Kuwait, 2001

On behalf of the State of Kuwait, it

gives me pleasure to congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo,

and his friendly country, the Republic of Korea, on his

election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the

General Assembly. The office he holds undoubtedly

carries enormous responsibility. My delegation offers

him all the support and cooperation he needs to fulfil

his mandate. I wish here to pay tribute to his

predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for his efficient

stewardship of the last session of the Assembly.

Let me take this opportunity to warmly

congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan, jointly

with the United Nations, on the well-deserved award of

the Nobel Peace Prize, and on his unprecedented early

re-election to a second term. The renewal of Mr.

Annan’s mandate by the international community

reflects deep confidence in his character and

capabilities, in addition to recognition of his past

record. We look forward to continuing to see him bring

into play his creative perspective in addressing a whole

array of complete and interrelated issues facing our

world.

Many of the questions and challenges facing our

countries nowadays involve implications and risks that

cut across national borders of sovereign countries. It is

little wonder that our world has become a smaller

planet where geographical boundaries, cultural

diversity, economic status and ethnic multiplicity have

become lesser factors in shielding communities against

global influences and, by the same token, have

provided larger platforms for interaction with others.

The fact that the world community is now seized with

fighting terrorism is perhaps yet further compelling and

clear evidence of the deep interaction among and

complexity of States’ interests and concerns. The

strong condemnation of the heinous terrorist acts

committed against the United States of America on 11

September 2001 reflects the international community’s

recognition that the real target of that assault is the

political, economic and social stability of the world

order. Indeed, those attacks affected, without

discrimination, virtually all nation States, all

continents, all civilizations, all religions and all races.

Kuwait, for its part, has had a long-standing and

firm position of total and unequivocal condemnation of

terrorism, irrespective of its form or manifestation.

Thus, only hours after the commission of those

criminal acts, which contravene and violate every

religious concept and every cultural and humanitarian

value system, the Government and people of Kuwait

condemned them. I wish to reiterate here our deep

sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families

and to the friendly people of the United States of

America. Let me reaffirm our full backing and support

for all the efforts and measures adopted by the

international coalition to destroy the dens and bases of

terrorism with a view to stamping out its roots, to

apprehend the perpetrators of these criminal acts and to

bring them to justice. In this regard, we call for the

completion of work on the development of a rigorous

international legal system with which all countries of

the world would comply in good faith to eradicate this

evil.

In compliance with Security Council resolution

1373 (2001), Kuwait has enacted specific measures to

plug any loopholes that might be abused in charitable

fund-raising activities and to ensure that any charity

asset is used solely and exclusively for its original

5

legitimate purposes. Our competent authorities are now

in the process of taking further enforcement measures

to ensure universal and strict compliance.

At a time when we condemn all acts of terrorism,

we have been truly surprised to hear some voices that

have started to mount intense and relentless campaigns

linking terrorism with Islam. Those allegations

represent an obvious mistreatment of and injustice to a

divine faith revealed by God Almighty to humankind to

ensure mercy and compassion on this planet. Islam is a

faith that advocates peace, calls for tolerance, promotes

amity and renounces bigotry and extremism. Suffice it

to cite one verse from The Holy Koran:

“Invite (all) to the Way

Of thy Lord with wisdom

And beautiful preaching” (The Holy Koran,

XVI:125)

Therefore, we really cannot accept these tendencies in

the domestic or international mass media, regardless of

any excuse or pretext. Indeed, it is our common

responsibility to challenge such pernicious campaigns

in the interest of global social harmony.

An effective fight against terrorism requires

maximum international cooperation and coordination.

It also demands a soul-searching review of our

political, economic and social policies and practices in

dealing with current global challenges. The aim is to

deny evil-doers any reason to carry out their terror

schemes to advance their own agendas.

While we stress the importance and relevance of

all United Nations resolutions and instruments relating

to the suppression of terrorism, Kuwait endorses the

call to convene an international conference on

terrorism. A key purpose of that proposed meeting

would be to set out a clear definition of terrorism that

draws a line between terrorism as a phenomenon that

strikes at international peace and security and the right

of peoples to struggle against occupation with a view

to achieving self-determination, in line with the Charter

of the United Nations and the norms of international

law.

