Kuwait, 2000

On

behalf of the delegation of the State of Kuwait, it gives

me pleasure to extend to you, Mr. President, warm

congratulations on your unanimous election as

President of the fifty-fifth session of the United

Nations General Assembly. We wish you success in

steering the deliberations of this landmark session. Let

me assure you of my delegation's commitment to work

constructively with you towards meeting the common

goals and aspirations of the international community.

I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to

the remarkable efforts made and prudence shown by

your predecessor during his presidency of the last

session of the Assembly.

In the same vein, let me once again place on

record our great admiration of and appreciation for the

crucial role played by the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, since he assumed the helm at the United

Nations. Mr. Annan has been working tirelessly to

improve the performance of the Organization's system

in the interest of global peace, security and

development and to bring it more in line with the

ongoing transformations in international relations.

On a membership note, let me now extend a

warm welcome to the Republic of Tuvalu, which has

joined our ranks as the newest Member of the United

Nations. Tuvalu's admission to membership enhances

the universal character of the Organization.

Just a few days ago, United Nations Headquarters

hosted an unprecedented, historic gathering of a very

large number of heads of State or Government, who

come together to renew their commitments to the

Charter of the United Nations and to reiterate their

unwavering belief in the importance and relevance of

the United Nations in developing a better world,

structured on the values of justice, equality,

coexistence and cooperation.

The Millennium Summit was a momentous

occasion to review and appraise the achievements and

failures of the past. It was an occasion to sketch out a

vision to face the challenges of the future. The

Declaration adopted by the Summit, together with the

recommendations contained in the report of the

Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations in

the twenty-first century, are a blueprint for addressing

the pressing problems and challenges that will confront

mankind in key areas. Chief among those daunting

challenges that hamper the fulfilment of peoples'

aspirations around the globe to achieve adequate levels

of freedom, dignity and peace are the arms race,

increasing national and racial conflicts, poverty,

ignorance, development, human rights abuses,

terrorism, environmental degradation and the spread of

lethal infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria.

The list can indeed go on ad infinitum. The effects and

dangers of those problems cut across national borders

and transcend any artificial barriers. If anything, this

fact confirms the need for consolidated international

efforts and a reinforced United Nations role system-

wide.

Here, we note with some measure of satisfaction

the ongoing attempts being made at the global level to

cope with those problems. Numerous world

conferences and special sessions of the General

Assembly held in the last few years have facilitated the

conclusion of several international agreements and

treaties covering a range of subjects. In those meetings,

it was reaffirmed that resolve would rid humanity of

the risks of nuclear weapons and the alarming dangers

posed to international peace and security by their

proliferation. In another important area, the Beijing

Declaration and the Platform for Action were

entrenched to enhance the status of women and to

ensure their full rights. The Copenhagen Summit, with

its focus on universal human development, was also the

subject of a follow-up conference held recently.

In that regard, the State of Kuwait takes pride in

the fact that the United Nations Development

Programme's Human Development Report 2000 states

that Kuwait has maintained its rank of first among

Arab countries, and number 36 in the world, in the

field of human development. Kuwait is now

determined to pursue its efforts to do even better in the

future. A key component of our efforts is our

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commitment to the implementation of the principles

and goals enshrined in the international conventions

and treaties covering human development and human

rights, and to employ them at the national level with a

view to improving our economic and social conditions.

Interaction between the Kuwaiti Government and the

National Assembly — which is the legislative authority

in Kuwait and the product of robust parliamentary and

democratic life in our country — will certainly

accelerate our efforts to fulfil the goals and aspirations

of the people of Kuwait.

In the course of the decades that span the life of

the United Nations, the Organization has established a

good record of achievement and has proven its

effectiveness in the resolution of many disputes and

conflicts. It has also helped to contain many problems.

