Kuwait, 1998

It gives me great pleasure to extend to Mr. Opertti and his

friendly country, on behalf of the State of Kuwait, our

sincere congratulations on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-third session. We are

confident that his extensive and incisive knowledge of

international affairs will greatly help him to guide the

Assembly?s deliberations to success. Let me assure him of

our delegation?s willingness and desire to cooperate with

him in a businesslike and constructive manner in order to

achieve all the objectives of this session.

I also wish to express our appreciation to his

predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his remarkable

stewardship of the previous session.

Allow me take this opportunity to commend the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his tireless efforts

to reform the United Nations, to restructure it, and to

streamline and revitalize it in various fields, with a view to

making it responsive to the demands and challenges of the

twenty-first century. In this regard, we welcome the

statement made by the Secretary-General before the general

debate, when he presented his report on the work of the

Organization. We note with satisfaction that some essential

proposals for reform presented by the Secretary-General

have been implemented.

We hope that the reform exercise will continue with

the full backing of all Member States. The reform of the

Organization and the enhancement of its effectiveness for

the fulfilment of its objectives and the attainment of its

priorities depend in large measure on the political will of

Member States and the extent of their commitment to their

obligations under the Charter and the resolutions of its

various organs. We consider it unrealistic to expect the

United Nations to deliver more while we provide less.

Frankly, Kuwait feels that the success of the reform

exercise hinges primarily on the availability of adequate

funding for the various mandated activities. Such funding

depends on the payment by all Member States of their

assessed contributions to both the regular budget and the

peacekeeping budget. In this regard, I am pleased to

report that the State of Kuwait continues to fulfil its

financial obligations in full and on time. It is our fervent

hope that this obligation will be honoured by all Member

States of the Organization.

The reform and restructuring of United Nations

organs has become a practical necessity required for the

common interest of all Member States. There is no doubt

that the circumstances in which the United Nations was

established over 50 years ago have changed, and that vast

developments which could not be overlooked have

occurred at various international and regional levels.

Therefore, Kuwait is in favour of restructuring the

Security Council so that its composition and membership

reflect current political and economic realities. The

change should also ensure greater efficiency in the

discharge of the primary responsibilities of the Council,

as set forth in the Charter, regarding the maintenance of

international peace and security.

It is clear now, after five years of debate in the

Working Group on the expansion of the membership of

the Security Council and the reform of its methods of

work, that reaching a consensus on the optimum increase

in membership is not an easy matter. Deep differences

still exist among Member States. Nonetheless, we remain

hopeful that reaching an agreement is still possible. In

this context, we wish to emphasize the need to improve

the methods and procedures of work of the Council to

ensure enhanced transparency and wider involvement in

the decision-making process. The comprehensive paper

submitted by the Non-Aligned Movement on 11 March

1997 to the Working Group constitutes an appropriate

basis for working out an agreement on the procedures to

be adopted and incorporated into the rules of procedure of

the Council.

As we stand at the threshold of the twenty-first

century, our world is witnessing the emergence of a

multitude of problems and issues whose implications

transcend national and geographical boundaries. Their

inherent dangers can threaten national and international

security. Unless curbed, such hazards will undermine the

achievements made thus far in the environmental, social

and economic spheres. Among such problems — without

being exhaustive — are terrorism, the arms race, narcotic

drugs, environmental degradation, poverty, human rights

violations, massacres and genocide.

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In this context, Kuwait wishes to reaffirm its

categorical denunciation and rejection of all forms of

violence and terrorism, irrespective of their source. We

support all collective international efforts to confront this

phenomenon, including the apprehension and trial of the

perpetrators of these crimes. Kuwait condemns the terrorist

acts perpetrated against the United States embassy buildings

in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam last August and extends

heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the

victims of those tragic incidents.

In the area of disarmament, we welcome the progress

made thus far with regard to the Convention on the

prohibition of chemical weapons, the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the

Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling,

Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on

Their Destruction.

When we in Kuwait talk about landmines, we have in

our minds the bitter memory of the destructive impact of

the millions of mines planted throughout Kuwait by the

invading Iraqi forces. Those mines claimed the lives of

hundreds of innocent children, women and elderly people.

