Kuwait, 2010

It is

my pleasure at the outset to congratulate Mr. Joseph

Deiss sincerely on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. As he

represents the friendly Swiss Confederation, I shall

now say a few words on behalf of the people of Kuwait

in one of the official languages of his country.

Allow me, on behalf of the people of Kuwait and

myself, to congratulate Mr. Deiss on his election. We

are certain that, thanks to his wisdom and experience,

coupled with the prestigious standing of his friendly

country, the Swiss Confederation, with which we enjoy

a very solid relationship on the international stage, our

deliberations will be crowned with success. Also, I cannot but commend the sincere efforts of

his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam

Treki, and express our utmost thanks and appreciation

to him for the successful and distinguished way in

which he conducted the work of the previous session.

I also wish to express our great pride in the

sincere efforts of His Excellency the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to achieve the international

purposes and principles we are all pursuing in order to

strengthen the concepts of international cooperation

and respect for international legitimacy, as well as to

foster the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Soon we shall be celebrating the sixty-fifth

anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. It is

our hope that the success story of the United Nations

will continue for many years to come, not only because

it is considered the best multilateral international

mechanism there is, but also because it is the most

legitimate, neutral and credible institution. Over the

span of six decades it has demonstrated its ability to

prevent destructive wars and maintain international

peace and security.

However, since the challenges and threats facing

the international community are increasing rather than

decreasing and are becoming more tangled and

complex, the role of the Organization has had to be

expanded and strengthened in importance and vitality

in order to deal with social crises and problems. Those

include poverty and hunger, the spread of diseases and

epidemics, the scourge of drug trafficking and

organized crime and violations of human rights.

Economic problems must be confronted, including the

increase in food prices and the global economic and

financial crisis, and security challenges — such as

terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

and ongoing armed conflicts in a number of regions of

the world — must be addressed.

Together, over the past two years all those

different challenges have contributed to wiping out

much of the progress and gains that a great number of

developing countries had made towards achieving the

Millennium Development Goals.

Natural disasters have also had a destructive

effect on the economies of many developing countries,

causing tremendous loss of life and of property. The

most striking examples were the earthquake that hit

Haiti last January and the floods that swept Pakistan

last month.

There is no doubt that plenty of work remains to

be done to limit the dangers of the climate change

phenomenon. We hope the conference in Cancún,

Mexico in November will provide us with the

opportunity to reach a binding agreement that will

determine the required goals, the time frame for their

fulfilment, the responsibilities of Member States, and

the joint action mechanisms for guaranteeing the

financing and technology transfer commitments from

developed to developing countries to help them adapt

to climate change and cope with its impact.

Without doubt, those challenges require

continued reform and improvement of the organs,

agencies and programmes of the United Nations, so as

to keep pace with the changes in international relations

and to improve their performance.

In that regard, we welcome the adoption of

General Assembly resolution 64/289, entitled “System-

wide coherence”. It established a new composite

entity — UN Women — to foster international efforts

to accelerate gender equality and women’s

10-54959 30

empowerment and created a Deputy Secretary-General

position for this purpose.

On another topic, we believe that after 17 years

of negotiations to reform the Security Council, it is

high time to take the necessary steps to improve and

develop the work of the Council and make it more

transparent. Its membership must be expanded in

accordance with standards and controls that would

achieve a fair balance in representation and efficiency

in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities. Such

measures should also guarantee the right of the Arab

and Muslim States to be represented in a manner that

reflects their size, their contributions and their role in

defending the purposes and principles of the Charter.

In affirmation of its steadfast support for the

efforts and activities of the United Nations in various

fields, the State of Kuwait has continued to extend a

helping hand to the needy in different parts of the

world. Furthermore, in consolidating the principles of

Kuwait’s foreign policy, the Kuwait Fund for Arab

Economic Development has continued to provide — as

it has for the past five decades — assistance and

grants, which to date have benefited more than

100 countries all over the world with concessionary

loans totalling $14.5 billion. That is equivalent to

1.31 per cent of Kuwait’s gross national product —

twice the level of official development assistance

agreed upon internationally.

Based on Kuwait’s firm belief in the vitally

important role of the United Nations in easing the

human suffering resulting from natural disasters or

conflicts, Kuwait has decided to increase almost five-

fold its voluntary contributions to a number of United

Nations agencies, funds and programmes. Kuwait will

do so out of its desire to support those humanitarian

activities and to deepen its joint cooperation with the

United Nations.

As we celebrate the golden jubilee of our

independence, and in implementation of the desire of

His Highness the Emir of the State of Kuwait to

transform the country into a regional financial and

trade centre, a development plan has been approved for

the period 2010 to 2014. A budget of almost

$115 billion has been allocated to develop

infrastructure, build ports and railways and construct

new cities, as well as to continue to work to improve

the level of basic services provided to citizens and

residents alike.