Thus, it is now really difficult to imagine a world

without the United Nations. The Millennium Summit

Declaration reaffirmed that the United Nations is the

common house indispensable to the entire family of

nations. Having said that, and in view of the profound

transformations in the world order and the attendant

new problems and challenges, it has become imperative

to continue to support and cooperate with the

Secretary-General to reform the United Nations bodies

with a view to streamlining them in response to the

global changes, thereby enabling them to respond

better to the challenges of the future.

In that regard, we reaffirm the need to pursue

efforts to improve the procedures and working methods

of the Security Council. The goal is to make the work

of the Council more transparent and to increase the

number of permanent and non-permanent seats, with a

view to expanding the base of the decision-making

process under controls that ensure equitable

representation to making an efficient contribution to

the Council's fulfilment of its functions and

responsibilities in terms of maintaining international

peace and security.

At this juncture, we wish to underscore the need

for all Member States to pay their assessed

contributions in full and on time, both to the United

Nations regular budget and to the peacekeeping

operations budget. It is indeed essential to provide

adequate financial resources to the United Nations so

that it may carry out its mandates.

Ten years have elapsed since the Iraqi invasion of

the State of Kuwait. That invasion constituted a serious

precedent in international relations because it

represented a flagrant violation of the Charter of the

United Nations and the norms and principles of

international law. Furthermore, that invasion

undermined the security and stability of the Gulf

region. Kuwait now recalls with pride the firm stand

and resolve demonstrated by the international

community in condemning, confronting and defeating

that aggression. All of that was distinctly illustrated in

a quick series of resolutions adopted by the Security

Council under Chapter VII of the Charter as of the very

first day of the invasion, on 2 August 1990. That

historic stand by the international community was a

remarkable embodiment and consolidation of the

system of collective security. It also ushered in a new

international order and represented a clear and strong

message to any Government or regime that might

pursue a policy of aggression with a view to territorial

expansion at the expense of others.

The reverberations of the sinister Iraqi aggression

are still being felt by all of us today. The Security

Council remains seized with the repercussions of that

aggression. Since the invasion, the Council has had to

adopt 54 resolutions and numerous presidential

statements in response to the persistent procrastination

and equivocation of the Government of Iraq, which has

constantly sought to evade its international obligations.

Indeed, it is regrettable that for 10 years now the

Government of Iraq has failed to meet its obligations

under Security Council resolutions.

The main requirements yet to be met under the

resolutions of the Security Council relate to the

question of Kuwaiti and third-country prisoners and

hostages. This humanitarian issue illustrates the

tragedy facing hundreds of families who continue to

grieve over the unknown fate of their loved ones. Little

progress, if any, has been made. Basically, we are still

at square one. Resolutions 686 (1991), 687 (1991) and

1284 (1999), which requested Iraq to unconditionally

cooperate with the International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC) to account for prisoners and hostages,

remain unimplemented. In fact, since its boycott of

both bodies in January 1999, the Government of Iraq

has continued to illustrate its disregard for the

humanitarian nature of this issue through its insistence

on not resuming its participation with the Tripartite

Commission and its Technical Subcommittee.

Furthermore, the Government of Iraq also insists on

non-cooperation with the high-level Coordinator,

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Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, who was appointed by the

Secretary-General to facilitate the repatriation of

prisoners and hostages.

Let me seize this occasion to reiterate our call to

the Iraqi Government to deal positively with this

matter, given its humanitarian, religious and moral

dimensions. This issue must be resolved in accordance

with the relevant Security Council resolutions. Along

the same lines, we demand that Iraq cooperate with the

high-level Coordinator to complete the return of stolen

property. This is also in accordance with the relevant

Security Council resolutions. The most important of

those assets include military hardware that has been

incorporated into Iraq's military system and the

irreplaceable archives of the State of Kuwait, which

were deemed by the Security Council as the “State

memory” of our country. The stubborn resistance by

Iraq to return these assets and documents betrays the

non-peaceful intentions still harboured by the

Government of Iraq towards Kuwait.

