Kuwait, 1997

It gives me pleasure to convey to the President the

greetings of His Excellency Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-

Jaber Al-Sabah, Acting Prime Minister and Minister for

Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, who profoundly

regrets being unable to participate personally in the debate

at this session due to some pressing matters. He has

requested me to deliver the following statement by Kuwait

on his behalf:

“On behalf of the State of Kuwait, it gives me

pleasure to congratulate Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko on

his election as President of the United Nations General

Assembly at its fifty-second session. We are confident

that he will be able to lead our deliberations

efficiently towards a successful conclusion. The

extensive experience he has gained from service at

this important international institution together with

the high posts he has assumed will no doubt prove

valuable. Let me also underline the good relations

existing between our two countries, based on mutual

understanding and common interest.

“I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute

to his predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail, the

former President of the General Assembly, who

demonstrated an impressive sense of purpose,

dedication and deep perception. Under his

stewardship, the Assembly reasserted its genuine

importance and relevance in international relations.

“I wish to pay tribute to our new Secretary-

General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, who took

the helm of the Organization at the beginning of the

year. Apart from being a long-time career insider at

the United Nations, Mr. Annan to us now stands as

a good example of the executive manager enjoying

wisdom and prudence, together with integrity and

commitment, that make him a living embodiment of

dedication to the ideals and mission of the United

Nations.

“In the same vein, I wish to set on record our

recognition of the significant contribution of

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former Secretary-

General, in leading the Organization with efficiency

and confidence. Kuwait will always recognize his

contributions with a deep sense of appreciation.

“Two years ago, the United Nations celebrated

its fiftieth anniversary. The mood then was

optimistic about the role and capability of the

Organization to cope with the lingering issues that

remained without a solution over the first half

century. This was due to the nature of these

problems, which was aggravated by the major-Power

polarization during the cold war. The sense of

optimism emanated from our deep conviction that

the global understanding that swept the world would

eventually generate the firm will to address the

outstanding problems that jeopardize international

peace and security. Also, the widespread public

awareness of the relevance of the United Nations

would also help the Organization in resolving

pending matters. Furthermore, the impressive track

record of the United Nations has earned it collective

credibility regarding the vitality and flexibility of the

machinery at its disposal.

“Kuwait has examined with great interest the

measures and recommendations contained in the

report of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

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entitled Renewing the United Nations: A Programme

for Reform', which was submitted to the General

Assembly in mid-July last. In this connection, we

would like to register Kuwait’s support for this

programme and its appreciation of the efforts made by

Mr. Kofi Annan and his assistants to produce this

impressive achievement. The report is analytical in its

approach and pragmatic in its outlook, focusing on

performance efficiency without partiality. It also

focused on improving the financial situation of the

Organization through the institution of better internal

control mechanisms and practical suggestions. The

ultimate goal of all these measures is to enhance the

performance of the United Nations, which would be

more innovative in its operational modalities and more

focused on its global concerns.

“We have noted, with appreciation, the reports

submitted by a wide array of working groups on

restructuring the organs of the United Nations and

improving their efficiency in order to adapt the entire

system to the new era following the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations and the post-

confrontation environment. The United Nations seems

poised to embark on addressing in a more

comprehensive manner humanitarian, cultural,

demographic and environmental issues which were not

prominent on its list of priorities previously.

“Moreover, as we recognize the realities of

contemporary life, we understand that the world order

continues to be quite fluid, and it is indeed difficult to

predict its future shape. The current stage is not a

unipolar power era, as some might imagine. It is a

multipolar arena, where military might is no longer the

final arbiter in the definition of polarity. In fact, there

exists immense technological superiority, which may

enable some States to make an outstanding

contribution to the shaping of global strategies. There

is also the economic power that has brought together

the major industrial nations in a collectivity which has

a significant influence on the implementation of world

strategies. This is not to mention the giant economic

groupings which exist in the world of today.