It took painstaking efforts, in which many States

participated, to remove those mines. Kuwait had to expend

great efforts and vast sums on the clearance operations.

We therefore call on the international community to

pursue its efforts to eliminate anti-personnel mines. Kuwait

also encourages the movement towards curbing the arms

race and developing controls and rules that contribute to

tension reduction in all volatile and conflict-ridden regions,

especially the Middle East, South Asia and the Indian

subcontinent.

A significant development in international efforts to

combat crimes of genocide and massacres committed during

conflicts and wars was the recent adoption of the Statute of

the International Criminal Court in Rome last July. It is our

hope that the Court will live up to the legitimate aspirations

of the world community in trying all perpetrators of war

crimes or crimes against humanity and in serving as an

effective deterrent against serious violations of international

humanitarian law.

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Kuwait calls for

greater consolidation of international efforts, to ensure

wider respect for and protection of the human rights

consecrated in the Charter of the United Nations and the

Universal Declaration. We maintain that it is the duty of

all States, irrespective of their political, economic or

cultural systems, to protect and promote those rights, with

a view to ensuring the dignity of the human being and his

or her rights to freedom of expression and belief.

In the area of the fight against narcotic drugs, we

believe that the efforts of the United Nations and of other

competent international institutions to combat this

pernicious phenomenon, and to minimize the illicit sale,

trade and abuse of drugs should be supported and

strengthened. In this regard, we welcome the Political

Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the twentieth

special session of the General Assembly, held last June.

We are hopeful that the steps agreed to then will be

translated into effective concrete measures to stem the

tide of this phenomenon, which poses severe threats to

human health and to the dignity and aspirations of

millions of people and their families, as well as to the

stability and independence of States.

The State of Kuwait has the honour of holding the

chairmanship of the current session of the Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC), which was established in

1981. Since its inception, the GCC has been working

steadily to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of its peoples,

who share a common view of their destiny and future.

Leaders of the GCC member States hold annual summits

to examine and review a wide range of issues and events

that concern the family of the GCC community and have

an impact on regional security and stability.

A major issue on the agenda of the summit

conferences in this regard is the implementation by Iraq

of its obligations set forth in the Security Council

resolutions relating to its invasion of the State of Kuwait.

Therefore, the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders attached

great importance to this question in their last summit,

held in December 1997 in Kuwait. The final statement

issued by that summit reflected a Gulf vision of the future

modalities for establishing peace and stability in the

region. It also outlined the conditions that must be met by

Iraq in order to enable it to reclaim its normal position

within the ranks of the international community. Let me

cite the following excerpt from the Gulf Cooperation

Council summit statement:

“The Supreme Council reaffirms the necessity for

the Government of Iraq to implement all relevant

Security Council resolutions without selectivity,

especially those relating to the elimination of

weapons of mass destruction that remain in Iraq?s

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possession, the release of Kuwaiti and third country

prisoners, the return of all Kuwaiti property and

compliance with Security Council resolution 949

(1994) by refraining from any act of aggression or

provocation against neighbouring States. It also

stresses that the invasion and occupation of the State

of Kuwait by Iraq was a breach of inter-Arab and

international treaties. Therefore, Iraq must solemnly

acknowledge that by its occupation of the State of

Kuwait, it violated the Charter of the League of Arab

States, the Joint Arab Defence Treaty and the Charter

of the United Nations. The Supreme Council invites

Iraq to take the necessary steps to demonstrate its

good intentions towards the State of Kuwait and other

States in the region in both word and deed, with a

view to sparing the region the horrors of another

similar catastrophe and to ensuring security and

stability for all States of the region. It reaffirms its

support for the United Nations Special Commission in

charge of the elimination of Iraq?s weapons of mass

destruction, and for its Executive Chairman, with the

intention of enabling it to fulfil its mandate, and

invites the Government of Iraq to cooperate in earnest

with the Special Commission without any restrictions

or conditions. It stresses the need for Iraq to carry out

all relevant Security Council resolutions with a view

to mitigating sanctions and alleviating the suffering of

the Iraqi people, a suffering with which member

States of the Supreme Council are sympathetic, thus

prompting them to welcome the oil-for-food formula

as a means of providing food and medical drugs to the

brotherly people of Iraq. It reaffirms its firm position

that the independence, sovereignty, unity and

territorial integrity of Iraq must be preserved.”