What is deeply regrettable is that the Government

of Iraq has not only failed to meet the obligations we

outlined earlier, but that it has allegedly completed the

elimination of its weapons of mass destruction while at

the same time not allowing United Nations inspectors

to verify those claims. Iraq also claims to have fulfilled

all its obligations under the relevant Security Council

resolutions. In its stance, Iraq stands isolated in the

face of the United Nations, the international

community and the many regional organizations and

groupings that continue to call on Iraq to complete its

implementation of Security Council resolutions.

In his report on the work of the Organization this

year, the Secretary-General put it succinctly and

eloquently when he stated:

“Iraq's lack of compliance with various

Security Council resolutions continues to be of

grave concern.” (A/55/1, para. 54)

In addition, the decision adopted by the last

ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last June

confirms beyond any doubt that there is indeed a single

unified international and regional position on the need

for Iraq to comply with Security Council resolutions.

That decision demanded that the Government of Iraq,

among other things, continue its efforts to complete the

implementation of its commitments under Security

Council resolutions in the interest of peace, security

and stability in the region. It also welcomed the

adoption of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999)

and invited Iraq to cooperate with the United Nations

Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission

(UNMOVIC) under the chairmanship of Mr. Hans Blix

to implement the provisions of resolution 1284 (1999).

That same decision further stressed that Iraq must

expressly and clearly admit that its invasion and

occupation of the State of Kuwait was a breach of pan-

Arab, Islamic and international treaties and laws; a

breach of the Charter of the League of Arab States and

the Common Arab Defence Pact; the Charter of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference; and the

Charter of the United Nations. The decision also

renewed the Organization of the Islamic Conference's

invitation to Iraq to take the necessary steps to

demonstrate its peaceful intentions towards the State of

Kuwait and other neighbouring countries, both in

words and deeds.

Against this backdrop, we would like to know

where Iraq stands now vis-à-vis those resolutions and

the sincere calls made upon it by regional and

international organizations. We note with regret that

the Government of Iraq, for a good 10 years now, has

not drawn the right lessons. It continues to reveal its

non-peaceful intentions and policies of aggression

towards the State of Kuwait and neighbouring

countries.

The remarks made by the Iraqi President and the

announcements by several high-ranking Iraqi officials

last month, together with the unjust Iraqi

misinformation campaign against Kuwait and the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are perhaps the most

compelling evidence that the Iraqi regime is still

determined to pursue a course of aggression and feels

no sense of remorse or contrition over its actions of 2

August 1990. Therefore, Kuwait calls on the

international community to maintain its pressure on the

Government of Iraq, with a view to forcing it to

implement all relevant Security Council resolutions

and to abandon its aggressive attitude, which seriously

jeopardizes the security and stability of the State of

Kuwait and of other States in the region.

Kuwait, for its part, supports all efforts made by

the United Nations to alleviate the suffering of the

brotherly people of Iraq, with whom we fully

sympathize. We therefore welcome the improvements

introduced occasionally by the Security Council

sanctions Committee established by resolution 661

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(1990) into the operational methods of the

humanitarian programme, with a view to facilitating

and expediting delivery of humanitarian materials to

the brotherly people of Iraq. We note with satisfaction

the report of the Secretary-General issued last week, in

which he stated that the humanitarian programme had

succeeded in providing a great measure of assistance to

meet the urgent humanitarian needs of Iraq in all

sectors, despite the many obstacles and difficulties that

the programme faces.

At the regional level, in keeping with Kuwait's

keen interest in ensuring security and stability in the

Arabian Gulf region, and in view of the close relations

between the sister State of the United Arab Emirates

and the friendly State of the Islamic Republic of Iran,

we support the position of the States of the Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC) on the question of the

three Emirates islands. We hope that the efforts being

made by the ad hoc GCC Tripartite Ministerial

Committee will prove successful in creating a bilateral

negotiating mechanism to resolve the current dispute

over the islands in accordance with the norms and

principles of international law and good

neighbourliness. If negotiations fail to bring about a

solution, then the dispute should be referred to the

International Court of Justice to resolve it in a

satisfactory manner. This will help bolster the

mechanisms of reconciliation among the States of the

region and expand the channels of mutual interests and

confidence-building.

