Kuwait

On behalf of the State of Kuwait, it gives me great pleasure to extend to Mr. Razali our sincere congratulations on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. Given his personal experience and wisdom, we believe that he will be able to guide our discussions efficiently towards a successful conclusion. Since he represents a sister Muslim country, I am particularly pleased to take this opportunity to underscore the firm bonds of brotherhood in Islam between Malaysia and Kuwait. I am pleased to use this occasion also, to pay tribute to the President of the previous session of the Assembly for his outstanding efforts and contributions during that historic session. Kuwait views with pride and acknowledgement the impressive performance of the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, especially his leading role in and commitment to the enhancement of the functioning of the world Organization in the areas of global peace, security and development. Mr. Boutros- Ghali has consistently worked to restructure the United Nations to bring it more into line with the aspirations and expectations attached to it. I want to make special mention of the concrete steps the Secretary-General has taken to curb and rationalize expenditures, to streamline the administrative structure, and to reorganize the Secretariat in order to reflect current realities in the global arena. Hence, Kuwait subscribes to the position adopted by the League of Arab States and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in supporting the Secretary- General’s bid to remain on board in order to pursue his reform programme for the revitalization of the United Nations. 19 Last year, the family of nations observed the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations against a backdrop of universal recognition of the wonderful achievements of the United Nations system. The record includes, to cite only a few areas: assistance in the attainment of national independence by many States; the establishment of the principles contained in the Charter, including the right to self-determination; the consolidation of codes of civilized conduct among States; the upholding of justice and equality; and the promotion of economic and social development. Perhaps the most shining success of the United Nations is the peacekeeping operations it carries out in many volatile regions of the world. Such operations have recently assumed a new humanitarian dimension in the form of relief efforts in cases of natural disasters and civil war, and election monitoring. We view the United Nations as a forum for debating the future of humankind among nations, with a view to promoting the well-being, dignity and basic freedoms of the human person. The ever-increasing complexity of contemporary life in this global village and the ever- changing set of common and pressing issues which continue to emerge require a concerted international effort through the United Nations. By the same token, we must admit that there are gargantuan challenges that continue to face the United Nations, most poignantly the ethnic and regional conflicts that endanger regional stability and the international security system. Other pressing issues include the population explosion, environmental degradation, the water shortage, desertification, the food deficit, the growing gap between the North and the South, the regional arms race, the threat posed by nuclear weapons, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, development concerns, barriers to economic and trade cooperation, the removal of restrictions on free trade and, last but not least, human rights. To rally all States members of the world community round ways to deal with the fundamental transformations that face the world, we must: believe in the energy, potential and mechanisms of the United nations system to be able to address global concerns in a multilateral fashion; provide enthusiastic financial, political and moral support for the United Nations and identify with its principles and purposes; fully pay assessed contributions to the United Nations budget; and actively pursue a genuinely peaceful policy that recognizes and respects the rights and legitimate concerns of other Member States, with a view to building up a regional order in line with the norms of international behaviour. Accordingly, regional arrangements should be anchored in the established codes of justice and rules of international law and treaties. Here we must ensure respect for human rights, and protect human dignity and the freedom of choice. In this context, human development without discrimination is essential for the overall economic and social development of society. Top priority should be given to this goal rather than to squandering national resources on weaponry. We must face up to terrorism and muster the national will to work collectively on a global level to stamp out the root causes of this plague which afflicts both the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, for, in the final analysis, terrorism is not susceptible to reason; it stems from bigotry, traumatizes the innocent, resorts to violence and seeks no dialogue. Against this backdrop, the indisputable fact remains that today’s world is interdependent in its security as well as in its general concerns. The affluent few may not be able to live in exclusive comfort while a majority of humankind is marginalized in deprivation and poverty. Here emerges the stark need for a collective conceptual and material effort to develop a common agenda for the benefit of all human beings. It is from this perspective that we view the significance of the revitalization and refashioning of United Nations organs to keep abreast of the rapid development of international relations. In this context, Kuwait is following closely the ongoing discussions in the Open-Ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council. We