In addition to this crystal clear position of the Gulf

Cooperation Council countries, the Non-Aligned Movement,

at its recent summit in South Africa, underscored the need

for Iraq to complete its implementation of all relevant

Security Council resolutions. The same call was made

earlier by the leaders of the Muslim countries when they

convened their summit meeting in Tehran last December.

Despite those legitimate demands and sincere calls to

Iraq to respond favourably to and to put into effect the

resolutions of international legitimacy, Iraq still persists in

disregarding those calls and in challenging the Security

Council resolutions. It claims that it has carried out what it

is required to do. How can such claims be reconciled with

the fact that until now we have not yet heard from Iraq any

declaration or seen any initiative suggesting that it regrets

what it has done? In fact, convenient selectivity is the

dominant feature of Iraq?s approach in addressing the

resolutions and demands of international legitimacy. The

most recent crisis is perhaps a good example of the

Government of Iraq?s procrastination and its breach of

Security Council resolutions and of the Memorandum of

Understanding it signed with the Secretary-General of the

United Nations. Such crises, which are periodically

triggered by the Iraqi Government in its attempts to

disavow and circumvent its legal obligations, have all

failed thanks to the solid coherence and unity of position

of the members of the Security Council, which insist on

full compliance by Iraq with the relevant Security Council

resolutions. There is no doubt that all these crises

unfortunately contribute to the prolongation of the

sanctions, for which the Government of Iraq alone bears

responsibility.

Accordingly, we call upon the international

community to maintain its pressure on Iraq in order to

force it to comply with all relevant resolutions of

international legitimacy, to release all Kuwaiti prisoners

and other detainees and to account for the missing

persons. This is a long-standing humanitarian problem. Its

continuation causes more pain and suffering for the

affected families and the people of Kuwait, who remain

hopeful for the return of their loved ones. It is our hope

that this question will be resolved once and for all, in

accordance with the traditions of Islam and the provisions

of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

The events of the past two decades in the Arabian

Gulf region have demonstrated the need for building a

regional system on the basis of full and mutual respect for

the principles of sovereignty of all States, non-

interference in the domestic affairs of others, non-use or

threat of use of force, the right of each State to choose its

own political, economic and social system, the

sovereignty of each State over its natural resources and

the importance of resort to peaceful negotiation for the

resolution of disputes which may arise between them.

Having said that, and in view of Kuwait?s belief in

the inalienable rights of our sister State of the United

Arab Emirates to the three islands of Greater Tunb,

Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, we wish to reaffirm our

commitment to and support for the final statement issued

by the Kuwait summit of Gulf Cooperation Council

member States last December.

Kuwait follows with great interest and concern the

risks of the current stalemate in the Middle East peace

process, which may threaten it with collapse and complete

19

failure due to the intransigent policies of the present Israeli

Government, which persists in rejecting the implementation

of accords concluded with the Palestinian National

Authority and disclaiming the operational principles and

framework of the entire peace process, primarily Security

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

principle of land for peace. This provocative policy which

is pursued by Israel?s Government not only undermines the

peace process but also creates a general sense of despair

and frustration. It also destroys all efforts to build mutual

confidence between the parties concerned. It is a push

towards confrontation, tension, violence and instability

throughout the region.

Therefore, we demand that the Israeli Government halt

its illegal policy of constructing settlements, confiscating

land and demolishing houses. Israel should also cease

taking unilateral measures to create faits accomplis on the

ground inside the occupied territories. Instead, Israel should

implement the United Nations resolutions and fulfil its

pledges and accords signed with the Palestinian Authority

within the framework of the peace process with a view to

ensuring the attainment of all legitimate political rights of

the Palestinian people, including its right to self-

determination and to the establishment of its independent

state on its national territory with Jerusalem as its capital.

Here, we stress the need to halt the unabating Israeli

measures aimed at changing the physical features of the

city of Jerusalem and transforming its legal status. We

condemn the Israeli Government?s decision last June to

expand the municipal boundaries of the Holy City. We call

upon the United Nations and the international community

to fulfil their legal and political obligations in order to force

Israel to comply with Security Council and General

Assembly resolutions on Jerusalem and to preserve its

Arab, Muslim and religious character.

