Kuwait, 1993

On behalf of Kuwait, it gives me pleasure to

convey to Ambassador Insanally our sincere congratulations

on his unanimous election as President of the General

Assembly at its forty-eighth session. I take this opportunity

to assure him of the support and cooperation of the

delegation of Kuwait in recognition of the close ties that

exist between our two countries. His ability and skill give

us confidence that our deliberation under his leadership will

be fruitful.

I am pleased also to pay a tribute to his predecessor,

His Excellency Mr. Stoyan Ganev, Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Bulgaria, for his able and effective stewardship of

the General Assembly at its previous session.

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 21

On behalf of the Government and the people of Kuwait,

I wish to extend deepest sympathy and condolences to the

Government and the people of India with respect to the

tragedy resulting from the earthquake in that country, which

claimed thousands of innocent victims.

Kuwait has been following the impressive role of the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros-Ghali, in developing new

modalities of work for the United Nations that are more in

line with the sweeping developments, events and changes

that are taking place in the world. We cannot but put on

record our appreciation of the Secretary-General’s tireless

efforts and creativity in restructuring and streamlining the

world Organization to reflect in a more meaningful manner

the realities of the new world situation. He deserves special

credit for his promotion of the concept of preventive

diplomacy.

Kuwait takes pride in its backing of the United Nations

and we do support the new approach it pursues despite the

various difficulties it faces and the accusations levelled at it.

The United Nations, at the threshold of its fiftieth

anniversary, needs from us every material and moral support

each and every Member can extend to it. On the other hand,

the Organization itself should enhance its effectiveness,

streamline its structure and revitalize its organs, especially

the Security Council. The Council should reflect more

closely the new realities of today’s world. It should be more

capable of making and preserving peace and more forcefully

firm in implementing its resolutions in consonance with the

provisions of the Charter.

The United Nations today reflects new world realities,

as shown by the recent increase in its membership. Kuwait

welcomes the accession to United Nations membership by

Eritrea, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Monaco,

Andorra and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

and trusts that their accession to the Organization’s

membership will consolidate further the efficacy and

universality of multilateralism.

With the end of the cold war and the effectual

participation by the United Nations in resolving many

international problems, the world today is moving steadily

towards the realization of the principle of interdependence

and mutual cooperation between members of the

international community. The demise of bipolarity and the

disappearance of the barriers that used to separate peoples,

together with closer contacts through mass communication

made available by the technological revolution, have made

it possible for every individual to watch world events as they

unfold. Thus peoples are now able to react to and interact

with global issues in an unprecedented manner. A direct

outcome of all that is the constant expansion of the web of

interrelated interests, so that regional security has become an

inseparable part of global security. Economic and social

development issues have now acquired a high priority among

the concerns of the international community.

While we in Kuwait support this new tendency, we

must stress that movement in the new direction should be

humane in concept, civilized in ways and means, pragmatic

in modalities and realistic in aims. We also stress that the

right of both the individual and the community to

development should be accorded top priority among

international concerns. In this context, we consider that the

first and foremost human right is the right to secure essential

necessities of living. Social and economic development at

various levels is a close second. Kuwait believes that

development should be addressed collectively and that is the

most effective way of ensuring the availability of its

essential ingredients, so that no region or group of nations

should monopolize world resources at the expense of whole

continents which remain hostage to the cycle of want and

poverty.

We view with satisfaction the new approach of dealing

collectively with hotbeds of tension, as envisioned by the

Charter. Here we have in mind the practical and effective

application of the concept of collective security in the

context of which regional conflicts are viewed as direct

threats to world peace and stability and not as mere threats

to regional security. Therefore we demand that any conflict

should be dealt with firmly and expeditiously in order to

avoid its worsening, opening the door and allowing terrorism

to fly in the face of international legality and flout the new

approach.

It is in keeping with this conviction that Kuwait, despite

its difficult circumstances, participates in the United Nations

humanitarian operations in Somalia, our sister country. Such

participation bespeaks our commitment to the new United

Nations approach and our support for putting it into practice.