had hoped that consensus would have been reached on the restructuring and reform of the Security Council to coincide with the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations last year. Failure to attain that goal so far should not dampen our hopes. Rather, we should redouble our efforts towards that end. Our aim should be a Security Council whose work and procedures are more transparent. Its resolutions should reflect more faithfully the will of the universal membership of the United Nations. Its composition should be expanded to reflect the recent increase in membership, sovereign equality among States and the equitable geographical distribution of seats among the various regional groups. Any reform of the Security Council must in the end ensure collective efforts by both members of the Council and other members of the international community to respect and implement its resolutions. The Council should be able to demonstrate its firm resolve against any regime that does not comply with Council resolutions. 20 A textbook case in point is the just position towards the Iraqi regime adopted by the Council and supported by the international community as a whole. As recently as 23 June 1996, leaders of Arab States, in the final statement issued at the end of the extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, urged the Iraqi Government: “not to embark on any aggressive policies aimed at provoking its Arab neighbours and to implement in full all the relevant Security Council resolutions and especially those requiring it to take the necessary measures to release all Kuwaiti and third-country prisoners and detainees, to return the property seized and to comply with the compensation mechanism. They regard this as the right way to ensure that the sanctions imposed on Iraq are lifted and the appropriate conditions created for Iraq to resume its role in the inter-Arab regional order.” (A/50/986, appendix, p. 7) This statement shows a recognition by the Arab leaders of the nature of the Iraqi regime and their appreciation for the importance of the full implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions. Hence, Iraq must cooperate sincerely with the International Committee of the Red Cross in order to account for all Kuwaiti and third-country prisoners and detainees, so that the chapter on this human tragedy can be closed. We must note with regret here that the Tripartite Commission, which meets every three months in Geneva, and its Technical Subcommittee, which meets monthly on issues relating to the border between Iraq and Kuwait, have so far gotten nowhere. In point of fact, the Iraqi regime exploits such meetings for propaganda purposes. I must reiterate here that this question of prisoners and hostages remains a human tragedy precipitated by the Iraqi regime. And it remains a top-priority humanitarian issue for the people and Government of Kuwait. The Iraqi regime is legally bound to cooperate with the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in eliminating its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. UNSCOM's bitter experience shows that the Iraqi regime will not pass up any opportunity to use it for deception, misinformation and the concealment of required data. It even went so far as to block repeatedly the work of UNSCOM inspectors as recently as March, June and August of this year, thus prompting the Security Council to adopt resolution 1060 (1996) in addition to presidential statements issued by way of warning to the Iraqi regime. Kuwait, keen as it is on ensuring the safety and stability of the region, supports UNSCOM efforts. Indeed, we commend UNSCOM for its resolve and its insistence on the absolute necessity of implementing all provisions relating to the liquidation of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Given the human suffering of the brotherly people of Iraq emanating from the policies of the ruling regime, Kuwait continues to provide humanitarian relief assistance in kind to the Iraqi refugees. We also welcomed the accord reached between Iraq and the United Nations on the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995) as a step forward towards alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people. Let me take this occasion to reiterate Kuwait’s position that Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity must be preserved. In the meantime, we understand — indeed appreciate — all measures taken by the Coalition States in order to ensure the full implementation by Iraq of all relevant Security Council resolutions. The essence and thrust of these resolutions is the evolution of a regional order anchored in the established principles of justice and stability, the rule of law, observance of the norms of international behaviour, and respect for international treaties, at the core of which is the Charter of the United Nations. In view of Kuwait’s concern for peace and security in the Arabian Gulf region, and by virtue of our close relations with our sister State, the United Arab Emirates, and with our friendly neighbour, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait associates itself with the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regarding the issue of the islands. Kuwait calls upon the two parties to continue their negotiations in a bid to reach a just and peaceful settlement through dialogue. On another regional matter, Kuwait fully supports the sister State of Bahrain in the recent measures it took to combat terrorism with a view to consolidating its security and stability. Our position is in harmony with the principle that the GCC member States have a common destiny, and their security and stability are therefore indivisible. Kuwait has been following with grave concern the stalling of the Middle East peace process following the election of a new Government in Israel, which adopted