In the same vein, we would like warmly to

welcome the maritime border demarcation agreement

between Kuwait and its sister the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia. This accord reflects the depth of brotherly

relations between our two countries. It also represents a

model of civilized cooperation in resolving border

disputes and problems. With that outcome, we look

forward with interest to the forthcoming talks between

Kuwait and the friendly State of the Islamic Republic

of Iran to complete the demarcation of maritime

borders between the two countries.

We take this occasion to pay tribute to the

wisdom shown by the leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia and Yemen, which resulted in the signing of an

agreement on the demarcation of the border between

the two countries. This will no doubt consolidate the

underpinnings of security and stability in the region.

In the context of the relentless search for a just,

lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East,

Kuwait has been closely following the peace process

since its inception in Madrid in 1991. That process has

time and again experienced obstacles, risks and

deadlocks due to the unwillingness of the Israeli

Government to carry out the accords concluded with

the Palestinian National Authority within the

framework of the peace process. Israel has so far

demonstrated its non-commitment to, and non-

compliance with, the operational principles and

framework of the peace process anchored chiefly in

Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338

(1973), together with the principle of land for peace.

Israeli intransigence aborted the success of the

recent Camp David summit despite the immense and

tireless efforts made by the United States

Administration. Here, Kuwait wishes to reiterate its

commitment to the Arab position of adherence to peace

as a strategic option. We also reaffirm our belief that a

comprehensive and just peace will not be possible

without the full restoration to the Palestinian people of

their legitimate rights, including the right of return of

the Palestinian refugees, pursuant to paragraph 11 of

General Assembly resolution 194 (III), and the

establishment of their independent state on their

national territory, with Jerusalem as its capital. We also

call for the resumption of negotiations on the Syrian-

Israeli track, with a view to achieving full Israeli

withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Arab Golan to the

border line of 4 June 1967.

At this point, we wish to urge the active and

effective facilitators in the peace process, especially

the United States of America, to redouble their efforts

and to bring pressure to bear on the Israeli Government

to convince it that the only viable path to easing its

security concerns is a return to the framework and

principles established at the Madrid Conference, in

order to achieve a genuine peace that secures the

reinstitution of lawful Arab rights to their legitimate

owners.

Still in the context of the Middle East, we would

like to express to our brothers in Lebanon — the

President of the Republic, the Government and the

people — our warm congratulations on the restoration

of national sovereignty over their liberated land after

more than 20 years of Israeli occupation, which left in

its wake vast destruction in the regions of southern

Lebanon and western Bekaa. As a contribution to the

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rehabilitation and reconstruction of southern Lebanon

and with a sense of responsibility emanating from the

close brotherly bonds between Kuwait and Lebanon,

the Government of Kuwait has made a cash grant of

$20 million and has requested the Kuwait Fund for

Economic Development to finance projects for

rebuilding infrastructure in villages of the South.

Kuwait will in the meantime continue its support for

Lebanese Government efforts to extend sovereignty

over all its national territory to safeguard Lebanon's

territorial integrity and independence.

Kuwait welcomes the positive developments at

the national reconciliation conference of Somali

factions that was held in Djibouti last month. We pay

tribute to the sustained and sincere efforts made by the

President of Djibouti, His Excellency Mr. Ismail Omar

Guelleh. We hope that the remaining factions will join

the national reconciliation process in order to shore up

the unity and stability of Somalia, which, we hope, will

eventually bring that country back into the fold of

Arab, Islamic and international life. We take this

opportunity to stress Kuwait's support for the people of

Somalia in their efforts to rebuild State institutions and

to reconstruct the country as a whole.