Kuwait considers that the international presence in Somalia

is indispensable if the Somali people are to be saved from

destruction and chaos and if Somalia itself is to survive as

an independent country. Indeed, the United Nations

peace-keeping operations, which now total 17, as stated by

the Secretary-General in his report on the work of the

Organization (A/48/1), require from us all full material

support, practical participation and political backing.

Accordingly, the Government of Kuwait announces from this

podium that it will voluntarily bear two thirds of the costs of

the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission

22 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

(UNIKOM). This is to demonstrate our firm belief in the

true role of UNIKOM in safeguarding the security and peace

in our region. It represents also a consolidation of the

concept of collective security and the United Nations role

therein.

Kuwait believes that the most important underpinnings

of the new world approach are: compliance with established

norms of conduct in international relations; respect for the

principles of international law; rejection of interference in

the internal affairs of other States; rejection of seeking gains

and concessions at the expense of neighbouring countries;

the resolution of problems by dialogue rather than by force;

and the renunciation of terrorism as a means of revenge.

The Iraqi regime invaded and occupied the State of

Kuwait. However, the adamant international will embodied

by the United Nations helped liberate Kuwait in a historic

act that led to a clean and tidy elimination of that horrendous

crime. Subsequently, Iraq accepted the consequences of its

crime as set out in Security Council resolution 687 (1991)

which contains the provisions of fair and binding solutions

for the false Iraqi claims regarding Kuwait. It also outlines

the conditions for dealing with the consequences and

underlying reasons of the Iraqi invasion. The quintessence

of resolution 687, which was accepted unconditionally by

Iraq, is the reaffirmation of the sovereignty and

independence of Kuwait. It also called for the utilization of

United Nations technical assistance in the demarcation of

boundaries between Kuwait and Iraq on the basis of the

documents exchanged between the two countries in

October 1963. In implementation of the provisions of the

said resolution, the United Nations set up a Boundary

Demarcation Commission which successfully completed its

work last May and has issued its final report which contains

the definitive map of land and maritime boundaries between

Kuwait and Iraq (document S/25811).

Kuwait commends the technical Boundary Demarcation

Commission and pays tribute to its members for their

impartiality, dedication and patience, especially in the face

of Iraqi accusations and provocations. Kuwait also pays

tribute to the Security Council for adopting two historic

resolutions this year. The first, resolution 806 (1993),

extended the terms of reference of UNIKOM into a

peace-keeping operation with full powers to prevent Iraqi

raids into Kuwait and to put an end to riots instigated by the

Iraqi regime. Resolution 833 (1993), unanimously adopted

under Chapter VII of the Charter, reaffirms the commitment

of the Security Council to guarantee the inviolability of the

international boundary as demarcated by the United Nations

technical commission and to consider that boundary as final

and inviolable. By so doing, the Security Council has put an

end to an amorphous situation which had lasted for far too

long and which Iraq exploited in a bid to secure territorial

expansion, to exercise regional hegemony, and to gain

political, strategic and material concessions at the expense of

Kuwait and the other Gulf States. The demarcation of the

boundary between Kuwait and Iraq is a major contribution

by the international community to the elimination of a

volatile hotbed of regional tension which the Iraqi regime

used to exploit in creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and

mistrust and which culminated in its vicious invasion of the

State of Kuwait.

Kuwait responded positively to the Secretary- General’s

acceptance of the outcome of the border demarcation

process. In our response, we also reaffirmed our sincere

cooperation with the United Nations despite the fact that

Kuwait had voted against some Commission decisions which

denied Kuwait its rights in Khowr Zhobeir. Iraq, for its part,

responded with two letters to the Secretary-General. The

first in May 1992, following the demarcation of the land

boundary, and the second in June 1993 following the

demarcation of the maritime boundary. Both letters

reiterated previous Iraqi claims to what it calls its historical

rights. Iraq also rejected the demarcation results and

challenged the integrity of the United Nations technical

Commission and the validity of its procedures and work.