“Accordingly, the Open-ended Working Group

on the Question of Equitable Representation on and

Increase in the Membership of the Security Council,

and other Matters Related to the Security Council,

which has been examining the question of reform and

expansion of Security Council membership for the

past four years, should take these new facts of life

into consideration. Once agreed upon, the new

membership composition should reflect a collective

and emphatic will to address adequately the issues at

hand. Permanent members of the Council should be

politically capable and should be financial and troop

contributors. They should also be adept at crisis

management, and able to act decisively, without

hesitation, when the situation warrants such action.

“In the final analysis, membership of the

Security Council is not a privilege as much as it is

a responsibility. It should not be a means for

visibility, but a product of conviction. Our view is

that the Security Council in its forthcoming

composition should be a mirror reflecting a world

shifting towards universalization and transparency in

order to instil a better sense of security in all

members of the world community, both North and

South, East and West. Membership should not be

divided between diverse security concepts, some

favouring the North, while others are appropriate for

the South.

“In this context, Kuwait affirms its full

commitment to the common Arab position and to the

stand of the Non-Aligned Movement, both of which

were elaborated time and again in several meetings

of the Open-ended Working Group.

“Undoubtedly, agreement on the concept of

unconventional and common security requires in the

first instance recognition of some crucial facts. The

first element is the conviction that the security of

humankind is universal and, in the final analysis,

indivisible. The interests of members of the world

community have become more and more

interdependent, while civilizations and cultures are

drawing closer. The daily concerns of individuals are

universal in nature, requiring complex solutions, and

are multidimensional in their negative impacts. The

second element is the emphasis on the concept of

economic and social development as a crucial factor

in ensuring conventional security and collective

handling of development requirements. This also

calls for the involvement of international institutions

in contributions to the improvement of living

conditions in the poor nations that face severe

impediments in their development efforts.

“The third element is a firm belief in and

commitment to the dignity of the human person as

being the essence of human relations both within a

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given society and among nations. In effect, this means

upholding the dignity of the human person in the face

of bloody regimes which flagrantly violate the

principles of human rights and destroy their own

nations to arrogate power to themselves. This brings

us to the necessity of safeguarding the principles set

forth in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and in the Charter of the United Nations.

“Fourthly, all members of the world community

should adopt peaceful policies which renounce

violence, recognize the legitimate interests of others

and respect their rights, expand the zones of mutual

interests, give due priority to development and reject

the arms race. Such peaceful policies should also

abstain from behaviour and political expressions which

disturb peace. They should observe civilized conduct

in relationships among peoples, without the pursuit of

any party’s privileges at the expense of others. No one

should claim an imaginary historical role outside the

parameters of justice, equality and the rule of law.

“The world today is indeed a small planet whose

problems interact and overlap. Its pressing problems

are a global responsibility. When viewed through a

human and global prism, we can see that the

prosperity of the North pales in the shadow of the

poverty of the South. The security of Europe will not

be assured against a background of a marginalized

Africa. There will be little peace of mind in America

in the face of a population explosion in Asia, and with

the widening gap between those with an abundance of

wealth and those who suffer in deprivation. Dealing

with the new developments in the world environment

requires the evolution of a comprehensive concept of

security. Any such concept must be anchored in

understanding, coexistence, common interests, and the

utilization of the universal technological revolution in

managing vital national projects. This concept should

replace the outdated concepts of security based on the

balance of power, mutual deterrence and military

presence.

“The achievements made by the United Nations

should provide the Organization with a further impetus

to pursue the same course it has charted since the end

of the cold war.

“We welcome the movement towards the

prohibition of the production, stockpiling and use of

landmines. This would be yet another positive step

added to similar measures, such as the Chemical

Weapons Convention, the Comprehensive Nuclear-

Test-Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Despite such

instruments, some States continue to export weapons

of mass destruction as a vital source of increased

national income. We welcome the regulations that

have been concluded to control arms, to reduce the

level of nuclear threat, to tighten controls over the

arms trade and to increase transparency regarding

weapons expenditures.

“In the same vein, we cannot underestimate the

achievements made in the area of peacekeeping

operations, where the United Nations has managed

to contain dangers and defuse crises in several

instances, although many regional problems remain

unresolved and constitute flash-points of tension.