Kuwait is in full sympathy with the friendly

people of Afghanistan, who have endured a great and

steady decline in their living conditions for over 20

years. The relentless conflicts and wars that have

afflicted Afghanistan for too long have destroyed the

infrastructure and resources of that country. In response

to the appeal of the Secretary-General seeking

resources to meet the severe humanitarian crisis of the

Afghan people, the Government of Kuwait has

announced a donation of $3 million in support of

international humanitarian relief efforts. Three

shipments of relief aid have also been sent to the

Afghan refugees. These supplies are distributed in

coordination with the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees. Furthermore, back

in Kuwait, we are organizing a public fund-raising

campaign to solicit donations from individuals and

private companies to alleviate the suffering of the

Afghan people. The total yield of that effort now stands

at over $8 million.

With regard to the overall situation in

Afghanistan, Kuwait maintains that international

efforts should be maximized to bring about the long-

awaited peace and security. National reconciliation and

a national coalition Government, elected by the people

of Afghanistan, that represent all factions and ethnic

groups are perhaps the most viable means to ensure the

sustainability of the country and eventually its recovery

of normal status within the region and the world. Only

then will the nation of Afghanistan be able to channel

its energy and resources towards reconstruction and

development.

In the meantime, while we express our deep

regret for the civilian casualties among the Afghan

population, we sincerely hope that the ongoing military

operations against the bastions of terrorism and the

terrorists will cause no injuries to innocent, unarmed

people who are totally powerless and helpless.

Kuwait views the environment as a key common

heritage and destiny that must be preserved for future

generations. The bitter recent experience of the Gulf

region, where two devastating wars took place, has left

wide-scale environmental damage. Against this

background, Kuwait sponsored a draft resolution

submitted to the General Assembly to designate

6 November of each year as the International Day for

Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War

and Armed Conflict. Kuwait is grateful that the

resolution was adopted by consensus. It is our hope

that this initiative will help to further promote a deeper

universal awareness of the need to safeguard our

environment, which is the source of human life now

and in the future.

6

The eyes of the world have been fixed for over

one year now on the valiant uprising of the Palestinian

people, which arose as a natural and legitimate

response to the continued Israeli occupation of the

Palestinian territories and to the backtracking of the

Israeli Government from the accords it signed with the

Palestinian side.

The obvious policy of the Government of Israel is

to reject any Palestinian, regional or international

initiative. Instead, it counts as a matter of policy on the

use of force; state terrorism and the creation of faits

accomplis on the ground. It slams every door that is

opened, designs new oppressive measures and triggers

one crisis after another. Its overriding goal is to abort

the peace promise born in Madrid in 1991. Israel’s

barbaric practices, its blatant challenge to all United

Nations resolutions and its excessive and unwarranted

use of lethal force in response to stone-throwing

Palestinians have all combined to create an

overwhelming sense of despair, frustration and gloom

in the Palestinian ranks.

Here one must ponder the hard lessons we have

all learned from similar situations of unalloyed gloom

and doom. It is precisely against this backdrop that the

United Nations, the international community and the

United States in particular, as a co-sponsor of the

Middle East peace process, must assume a special

international responsibility to mount an effective and

meaningful drive to force Israel to fulfil its

undertakings and commitments set forth in its bilateral

agreements with the Palestinian Authority, as well as to

implement Security Council and General Assembly

resolutions, including those relating to the city of

Jerusalem, with a view to preserving its Arab and

Islamic character and its holy religious identity. Kuwait

therefore welcomes the indications of support by the

United States for the establishment of an independent

Palestinian State. We hope that this declared position

will now be translated into concrete steps that will

move the whole peace process forward towards its

long-awaited outcome.

In this context, let me stress that Kuwait will

continue to support our Palestinian brothers and to

provide all possible political and material assistance to

them until they attain all their legitimate political

rights, including the establishment of an independent

Palestinian State on their own territory, with Jerusalem

as its capital. In the same vein, Israel must

unconditionally withdraw from the Syrian Arab Golan

and the Lebanese Shab’a farms.