This prompted the Security Council to reprimand Iraq

strongly in a presidential statement which it issued on

28 June 1993 and in which it rejected the contents of the

aforesaid Iraqi letters and reminded Iraq of its obligations

under resolution 687 (1991).

Iraq has unconditionally accepted resolution 687 (1991)

in all its provisions and in so doing has undertaken legal,

political and moral obligations on which it cannot renege,

nor can it fail to abide by the consequences of such

obligations because the functions of the technical

Commission were not to the liking of its representative on

the Commission, who had participated fully, for a whole

year, in its work and deliberations and then chose to

withdraw from the Commission when he found himself

unable to produce substantive documents corroborating

Iraq’s claims, despite the fact that the Commission pressed

him to do so. The stance of the Iraqi regime constitutes a

rebellion against Security Council resolutions in defiance of

the will of the Council and the international community.

This represents an egregious departure from the current

global mainstream and warrants firm international resolve to

reject the Iraqi regime’s practices in both form and

substance.

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 23

I find it necessary now to emphasize in no uncertain

terms that the Iraqi regime remains in its philosophy,

behaviour, thinking and nature a threat to regional and global

peace and security. It persists in its aggressiveness while it

thumbs its nose at the world community, which continues to

reject and isolate it with sanctions. Kuwait has confidence

in the wisdom of the Security Council and the ability of its

members to fulfil their mandate. We trust that they are keen

to ensure their collective commitment to the Security

Council resolutions and thus compel the Iraqi regime to

recognize that it has no option but to begin the complete and

documented implementation of all those resolutions to the

letter. The Iraqi regime should be made to understand that

its desperate endeavours to have the sanctions lifted will be

totally futile unless and until it clearly and legally complies

with the boundary demarcation decisions as set forth in the

relevant Council resolutions, especially resolutions 773

(1992) and 833 (1993). The Iraqi regime must also meet

other basic requirements, such as desisting from the false

claims made by its official information apparatus which

continues to describe Kuwait as part of Iraq and to make

other false claims to so-called historical rights. The

persistence of and increase in such falsehoods, which

emanate from ranking officials of that regime, is a reversal

of and retreat from acceptance of the essence of resolution

687 (1991), which represents Iraq’s commitment to respect

Kuwait’s sovereignty, independence and international

borders. We have submitted regular reports to the Security

Council containing complete verbatim excerpts of the claims

made by senior Iraqi officials and the official Iraqi media.

We call upon all Member States of the United Nations

to welcome the relevant Security Council resolutions on the

border demarcation and the inviolability of boundaries as

essential components of the regional security structure. We

also expect Member States to demand that the Iraqi regime

respect all relevant resolutions and link the lifting of

sanctions with its implementation of all Security Council

resolutions, particularly those regarding the boundary

demarcation and the release of prisoners.

In this context, I should like to recall that the

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)

issued at its last March session a statement welcoming the

demarcation of the boundary between Kuwait and Iraq. The

GCC also underscored the demarcation as an underpinning

of regional security. Furthermore, the Damascus Declaration

States, which include the six GCC countries together with

Egypt and Syria, issued a statement last June supporting the

demarcation and welcoming the measures taken by the

Security Council as positive contributions to stability and

security at both the regional and international levels.

Iraq’s procrastination in implementing the Security

Council resolutions is not limited to the boundary

demarcation but extends to a purely humanitarian issue: the

release of all prisoners, hostages and detainees of Kuwaiti

and third country nationals. Those hostages and prisoners

have been languishing in Iraqi prisons and detention camps

for some three years now. We trust and hope that the

international community will bring pressure to bear on the

Iraqi regime to release every one of those innocent men,

women and children. Their plight is a stark violation of all

the values and concepts associated with the issue of human

rights. It is also a case that represents a rejection of the new

global approach, which we believe all here are keen to

promote with a view to safeguarding human rights in the

world.