In that context, the State of Kuwait is proud to be

a leader, in the Arab world and internationally, in terms

of the quality of education, living standards and health

care services, as well as in the fields of gender

equality, economic achievement and political

freedoms, according to rankings issued by international

organizations, specialized agencies and non-

governmental organizations.

Twenty years have now passed since the invasion

and occupation of the State of Kuwait by the former

Iraqi regime. It is a painful anniversary that we and our

brothers in Iraq are determined to overcome by laying

the foundations for stable relations based on the

principles of the mutual respect for sovereignty,

independence, good neighbourliness and non-

intervention in the internal affairs of other States. We

will seek to resolve all differences by peaceful means,

to respect all resolutions of international legitimacy

and to implement remaining commitments stipulated

by relevant Security Council resolutions.

The State of Kuwait is optimistic regarding future

relations between the two countries and is totally ready

to provide all sorts of support to assist the Iraqi

Government in its efforts to enforce security and

stability and to preserve the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of Iraq, as well as to rebuild the various State

sectors that have suffered as a result of the adventures

of the former regime and its hostile expansionist

policies.

In that regard, we hope that the ongoing

negotiations between the different parties and political

forces in Iraq will lead to the formation of a

Government of national unity that represents the entire

spectrum of Iraqi society and all its political

components. Such a Government should be able to

address the country’s security, political and economic

challenges and fulfil the needs and aspirations of the

Iraqi people to build a free, democratic and unified Iraq

living in peace with itself and its neighbours and

contributing to the consolidation of the pillars of

security and stability in the region.

The State of Kuwait, in its capacity as Chair of

the current session of the Gulf Cooperation Council

(GCC), hopes that communication at all levels will

continue between the sisterly United Arab Emirates

and the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran to seek a

resolution to the conflict over the occupied Emarati

Islands, in line with the principles and norms of

31 10-54959

international law and on the basis of good-neighbourly

relations, as set out in the resolutions issued by GCC

summits and ministerial meetings.

While the State of Kuwait affirms the right of

States to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,

we call on all States with such programmes to

cooperate with the International Atomic Energy

Agency and to take whatever steps are necessary to

build confidence so as to reassure the international

community about the nature of their nuclear

programmes, in line with resolutions of international

legitimacy. We also emphasize the need to resolve

those issues peacefully through diplomatic means and

direct negotiations between the parties concerned. That

will pave the way to the establishment of a zone free of

nuclear weapons in the Middle East, in implementation

of the resolution adopted at the Non-Proliferation

Treaty Review Conference held at the United Nations

Headquarters last May.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is considered the gravest

threat to peace and security in the Middle East region.

The failure of the United Nations over the past six

decades to find a solution to that pivotal issue has

contributed to the complication of the Palestine

question and has prompted Israel, the occupying

Power, to persist in its disrespect of international

legitimacy. Israel has also persisted in its settlement

policy, imposed a siege on Gaza and destroyed the

landmarks of Jerusalem in order to Judaize it.

Moreover, instead of welcoming the Arab Peace

Initiative as a strategic choice and the nucleus of the

peace process in the Middle East, Israel has continued

to confiscate territory and to torture and detain

unarmed Palestinian civilians. It has used the rockets

launched against it as a pretext to launch savage wars

and to use excessive force. All of that is in addition to

its arrogant attack on the Turkish freedom flotilla in

international waters.

Israel is confident of its impunity and thus

commits crimes continuously and systematically,

without any adequate response from the international

community to its arrogance. We therefore reaffirm the

responsibility of the international community and of

the Security Council for the maintenance of peace and

security, as well as to deal seriously and sternly with

Israel and force it to comply with the international will.

We hope that the direct negotiations that began at

the start of this month between the Palestinian

Authority and Israel will lead to the restoration of the

legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, the

achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in the

Middle East and the establishment of a Palestinian

State, with Jerusalem as its capital, in line with

relevant Security Council resolutions, the principle of

land for peace, the Road Map and the Arab Peace

Initiative.

We also renew our full support to the Syrian Arab

Republic in regaining its occupied lands in the Golan

and the return to the line of 4 June 1967. We also stress

the need for implementing Security Council resolution

1701 (2006) and putting an end to repeated Israeli

violations of Lebanese airspace and of the Blue Line of

separation. We also emphasize the need for Israel to

withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories.

The peoples of the world want to live in a clean,

safe and stable environment. In recent decades, we

have been able to enact numerous international

agreements and conventions under the umbrella of the

United Nations to ensure dignified lives for our

peoples in a world where justice and equality prevail.

We must therefore shoulder our responsibilities and

adhere to our commitments in order to fulfil the hopes

and aspirations of all the peoples of the world.