“In this regard, we in Kuwait cannot but recall

with admiration the firmness with which the Security

Council responded to the aggression by the Iraqi

regime against the State of Kuwait in August 1990.

The Council’s response was characterized by

firmness in rejecting aggression, resoluteness in its

confrontation, and decisive action to abort the

aggression through a series of resolutions that made

the Council’s position perfectly clear. It started with

rejection of aggression, then moved to deterrence,

and culminated in decisive action. In all its

dimensions and ramifications, that case has become

a historical precedent that might constitute the basis

for a solid background for dealing with any similar

aggression, irrespective of its origin, against any

State.

“But Iraq, despite the dire need of its people

for the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the

Security Council, has not yet fulfilled basic

conditions required for ending the sanctions. There

is the question of Kuwaiti and third-country

prisoners and detainees. This is a humanitarian issue

that affects several hundred families who still do not

know the whereabouts of their loved ones. Young

children continue to cry, appealing for help to rescue

their missing fathers. The ad hoc Tripartite

Commission continues to meet in Geneva while its

technical sub-group still convenes in the border area

between Kuwait and Iraq. Despite the formal nature

of such regular meetings, which attract media

attention, there has in effect been no progress in

20

determining the fate of these missing persons. In fact,

the Iraqi regime has been exploiting their fate as a

bargaining chip in its diplomatic manoeuvres. Iraq also

continues to refuse to return a great deal of Kuwaiti

property taken from the public and private sectors, the

most important of which is an air defence system and

other military equipment, in addition to the principal

State documents, which have been referred to in the

Security Council as State memory.

“Among the other key obligations the Iraqi

regime has failed to fulfil is the elimination of

weapons of mass destruction, a subject that is being

handled by the Special Commission. In this context,

even after seven years of formal acceptance of

relevant conditions, Iraq continues to indulge its hobby

of procrastination, subterfuge and deception. Iraq hides

certain weapons only to acknowledge later their

existence after the Special Commission secures

definitive proof of Iraq’s ownership of such weapons.

It denies having certain types of missiles and

biological components only to recant its assertions

once the international teams of inspectors discover

those items.

“Kuwait welcomes Security Council resolution

1111 (1997) regarding the extension of the

implementation of the provisions of resolution 986

(1995), which aims at alleviating the suffering of the

brotherly people of Iraq. Indeed, the hardship faced by

the people of Iraq has long persisted, due to the

failure of the Iraqi regime to meet its obligations, and

to its pursuit of a policy of procrastination and

trickery. Iraq is called upon to follow a peaceful

policy with neighbouring States in order to prove its

good intentions. This is a substantive condition for the

maintenance of regional security, which was shattered

by the Iraqi regime.

“We in Kuwait have gone through bitter

experiences with regard to the intentions of the Iraqi

regime, which seeks territorial expansion, regional

supremacy, and military superiority at the expense of

neighbouring countries and of their peace and stability.

“In the light of our eager interest in the

maintenance of security and stability in the region, we

affirm the need to preserve the unity and territorial

integrity of Iraq.

“The supreme goal is to build a solid regional

system firmly rooted in common understanding among

neighbouring States which seek to expand avenues

of mutual interests. This can be achieved through

respect for and non-interference in the internal

affairs of others, and through civilized coexistence

among neighbouring peoples. In this respect, I

should point out that my country is concerned over

the continued existence of the problem of the

occupation by Iran of three United Arab Emirates

islands. Here I wish to emphasize Kuwait’s full

commitment to the decision taken by the Gulf

Cooperation Council on this subject.

“I wish also to call upon the Islamic Republic

of Iran to respond favourably to the peaceful

initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Zayed

bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of our sister United

Arab Emirates, to engage in a serious dialogue that

would take into account the inalienable rights of the

United Arab Emirates to the islands in question, in

accordance with the principles of good neighbourly

relations, international law and the United Nations

Charter.

