumping to conclusion while inspection work is making progress on the ground in Iraq.

He reiterated that no time limit is stipulated in UN resolution 1441 and inspections should be allowed more time as called for by two top UN weapons inspectors.

The meeting was arranged at the request of South Africa, which holds the rotating chair of the 115-nation Non-Aligned movement of developing countries.

The gathering was originally scheduled to open Tuesday morning, but was postponed due to a snowstorm hitting northeastern America.

The meeting is expected to extend into Wednesday.

Around 60 Countries to Address UN Open Meeting on Iraq

Around 60 delegates have signed up to deliver speeches at an open meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Iraqi issue, which will start at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) Tuesday, UN spokesperson Hua Jiang confirmed.

The meeting was arranged at the request of South Africa to allow non-council member states to air their views on Iraq. South Africa holds the rotating chair of the 115-nation Non-Aligned movement of developing countries.

The gathering was originally scheduled to open Tuesday morning, but was postponed due to a snow storm hitting northeastern America.

The meeting, which will resume Wednesday, is expected to remain focused on Friday's updated reports presented by chief UN inspectors for chemical and biological weapons Hans Blix, and Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In a contrast to his Jan. 27 update, Blix gave a mildly positive picture of Iraq's compliance with its disarmament obligations. And ElBaradei repeated his conclusion that no evidence had been found showing Iraq resumed nuclear activities in recent years.

Buoyed by Friday's reports, a majority at the Security Council, including Russia, China and France, renewed their calls for disarming Iraq through an enhanced inspection regime, with the use of force as the last resort.

The Friday briefing was followed by a chain of mass anti-war protests around the world, the largest since the Vietnam War.

Despite heavy opposition at the Security Council and global protests, there have been so far no signs of US backing off from its stance on disarming Iraq through force.

Diplomats here said the US and its closest ally, Britain, would start this week to circulate among council members a draft resolution supporting war with Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2003)