Kuwait, 1992

On behalf of the delegation of the State of Kuwait, I wish to

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the

forty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly. Your election.

Sir, reflects an appreciation of your country, Bulgaria, and your personal

merits and skills, which will prove instrumental in guiding our deliberations

towards the attainment of our common goals. On a bilateral note, it is my

privilege to underscore the close ties that exist between our two countries,

as shown in numerous concrete steps.

In your current post, you succeed His Excellency

Ambassador Samir Shihabi, the Permanent Representative of our sister country,

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who demonstrated outstanding skills and

capabilities in his stewardship of the preceding session. His leadership was

effective indeed throughout his term of office. This was no surprise to us,

especially as Mr. Shihabi represented a sister country, the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, which has made and continues to make generous and sincere

contributions, that are appreciated by all, to the promotion of peace and

security throughout the world.

It gives me special pleasure to commend the outstanding role played by

the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, since his assumption of his office at the beginning

of this year. The world Organization has now become the true focal point of

international relations and the beacon of hope for the peoples of the world.

In less than one year in office, the Secretary-General has demonstrated

an impressive ability to face up to the evolving challenges on the world

scene, and has managed to address the varying concerns in accordance with the

established principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the overall

mission of our organization. The Secretary-General's endeavour to redefine

the role, function and orientation of the United Nations is characterized by

precise thinking and clear vision, resolve and flexibility, both in concept

and in enforcement plan, as demonstrated by the set of important

recommendations contained in his report "An Agenda for Peace".

In his approach, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali has proved that he truly

represents a symbol of the interface and interaction of various human

civilizations, a role that his home country, Egypt, has played throughout its

long history.

In the same vein, we should not fail to underscore with a deep sense of

appreciation the great achievements of the former Secretary-General,

Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, during his tenure. Mr. Perez de Cuellar should

be recognized for his integrity in fulfilling his mandate in accordance with

the provisions of the Charter and for his untiring efforts to promote peace on

the basis of justice and to enhance the role and effectiveness of the United

Nations. Kuwait recognizes with deep appreciation those achievements, salutes

Mr. Perez de Cuellar and wishes him success in all he does.

The international scene has undergone fundamental changes over the past

two years, the most significant of which has been the disintegration of the

Soviet Union and the spread of democratic orientation across Eastern Europe.

That, in turn has led to the creation of States and entities that have joined

the United Nations membership, thus consolidating further its universality.

Kuwait takes this opportunity to extend its sincere congratulations to all

those States that have been admitted recently to the United Nations

membership. We trust that this new membership of the international community

will represent a constructive addition to and consolidation of the edifice of

world peace.

As we draw nearer to the twenty-first century, we look forward to the

emergence of new roles for the United Nations. The United Nations should not

be content with peace-keeping, the ending wars that have broken out, and the

defusing of volatile situations. Rather, the United Nations must make a more

direct contribution to the containment and defusing of disputes in their early

stages before they erupt into vicious conflicts. It must also shoulder the

role of peacemaking.

The United Nations should not be content with ensuring stability, despite

the vital importance of that role. It must be a force for ensuring peoples'

welfare and the fulfilment of peoples' aspirations. In today's world, the

concept of peace transcends the framework of peace between states and embraces

the peace of whole societies and peoples.

As we work together on the formulation of the new world order and strive

to make it one of the principal stanchions of the stability which we hope will

reign in our world and imbue international relations, we are called upon to

ensure the rule of international law through the strengthening of the United

Nations role and the scrupulous application of its Charter. In our view, this

will provide a genuine framework for the new world order and for the

achievement of its lofty goals.

Despite the fact that international relations in our world today are

anchored in the tenets of the United Nations system, we believe that an

effective and viable United Nations should be complemented by a more

aggressive role for the regional organizations which would be instrumental in

addressing many unresolved disputes and issues. The League of Arab States and

the Organization of African Unity, for example, should be entrusted with

supporting roles in dealing with the problems of Somalia; the European

Community should play the leading role in the resolution of the escalating

problems in the Balkan region; and the Organization of American States can

become the leading player in dealing with the problems of Haiti and

El Salvador.

In the context of this desired role for regional organizations the

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) stands out,

especially through its firm support of Kuwait's struggle to defeat the Iraqi

aggression. That unprecedented role of the GCC could perhaps be followed as a

model in rallying a larger international effort when necessary.

Kuwait believes that the Non-Aligned Movement, especially in the wake of

its recent summit in Jakarta, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference,

as well as the Group of 77, are models of regional organizations whose

capabilities should be directed at facilitating the evolution and maintenance

of world peace. In this sense, they are natural mini-counterparts of the

United Nations, and they represent major dynamic forces that perform a

coordinating function among their members.

From this perspective we believe that the efforts undertaken by the

United Nations in the liberation of my country, Kuwait, from the Iraqi

aggression and occupation could perhaps be perceived as a new approach in the

crystallization and enforcement of the concept of collective security, which

preoccupied this world body since its inception, and was a hope in the minds

of the authors of its Charter. Thus, the Kuwait case established a precedent

when it demonstrated that the Security Council's resolutions can be

implemented, as, indeed, they must be implemented.

