Kuwait, 2007

Kuwait congratulates Mr. Srgjan Kerim upon

his election to the presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixty-second session, and recalls with

appreciation the efforts of his predecessor, Her

Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, and her

successful conduct of the work of the sixty-first

session.

Despite the fact that two years have elapsed since

the 2005 World Summit and seven years since the

Millennium Summit, we continue to confront

challenges and dangers to international peace and

security, such as terrorism, poverty, hunger, the spread

of dangerous infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and

malaria, deterioration of the environment and

violations of human rights. Recent times have seen a

number of outstanding achievements, most important

among them the establishment of the Peacebuilding

Commission, the Human Rights Council, the Central

Emergency Response Fund and the United Nations

Democracy Fund, and the introduction of

administrative and financial reforms of the work of the

Secretariat. These were all necessary achievements, but

they are not enough to combat terrorism, eliminate

weapons of mass destruction, affect climate change and

achieve sustainable development in the developing

countries, including the least developed among them.

Moreover, the revival of racial bias, religious

sedition, incitement of hatred and xenophobia represent

a serious threat to international peace and security. The

Organization must be strong in confronting that threat

seriously and firmly.

The time has come for us to change our method

and approach in dealing with these universal

challenges and dangers and to move from the phase of

determining what should be done to the phase of actual

work and the faithful fulfilment of the commitments

we have taken upon ourselves at international

conferences and in international agreements and

conventions that we have signed and ratified.

The State of Kuwait has made good progress in

translating the commitments and resolutions of the

2005 World Summit into tangible realities. It has also

attained the Millennium Development Goals,

particularly in the fields of education, health and

advancing the role of women in society. It has designed

policies capable of uplifting society and achieving

further progress and social and economic development,

as well as raising the standard of living of individuals.

Such policies contribute to efforts to consolidate the

principles of tolerance, moderation and the rejection of

fanaticism.

Based upon the State of Kuwait’s absolute belief

in the human values of supporting the downtrodden

and helping the needy, my country has, since its

independence, implemented a generous aid programme

for developing countries. In 1961, it established the

Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, which

has financed hundreds of infrastructure projects in

more than 100 countries. The value of those projects

exceeds $12 billion.

The State of Kuwait is also committed to

providing annual voluntary contributions to numerous

international specialized agencies and organizations, as

well as to regional organizations and funds that assist

developing countries in achieving their development

goals. Recently, the State of Kuwait allocated $300

million to the Islamic Development Bank for the

elimination of poverty in Africa. That is in addition to

what we contribute in humanitarian and relief aid to

many countries ravaged by natural disasters.

It is regrettable that poverty, hunger and disease

persist in developing countries. It is even more painful

to see that more than half of the world’s population is

living on less than $2 per day a matter that requires

serious examination and a real review of the

impediments to development in developing countries.

In that connection, the State of Kuwait calls upon the

World Trade Organization and the Bretton Woods

institutions to ease the restrictions imposed on exports

from developing countries and to propose a more just

and equitable trading system for least developed and

poorest countries.

Kuwait is following with concern the

developments in the situation in Iraq. We welcome the

improvements in security conditions in some areas and

provinces of Iraq, as a result of the implementation of

relevant arrangements and a security enforcement plan

carried out by the international forces in Iraq with the

participation of Iraqi security forces. But there is still a

dire need to redouble efforts at all levels, particularly

on the political track, in order to address the security

challenges posed by terrorist operations that target

civilians, houses of worship and State institutions and

that cost the lives of scores of innocent people daily. It

is our hope that the Iraqi Government’s efforts to

achieve national reconciliation will be successful and

produce positive results that can lead to a

comprehensive national consensus in Iraq that takes

into consideration the concerns and the rights of all

sectors of the Iraqi people. National reconciliation is

the only way to build a democratic, free, secure and

independent Iraq that is at peace with itself and its

neighbours and that respects its international

obligations and commitments.