The main objective of Kuwait’s foreign policy is

to consolidate security and stability throughout the

Arabian Gulf region. This goal will remain unmet

unless and until Iraq implements all relevant Security

Council resolutions. It is, indeed, regrettable that the

Government of Iraq persists in its allegations that it has

carried out all its obligations under those resolutions.

In addition, that Government continues to pursue its

long-standing hostile practices and policies towards

Kuwait in order to heighten regional tension and to

destabilize security and peace. Kuwait has repeatedly

drawn the attention of the Security Council and the

Secretary-General to the non-peaceful intentions of

Iraq, as exemplified by the recurrent threats made to

Kuwait’s security and sovereignty by many high-level

Iraqi Government officials. Kuwait has also called on

the Security Council to bring pressure to bear on the

Iraqi Government so that it will honour all its

obligations and thereby make it possible to lift the

sanctions affecting the brotherly people of Iraq and to

permit that country to reclaim its normal status as an

active member regionally and internationally.

When we discuss here the suffering of children,

women and the elderly, Kuwait cannot but recall its

own excruciating experience, endured over the past

decade, relating to the question of Kuwaiti and third-

country prisoners and hostages. In fact, this is a key

obligation that Iraq has so far failed to fulfil. This issue

remains a top national priority for the Government and

people of Kuwait.

The humanitarian nature of this long-running

issue — the anguish that it is causing to the immediate

families of the prisoners and to our entire

population — means that resolution of the problem

cannot be delayed any longer. The Government of Iraq

alone bears responsibility for the lack of any

meaningful progress in implementing the relevant

Security Council resolutions. Those resolutions

demand, inter alia, that Iraq cooperate with the

International Committee of the Red Cross and the high-

level Coordinator, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, who

was appointed by the Secretary-General to facilitate the

return of those prisoners and hostages. It is clear that

the Government of Iraq is insensitive to the

humanitarian dimension of this matter. This

insensitivity is borne out by its insistence on

boycotting the meetings of the ad hoc Tripartite

7

Commission and its Technical Subcommittee since it

walked away from those meetings for unjustifiable

political reasons in January 1999. Let me also reiterate

our call to Iraq to return our stolen property, in

particular the State of Kuwait archives and other

official documents.

Over the past few years, the world economic

scene has undergone remarkable changes. We have

seen the emergence of several new economic

phenomena created by the revolution in information

technology and the immense scientific progress in

communications and trade. These changes and

phenomena have made it imperative for many

countries, especially the developing nations, to

introduce drastic changes to their economic plans and

structures in an attempt to benefit from the globalized

economy with a view to ensuring development and

progress for their societies. Despite the promise of

substantial benefits as a result of policies to liberalize

world trade and eliminate customs barriers, we still

have to make a concerted effort in order to make the

globalization process a positive force that benefits all

the peoples of the world. This will require the drawing

up of regional and international guidelines and

standards that protect the nascent economies of the

developing nations from economic turbulence and

crises that might otherwise have an adverse impact on

the living conditions of their peoples.

In the meantime, the developed countries and the

international financial institutions should double their

financial aid to the developing countries in order to

enable them to strengthen the underpinnings of their

economic structures. In the long term, this will help to

establish more balanced economic relations built on

mutual benefit and common interest. With that in mind,

Kuwait is pursuing a steadfast policy of support for

developmental projects in many developing countries.

Most recently, Kuwait has contributed $1 million to the

fund established by the Secretary-General to combat

the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

On a parallel track, Kuwait is contributing to the

funding of many developmental programmes and

projects in the developing countries through

international and regional financial institutions, as well

as through many public Kuwaiti charitable

organizations. This philanthropy is motivated by a

sense of common social responsibility and social

interdependence — values that are embedded in the

traditions of our Islamic faith.

Let me close by saying that we look forward to

participating actively in the forthcoming celebrations

of the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be another event that

underscores our determination to promote and

consolidate the concepts of civilized tolerance and

understanding among our nations and peoples, who all

yearn to live free of self-inflicted conflicts and to enjoy

a prosperous life in which good and virtuous human

tendencies prevail as a basis for international relations.