The Security Council has clearly succeeded in consolidating the

underpinnings of peace and the elimination of many hotbeds of conflict in

several regions of the world, in the aftermath of its successful moves to

ensure the liberation of my country, Kuwait, from an invasion which, by its

very nature, represented a challenge to the Charter of the United Nations and

to the norms of international law that regulate relations between civilized

nations.

However, certain residual results of the Iraqi aggression still exist,

and will continue to exist so long as the Iraqi regime persists in its refusal

to comply fully with the relevant Security Council resolutions and tries to

circumvent those resolutions and to renege on its previous formal

commitments. For instance, there are still Kuwaiti and third country

prisoners held hostage in Iraqi jails despite the intensive efforts and

international pressures deployed to secure their release.

Furthermore, the patently false claims repeatedly made by Iraq, in

contravention of international treaties and commitments, continue to shake the

parameters of stability throughout the region. Iraqi falsehoods also

jeopardize the main objective of the input of the United Nations in providing

the technical framework for the Iraq-Kuwait boundary demarcation process.

This exercise is a major achievement on the part of the United Nations in

regard to security and stability in the region. The Security Council's

recently adopted resolution 773 (1992) welcomed the decisions of the United

Nations Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission and underlined the

Council's guarantee of inviolability of the international border between the

two countries and its decision to take, as appropriate, all necessary measures

to that end, in accordance with the Charter.

Furthermore, Iraq continues to refuse to accept legal responsibility for

its plundering of property owned by the Kuwaiti private sector and by Kuwaiti

individuals, and continues to refuse to recognize the need to return all

stolen property. Iraq also refuses to implement Security Council resolutions

706 (1991) and 712 (1991) regarding the provision of essential humanitarian

needs for the Iraqi civilian population and the payment of its dues to the

United Nations compensation fund. In addition, Iraq, under all pretexts,

shies away from any businesslike cooperation in regard to the fulfilment of

its obligation to disclose all its stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction

and in regard to the elimination of such weapons.

All of this places a new responsibility on the international community in

general to bring further pressure to bear on Iraq, to remain vigilant to its

practices and schemes, and to ensure its complete implementation of all the

relevant United Nations resolutions. The principle of collective

responsibility still stands, and the lessons drawn from that painful and

bitter experience should be fully understood and never forgotten.

Kuwait believes that security in the Gulf region is part and parcel of

world security. This means that it is essential that all of us respect the

sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all the States in our

region. It also means non-interference in the internal affairs of those

States, as well as the non-use of force or of the threat of force in the

settlement of any dispute that may arise between them.

From this premise, we have been following with grave concern the recent

developments, with all their ramifications, in regard to the Abu Mousa island.

In our view, these developments will have a direct impact on regional peace

and stability. Hence, we are all duty-bound to work towards averting their

repercussions so that the good-neighbourly relations that we already have with

the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran may be preserved. While we declare our

full support for our sister State of the United Arab Emirates, we hope that

the Islamic Republic of Iran will abide by the agreement regarding the island

of Abu Mousa and will accept the application of international conventions for

the peaceful resolution of disputes. We trust that, in the final analysis,

prudence and wisdom will reign supreme in regard to this issue.

As of late last year, we have seen a promising peace process under way in

regard to the Middle East problem. The new realities and momentum that

emerged following the Madrid conference should be maintained, with a view to

securing the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and

338 (1973) on the basis of the exchange of land for peace.

It has become clear that land and peace are worth any price. The

international community has thus a special responsibility to nurture the

ongoing peace efforts and to ensure that the current peace talks, in all their

aspects and forms, will bring to fruition the efforts that the United Nations

has made with a view to guaranteeing the national rights of the Palestinian

people particularly its right to self-determination and statehood - and the

complete withdrawal of Israel from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the holy

city of Al-Quds. We call upon the United Nations to prompt Israel to abide

expeditiously with its obligations under international law and not to squander

this historic opportunity.

The peace process and the attendant efforts should follow an integrated

approach in addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict that takes into account the

United Nations resolutions regarding the question of Palestine and the Middle

East issue. In specific terms, this means that Israel must withdraw from

southern Lebanon in accordance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978),

and that the Lebanese people must be supported in consolidating their

national-reconciliation efforts and in rebuilding their national institutions.

It also means Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Arab Golan and the

implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions in order that a just

and lasting settlement of this long-running conflict may be reached.

The ongoing plight of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina gives rise to

deep fears and apprehensions throughout the Islamic world and in the world at

large. We categorically reject all practices that aim at the liquidation of

the identity and existence of a people, a nation and a State on ethnic or

religious grounds. We support the struggle of the people of Bosnia and

Herzegovina and demand the implementation of the relevant Security Council

resolutions. We call upon the United Nations, along with its specialized

agencies, to expand its role there, and we hold that regional organizations,

particularly the European ones, should play a more active role in alleviating

the suffering of that people. It is our collective responsibility to contain

the ramifications of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina before they spill

over into neighbouring countries.