“The question of the Middle East and the

success of the peace process there are crucial

matters for world peace and security. You follow

with us with deep regret the paralysis which befell

that process and the increasing frustration and

tension throughout the region. The current stalemate

has touched off a flurry of threats and

recriminations. All this is the net sum of the

concepts put out by the Israeli Government

regarding the frame of reference underlying the

peace process in the region.

“The Government of Israel has backtracked

from the rules and principles of the Madrid Peace

Conference and has replaced them by extraneous

elements which contravene the rules unanimously

agreed upon by the international community as a

framework for the peace process, namely Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973),

together with the “land for peace” principle.

Furthermore, Israel has not committed itself to

implement bilateral agreements reached with the

Palestinian Authority, including withdrawal from all

occupied territories, including Jerusalem. Also, Israel

has not desisted from its policies of annexing Arab

Jerusalem, its Judaization and expansion of its illegal

settlement in order to change the demographic

composition of the Holy City which lies at the very

core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this regard,

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we call upon the co-sponsors of the peace initiative to

maintain even-handedness while doubling their efforts

to revive the peace process in order to achieve a

lasting, comprehensive and just resolution of the

question of Palestine.

“The people of Palestine have suffered for too

long the excruciating pain of oppression, homelessness

and neglect. It is the inherent right of the Palestinian

people to exercise self-determination and to establish

their own independent State, with Jerusalem as its

capital, similar to other peoples who gained

independence, so that they may contribute, within their

own capacity, towards building world peace.

“Along similar lines, Kuwait emphasizes the

importance of Israeli withdrawal from the occupied

Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since

1967. This question cannot be ignored if we desire the

peace process to be complete. Indeed, the peace must

be comprehensive, covering all tracks. It should be

anchored in good faith, in respect for the rights of

others and in mutual confidence. In this regard, we

support Syria’s position that negotiations with Israel

should resume from the point where they halted

instead of starting new rounds of talks whose terms of

reference have not been defined. Kuwait also supports

Lebanon’s firm stand that Israel is duty-bound to

implement all provisions of Security Council

resolution 425 (1978) and to preserve Lebanon’s

sovereignty and territorial integrity. This can be

achieved only by full, unconditional Israeli withdrawal

from southern Lebanon, so that Lebanon could resume

its traditional role in consolidating development and

prosperity.

“Kuwait notes with deep regret that ethnic,

factional and civil conflicts among tribal chiefs in both

Afghanistan and Somalia still continue. We remain

hopeful that the United Nations will take more

effective steps to address these problems that have

torn asunder those two countries and have continued

to undermine regional security. We also appeal to all

parties in these two countries to put an end to acts of

violence and to put overall national interests ahead of

their tribal and ethnic interests.

“Kuwait lauds international efforts to implement

fully the Dayton Agreement, which aims at achieving

security and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and

upholding international legitimacy at this stage. In this

respect, we applaud the Security Council resolution to

indict and prosecute certain political and military

leaders in Bosnia and Rwanda for their crimes

against humanity.

“We live in a world bursting with events.

Distances have shrunk, interests have grown, and

security dimensions have become more interlinked.

Adverse developments in the South worry the

population of the North. Failure of development

efforts has given impetus to chaotic waves of hungry

migrants. Threats resulting from peoples’ frustrations

have become interwoven. But, in our common

pursuit of a better tomorrow, we must act on the

basis of a universal conviction that armaments by

themselves do not guarantee full security, that

development is the core of progress, that dialogue is

the bridge to understanding and that serious work

gives birth to hope. Giving is an obligation, not an

act of charity. Respect among nations is a key to

stability, and self-improvement is a motive for work.

Participation is the path to cooperation. Monopoly is

one of the evils of bygone days, and openness is the

road to a better future. Investments are the tools of

development. Bigotry is repugnant to contemporary

international relations. People prosper in a civilized

environment that imbues them with the virtues of

doing good and giving, reaching out towards those

in need and moving against the odds in efforts to

create a world that exudes friendship and amity, a

world resting on the rules of international legality, a

world enjoying security, peace and prosperity.

“Our last prayer is to bless Allah, the lord of

the universe.”