In that context, we welcome the adoption of

Security Council resolution 1770 (2007), which

consolidated the duties and the mandate of the United

Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. We look forward

to the international community playing its vital role in

helping Iraq to fulfil its political and economic

obligations within the context of the International

Compact with Iraq.

With regard to the issue of the three occupied

Emirati islands, Kuwait would like to reaffirm its

support for the position of the Gulf Cooperation

Council on this issue. We hope that efforts and contacts

at all levels will intensify between the sisterly United

Arab Emirates and the friendly Islamic Republic of

Iran in order to find a solution to this dispute consistent

with the principles and rules of international law and

good-neighbourly relations, thereby contributing to

strengthening the security and stability of the region.

The Middle East crisis has been stagnant since

the middle of the past century. The plight of the

Palestinian people continues: their rights are violated,

their lands are occupied and Security Council

resolutions are frozen despite intensive international

and regional efforts to revive the Middle East peace

process. The Israeli Government, instead of putting

confidence-building measures in place, continues to

create obstacles that serve to increase tensions and

violence and that hinder the establishment of a climate

conducive to moving the peace process ahead. Do

continuing settlement activities help to achieve peace

more quickly? Do the policies of detention, land

confiscation, curfews, closures and restrictions of

movement promote an environment of trust and

stability? The answer is definitely no. Who could think

that this conflict is subject to the principles of a zero-

sum game? Anyone who thinks that Israel will achieve

security for itself at the expense of the security of the

Palestinian people is making a serious mistake.

Security must be for everyone. There will be no

security except through the implementation of

resolutions of international legitimacy.

The State of Kuwait therefore reiterates its

support for the convening of an international

conference with the participation of all the parties

concerned in the peace process. That meeting should

follow the terms of reference of the Madrid

Conference including the provisions of Security

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

principle of land for peace, the Road Map endorsed by

the Security Council in its resolution 1515 (2003) and

the Arab Peace Initiative. The comprehensive, just and

lasting peace that the international community seeks to

achieve must ensure that the Palestinian people attain

all their legitimate political rights. That includes the

establishment of their own independent State on their

own land, with Jerusalem as its capital. It must also

include Israel’s withdrawal from all the Arab land

occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan

Heights.

Turning to Lebanon, we congratulate the

Lebanese Government on its success in putting a

decisive end to the Nahr Al-Bared sedition. We would

also like to express our gratitude to the Lebanese army,

which dealt with that sedition ably and firmly. We hope

that that accomplishment will contribute to the return

of all Lebanese parties to the negotiating table and the

resumption of a Lebanese national dialogue to address

the issue of presidential entitlement and the political

process, in accordance with the constitution.

While we commend the regional and international

efforts to achieve national reconciliation among all

Lebanese parties, we condemn the political

assassinations and the recurrent terrorist bombings

aimed at disrupting peace and stability in that sisterly

country. We renew Kuwait's commitment to stand by

Lebanon and to support it in a manner that will

preserve its security, unity, territorial integrity and

political independence.

As for developments on the Iranian nuclear issue,

we reaffirm our firm belief in the need to respect

internationally recognized principles, including that of

resolving conflicts through peaceful means. The State

of Kuwait calls upon the international community to

coordinate its efforts and to continue to work towards

achieving a peaceful resolution of this crisis, so as to

safeguard the peace and stability of the Gulf region.

We also welcome the recent agreement reached

between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as an

important step towards dispelling fears and doubts

surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme. It is our

hope that dialogue and cooperation will resume with

total transparency. That would allow us to address all

the elements of this issue, so as to foster the conditions

conducive to making the Middle East a zone free of

nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass

destruction.

In that connection, we call upon the international

community to exert pressure on Israel to join the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to

place all of its nuclear facilities under IAEA

safeguards. We emphasize the right of all the States of

the region to obtain the technology and know-how

necessary to peacefully utilize nuclear energy in

accordance with the terms specified by relevant

international conventions.

Finally, we renew our commitment to work

through the United Nations to fulfil the hopes and

aspirations of our peoples to live together in a world

where peace, justice and equality prevail.