If the United Nations has been seized of this tragic issue since the very

beginning, then we believe that there are other turbulent areas in the world

that deserve active involvement on the part of the United Nations together

with the competent regional organizations, with a view to containing and

resolving the disputes afflicting those regions. In our view, this is a sound

approach to underlining and enhancing the credibility of the United Nations

and to defining clearly the parameters of the new world order. We are

duty-bound to support both the United Nations and the regional organizations

in a concrete fashion that gives real meaning to the concept of common

security and stability and the principle of common destiny.

The tragedy of the Somali people is cause for deep concern on our part,

given the common values we share with them. The fratricidal strife in Somalia

is extremely painful to us. Despite the slight improvement over the past few

weeks in the delivery of food and medical supplies and in the control over the

distribution thereof, Somalia continues to bleed, and it has now become

incumbent upon all nations to provide more material assistance to Somalia and

to strengthen their support for the Secretary-General in his endeavours to

expedite the attainment of a set of noble goals, namely, the protection of an

entire people from annihilation and the delivery of adequate supplies of food

and medical services to that people.

We in Kuwait, in view of our solidarity with the friendly peoples of

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Somalia and in line with our humanitarian

obligations and our commitment to alleviate human suffering, have shipped

thousands of tons of food, medical supplies and basic human needs to those two

countries. Furthermore, we have made direct financial contributions to the

relevant specialized agencies in order to ensure their ability to operate in

those areas. We shall continue to provide humanitarian relief assistance out

of our deep belief in social justice.

We follow with deep concern the persistent instability in Afghanistan and

the continuing strife among the partners in the coalition Government. We call

upon the Muslim people of Afghanistan to put aside their differences and to

move towards national reconciliation. National efforts should in fact focus

on building up national stability and security.

Any political breakthroughs made by the United Nations will add to its

growing record of achievements. But such accomplishments will remain fragile

unless followed by more efforts to promote social stability and economic

development, with particular emphasis on health, social services and combating

ills of epidemic proportions, especially drug abuse.

Moreover, the United Nations should explore new avenues to ease the

foreign debt burden on the developing countries and to try to bridge the gap

between wealthy and poor nations by means of a more earnest and constructive

dialogue between North and South, with a. view to ensuring economic equity

anchored in social justice. One of the aims of such dialogue should be

confidence-building between donor and recipient nations. Such confidence will

lead to joint efforts in a bid to stimulate the inflow of investments with a

better economic and social return for both sides. This will indeed be yet

another manifestation of an interdependent world community of nations.

It is against this conceptual backdrop that we view the outcome of the

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), known as the

"Earth Summit", held recently in Rio de Janiero. The focus of the Rio

Conference brought to the fore the growing world-wide interest in gaining a

better understanding of the political, economic, and social aspects of human

life. Despite the fact that the UNCED did not achieve all its expected goals,

one of its major contributions was that it highlighted for the whole world, in

an unprecedented manner, the importance of the issue of environment and made

it abundantly clear that ecological concerns do indeed transcend both national

and regional disputes. It has deepened our sense of belonging to a single

"global village".

The current changes and new challenges on the international scene are

bound to cause dramatic transformations in many established concepts and

assumptions that still dominate international relations. A case in point is

the growing interest in the issue of human rights. In an evolving world, not

only should human rights be defined in instruments but the concept of human

rights should be expanded to include the genuine guarantee of the exercise of

those rights to freedoms and human dignity, in addition to the satisfaction of

basic human needs and the liberation of man from fear and want. Guaranteeing

human rights has become a major demand of today's world and the international

community continues to make it clear, time and again, that it will not condone

any breech or violation thereof. Respect for State sovereignty should be in

consonance with the guaranteeing of human rights.

In conclusion, we note that the recent radical, international changes

have placed before the United Nations enormous challenges and

responsibilities. The growing confidence in its role and in the need for it

to perform its functions make it imperative for all of us to reaffirm our

commitment to the world Organization. It would be both unfair and

inappropriate for us to keep adding to its responsibilities without providing

it with sufficient material and political support to enable it to fulfil its

mandates effectively. This means that the international community should put

at the United Nations disposal adequate resources and powers, commensurate

with its responsibilities.

The Secretary-General has shown that while the United Nations is prepared

to discharge its functions, the Member States are in turn expected to honour

their obligations in full. This complementarity between the United Nations

system and its Members will straighten out the relationship between mandates

and resources. Thus we can eliminate the imbalance between what is required

and what is available and the potential causes of friction that go with that

disequilibrium. Under such circumstances, the world body would be able to

live up to the expectations of the international community in the areas of

peacemaking and peace-keeping, along with all the attendant profits in terms

of stability, security, development, progress and welfare.