Turning to the rest of Africa, Kuwait is following

with deep sorrow the conflicts and civil wars that have

long afflicted a number of countries. These conflicts

imperil the peace and stability of many nations and

deplete their potentials, capabilities and resources.

Even though the problems of Africa have come to be a

focus of the global agenda, and even though the United

Nations system has embarked on in-depth discussion

and analysis of the root causes of those problems, the

proposed solutions remain blueprints awaiting

implementation. The net result is that the continent

continues to be plagued by bitter conflicts and painful

political instability, which aggravate already intractable

economic and social problems, foremost among them

foreign debt, poverty, illiteracy and the spread of

contagious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria,

which afflict millions of people and claim the lives of

hundreds of thousands of innocent victims every year.

It is very sad indeed that many countries in Africa

are suffering from these problems at a time when the

modern world has made enormous progress in all areas

of human activity. We therefore urge the international

community to pursue its efforts more vigorously to

help bring peace and security to African nations and to

assist them in meeting their economic and social

development goals. A vital role can be played by the

international aid agencies and financial institutions,

which we hope will redouble their outreach efforts to

overcome Africa's daunting problems and challenges.

Kuwait believes that any such donor drive will not be

effective unless and until African peoples and

Governments themselves shoulder their responsibilities

and dedicate their full energies to lifting themselves up

out of their current misery and onto the path of

mainstream modern progress. Another key factor in

this process is the need to resolve disputes by peaceful

means in order to create a climate of security and

stability and to preserve sorely needed economic

resources.

The world today is witnessing the emergence of

several promising economic phenomena created by the

immense information and technology revolution that is

sweeping the communication and trade sectors. Of

particular significance is the formation of numerous

international and regional economic blocs that are

seeking to remove customs restrictions and to liberate

trade among nations. In response, many developing

countries have made drastic changes in their economic

and administrative structures in order to align

themselves with those transformations and to put

themselves in an advantageous position with respect to

economic globalization in the hope of achieving better

economic growth and progress.

Kuwait thinks that the phenomenon of

globalization, notwithstanding its merits, could have an

adverse impact on the economies of developing

countries unless the very basis of North-South

economic relations is restructured in line with the

tenets of mutual benefit, common interest, the need to

narrow the technology gap, and the removal of

obstacles that impede the access of the products of

developing nations to the markets of the developed

industrialized countries in the interest of both groups.

In the meantime, developed countries should provide

adequate economic assistance to developing nations to

help them strengthen their infrastructures and build up

their economies on a sound and solid foundation.

In this context, Kuwait has never shrunk from

doing its fair share to meet all its international and

regional obligations towards the developing countries.

Our assistance is channelled through international aid

agencies and institutions as well as through the Kuwait

Fund for Economic Development. That fund has

provided loans and financial grants for many

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development projects and programmes in scores of

developing countries. More than 96 countries on all

continents have benefited from these loans and grants.

Within its means, Kuwait will remain committed to

helping the development efforts of developing

countries, because of our belief that overall

development and broader participation and cooperation

are essential for ensuring security and stability for all

countries of the world.

We remain hopeful at the outset of a new century

that the nations of the world will close ranks to fulfil

the noble principles and purposes of the United Nations

Charter. We also hope that the Millennium Declaration

will be translated into a tangible reality that fulfils the

aspirations and the vision of peoples yearning to live in

a climate of security, peace, freedom and justice, and in

a world where the enormous power of science and

technology will be harnessed to serve human

development in all spheres of life and to enrich human

civilization.

Let us make partnership and cooperation to build

a better tomorrow for our children our guiding motto in

the new century. Let us pledge ourselves to bequeath to

the generations of the coming century the assurance

that we have kept our faith to them, and that we have

sown for them the seeds of goodness that will yield a

better life.