In the same vein, we renew our call to the two

sponsors of the peace process, especially the United States,

to redouble their efforts to salvage the peace process and to

bring pressure to bear on Israel to resume negotiations on

the Syrian-Israeli track from the point at which they

stopped, with a view to ensuring full Israeli withdrawal

from the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, as well as its

complete and unconditional withdrawal in accordance with

Security Council resolution 425 (1978) from southern

Lebanon and the western Bekaa.

Indeed, durable, just and comprehensive peace based

on United Nations resolutions and the land-for-peace

principle is the only guarantee for meeting the aspirations

of the peoples of the region for a new era of peaceful

coexistence and accelerated economic and social

development.

The tragic situations that prevail in Somalia and

Afghanistan as a result of civil and ethnic conflicts that

brought suffering to their peoples cause us concern.

Kuwait, by virtue of its historical bonds with these two

countries, reiterates its appeals to all warring parties and

factions there to put an end to acts of violence and

senseless bloodshed. We call upon them to respond

immediately to regional and international appeals and

initiatives for dialogue and negotiation in order to resolve

their differences and to achieve overall national

reconciliation. This would allow them to channel their

potentialities towards the goals of development and the

reconstruction of what these conflicts have destroyed.

In condemning the killing of the Iranian diplomats

in Afghanistan, Kuwait would like to extend its sincere

condolences to the people and the Government of the

Islamic Republic of Iran and to the families of the victims

of this tragic incident.

We appeal to both the Islamic Republic of Iran and

Afghanistan to be calm, exercise self-restraint and resolve

their disputes through dialogue and negotiation instead of

confrontation. While we appreciate the Government of

Iran?s ability to handle the crisis in a way that will spare

the two Muslim peoples the dire consequences of a war

whose consequences we cannot predict, Kuwait supports

the endeavours of the Security Council to achieve peace

in the area.

On the international plane, while we applaud the

international efforts to ensure full and strict

implementation of the Dayton accords to bring about

peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we regret

the aggressive practices of the Serb forces, including the

systematic uprooting and “ethnic cleansing” of the

Muslim population in the province of Kosovo. We urge

the international community to maintain its efforts to put

an end to these inhumane practices in order to ensure the

right of the native population of that province to a life of

dignity and freedom.

In Africa, we are witnessing with deep regret the

continuation of conflicts and civil wars in several States.

These hostilities jeopardize the security and stability of

many African States and strain their much needed

energies and resources. Kuwait supports the efforts of the

international community to bring about peace and security

20

and to provide the means that help the African peoples and

States to achieve their aspirations for economic

development and to overcome the problems and difficulties

that they face in various fields. We also welcome the role

played by the Security Council in examining the situation

in the African continent on a periodic basis. Furthermore,

we commend President Nelson Mandela for the role that he

assumed in this regard as Chairman of the Non-Aligned

Movement.

The world economic scene is currently going through

severe turbulence and turmoil that have touched off and

worsened economic and social crises in many countries,

especially the developing ones. The major threat to the

world economy is no longer represented by inflation, but by

recession, stagnation and unemployment. Therefore, we call

for concerted international action to redress those

difficulties, which have adverse implications for everybody.

National plans and programmes capable of addressing the

underlying causes of these volatile situations should be

established, and help with economic aid to the affected

States should be forthcoming from international monetary

institutions in order to help them rectify their economic

systems and restore their vitality.

In this regard, Kuwait, for its part, continued to

provide economic assistance by financing many

development projects in the developing countries through

the Kuwait fund for development, despite the adverse

impact on our economy of depressed oil prices, which

plummeted this year to their lowest levels.

Adherence to the noble goals and principles of the

United Nations Charter, action in accordance with its

provisions and the common endeavour to promote and

bolster them are essential for strengthening the United

Nations capabilities for facing the challenges of the next

century. This will also help us in the crystallization of a

new world order in which dialogue and cooperation can

prevail, and in which conflicts and hostilities would

disappear. It would also encourage active participation by

all in strengthening the pillars of peace and stability, in

consolidating all efforts for the enrichment of human

civilization and in the fulfilment of the aspirations of all

peoples for peace, security, freedom and justice.