Kuwait has explored all possible avenues, using all

available Arab, Islamic and international channels to

persuade the Iraqi regime to comply with the norms of

international law, especially its commitments under the

Geneva Conventions. To date, the Iraqi regime has made no

positive response to the efforts made by the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on behalf of those

persons. Most recently, it boycotted a meeting organized by

the ICRC in Geneva last month to discuss the latest

developments of this important and urgent humanitarian

matter. The people of Kuwait will feel no relief and enjoy

no peace of mind until the very last prisoner is returned to

his or her family and homeland.

Iraq has also failed to fulfil its obligation to return the

remainder of Kuwaiti property belonging to the private and

public sectors in our country. Furthermore, it has neither

implemented Security Council resolutions 707 (1991) and

715 (1991), nor has it desisted from oppressing and

suppressing its own population in the northern and the

southern regions of the country. It continues to resort to acts

of terrorism. We in Kuwait share the Iraqi people’s pain

and suffering by virtue of the brotherhood between our two

peoples and our everlasting neighbourhood. It is with

particular concern that we see the humiliation of the Iraqi

people as the Iraqi regime pursues its atrocities with total

disregard for the plight of the Iraqi people and its future.

The Iraqi regime has stubbornly rejected the mechanism

provided to alleviate the suffering and hardships of the Iraqi

people by failing to implement Security Council resolutions

706 (1991) and 712 (1991). Indeed, responsibility for the

plight of the Iraqi people lies squarely on the regime itself,

which must be held accountable for all the dire

consequences of its atrocities.

24 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Kuwait firmly believes that security in the Gulf region

is part and parcel of world security. Hence, the international

community is responsible for ensuring respect for the

sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States

that fall prey to aggression. Support for States that fall

victim to aggression should also be provided by the world

community when a conflict breaks out. The consolidation of

regional security requires confidence-building among all

countries in the region as a basic premise for attaining that

common goal. Here, I should like to underline the close ties

and complete trust that exist among GCC States. Their

cooperation is a substantial contribution to the stability and

security of the region. Facts on the ground attest to our

common endeavours.

Kuwait is keen to improve its relations with the Islamic

Republic of Iran on the basis of the principles of

good-neighbourliness, non-interference in the internal affairs

of each other and respect for sovereignty as specified by the

Gulf Cooperation Council Supreme Council. Having said

that, Kuwait would like to emphasize the sovereignty of the

United Arab Emirates over its three islands - Abu Mousa,

Lesser Tonb and Greater Tonb. Furthermore, Kuwait wishes

to put on record its absolute support for all the peaceful

measures and means to which the United Arab Emirates

resorts in order to regain sovereignty over its islands.

Kuwait remains hopeful that dialogue will eventually clear

away all the outstanding matters between the two countries.

With that aim in view, Kuwait calls upon the Islamic

Republic of Iran to commit itself to resolving this dispute on

the basis of international law and treaties and to ending it by

peaceful means.

In the context of the developments that are taking place

with regard to the Middle East peace process, Kuwait

welcomes the signing of the accord between the people of

Palestine and Israel to exercise their right to self-

determination, to free their territory from occupation and to

build their own national institutions. In keeping with

Kuwait’s support for every effort made and every avenue

chosen by the Palestinian people to further their cause, the

Kuwaiti Council of Ministers has issued a statement in

which it welcomed this first step towards the full

implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

Kuwait views this accord as a first step towards the

creation of a framework to deal with many details - a

process that will require enormous effort and patience on the

part of the parties directly involved if a successful

conclusion is to be ensured. The accord has indeed ushered

in a totally new chapter in the history of the Middle East

and the question of Palestine. We hope that, in the new era,

negotiation will replace conflict; dialogue will supersede

confrontation; and that disputes will be resolved under the

rule of international law instead of by force of arms, in

consonance with the developing new approach. However,

the litmus test will be in the steps that will follow and in the

achievements that will be made on the other Arab fronts. In

the final analysis, partial or incomplete peace will not last,

and a unilateral accord will not lead to a fair and

comprehensive peace. From now on we should not look to

the past with pain and sorrow; rather, we should look to the

future with hope and confidence.

In the end, the success of the peace process hinges on

genuine and serious commitment on the part of Israel to

implement United Nations resolutions, particularly those that

call for complete and unconditional withdrawal from the

Syrian Arab Golan. In the same vein, Israel must withdraw

its forces from Southern Lebanon, without any further delay,

in compliance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978).

I take this opportunity to commend the Lebanese

Government for its remarkable effort to build national

reconciliation in Lebanon. For its part, Kuwait will continue

to back the Lebanese people in their efforts to reconstruct

and rehabilitate their homeland.

The tragedy of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina

continues unabated. That people is the target of brutal

aggression by the Serbs and the Croats, who want to impose

a fait accompli and to make territorial gains by imposing a

grossly unjust settlement on the Muslims of Bosnia and

Herzegovina.

We call upon the Security Council and the European

Community to take all urgent and effective measures to

prevent the aggressor from gaining any reward and to refuse

to legitimize the outcome of outright aggression. We appeal

to the international community to lift the embargo on arms

supplies to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to

enable its people to exercise their right to self-defence, as set

forth in the Charter of the United Nations.

A few days ago, Kuwait was pleased to receive the

President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The

visit was the culmination of Kuwait’s constant support for

the struggle of that Muslim nation, and it demonstrated our

deep, comprehensive and unwavering commitment to Bosnia

and Herzegovina.

Kuwait firmly welcomes the agreement that has been

reached between the Government of President de Klerk and

the other parties involved in the negotiations on the future

political and social structure in South Africa. The thrust of

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 25

this accord is to end the system of apartheid, which divides

society into segments whose rights and prerogatives are

based on the colour of their skin. We applaud this historic

agreement, which will put all the people of South Africa,

irrespective of class, on a totally new humanitarian cause,

enabling all South Africans to unleash their energies in the

building of a new society.

For its part, Kuwait has complied fully with all the

boycott regulations. Together with other members of the

international community, it contributed to the creation of the

effective mechanism that eventually led to the agreement in

question. Now we intend to take the necessary measures on

the national level to lift sanctions in response to

Mr. Nelson Mandela’s recent appeal from this rostrum. Our

action will be in line with the global trend towards the

creation of conditions conducive to the

fulfilment of the targets set out in the agreement. My

Government will review Kuwaiti national legislation that

prohibits dealings with the Government of South Africa, in

the light of the national agreement in South Africa,

international consensus and the important statement in which

Mr. Nelson Mandela called for an end to the economic

sanctions while continuing to maintain the ban on

conventional and nuclear weapons.

We welcome also the proposal by the Multilateral

Negotiating Council and the agreement that has been reached

to enable the young Republic of Namibia to have its

territorial rights in respect of Walvis Bay and the off-shore

islands restored.

Parallel to the heart-warming transformations on the

world political arena, there are some significant economic

indicators. The issues relating to the world economic

situation are of great concern to my Government. In our

view, top priority must be given, on the international

economic agenda, to the economic plight of the developing

countries, especially the most impoverished among them, so

that they may be helped to alleviate the severe suffering of

their populations.

Convinced that the future of the world and the well-

being of its inhabitants require wholesome approaches that

balance the use of resources with conservation of the

environment, Kuwait has played an active role in the

international forums dealing with the questions of the

environment and energy. We are extremely keen on the

promotion of international cooperation with a view to

achieving wider development and removing obstacles that

impede it. We believe, however, that priority should be

accorded to national and international efforts that aim at

achieving overall social and economic development and

increasing political stability.

The individual must always be the focus of every

development effort. All development policies should be

flexible enough to accommodate the ingenuity and creative

power of all individuals. This is indeed our guarantee of

progress and excellence in human endeavour. International

institutions should provide the platform and the framework

to harness our national efforts towards that end.

The new international orientation, in its political and

economic aspects, presents us with yet another window of

opportunity. As interdependent partners, we should forge

ahead together so that, together, we may reap the common

benefits of the new order.