a series of positions that contradict the arrangements worked out in Madrid, primarily the land-for-peace 21 formula and the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) towards a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The recent Cairo summit document underscored the adherence by the Arab States to the peace process, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of a just and comprehensive peace, as a strategic option under the umbrella of international law. The Arab position requires a matching commitment by Israel to work in a sincere and forthright fashion all the way through until the overall peace process is completed. This must include the restoration of rights and the return of occupied territories, as well as ensuring security and a strategic balance of all States of the region, in accordance with the principles laid down in Madrid. For the record, let me recall in this context that Kuwait put the question of Palestine among its top concerns. In point of fact, that issue has been central to our relations with other members of the international community. We have channelled enormous effort and resources into this cause, since Kuwait has always believed that Israel has not recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood — let alone the fact that it has seized Palestinian territory in total disregard of United Nations resolutions and by using force as a means of imposing faits accomplis. We demand that the Israeli Government stop its settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and that it cease forthwith all changes to its Arab character and legal status. The refugee problem must also be resolved according to United Nations resolutions. Finally, a Palestinian state must be established with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the will of the Palestinian people. In this context, we condemn the steps taken by Israel in commissioning and excavating a tunnel under the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This constitutes a desecration of that holy site and is a provocation to the people of Palestine — indeed to all Arabs and Muslims throughout the world. The use of great force and violence by Israel has left many people dead or wounded. We demand that Israel put an immediate end to these practices and that it fulfil its obligations to preserve the Arabic and Islamic character of these holy places. Lasting and comprehensive peace requires mutual accommodation of the parties’ rights, compliance with accords concluded, action in good faith, avoidance of provocative acts, and long-term vision — all with a view not to inflict injury on any major party to the peace equation. Withdrawal by Israel from the Golan is a litmus test of its good intentions to achieve a just and balanced peace. Therefore, Kuwait supports Syria’s position that negotiations should resume from the point at which they ceased, in view of the fact that the peace process is a continuum that should not stop before reaching its ultimate destination. Kuwait also supports Lebanon in its legitimate insistence that Israel must fulfil all provisions of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), under which Israel must withdraw fully and unconditionally from all Lebanese territory under occupation. We believe that, in the final analysis, world peace is indivisible and that consequently, the question of global security has worldwide ramifications. Hence we think that the issues of ethnic strife and civil war should remain on the international agenda. Thus, we welcome the peaceful measures taken thus far in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a view to bringing that tragedy to an end while ensuring that the people of that Republic are accorded their legitimate rights. We also welcome the outcome of the recently held elections there and congratulate President Alija Izetbegovic´ on the well- deserved confidence placed in him. We also call upon the international community to pursue its efforts towards ending the current tragedies that afflict Somalia, Afghanistan and Burundi. In the same vein, we hope that the peoples of those countries will be responsive to the efforts of the international community. Kuwait notes with satisfaction the success of the United Nations earlier this month in the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is the culmination of a long-standing universal effort and of hopes for a safer world. Indeed, the CTBT represents an essential step forward on the path towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. Cooperation among member States of the international community in the economic and trade spheres has engendered a welcome openness following the conclusion of the world free trade agreement. We hope that this accord will expand the volume of the developing countries’ exports to the world markets. Kuwait was in the vanguard of advocating the removal of trade barriers simply because we believe that, in the 22 context of an interdependent globe, collective political security cannot be isolated from the economic concerns of nations. Against this background, we welcome the steps already taken by some developing countries to readjust their economic approaches towards genuine openness and the adoption of free-market policies. In our view, this type of restructuring will help attract foreign investments and accelerate the transfer of technology, which, in the end, will foster international economic relations in terms of generating a freer cash flow, a better investment environment and an increase in joint ventures. Kuwait believes in the need to harness human energies to narrow the gaps that exist among nations, based on a common understanding of the tenets that underpin world security and economic well-being. We also believe that dialogue and the tolerant exchange of views, coupled with sincere and determined joint action, will lay a solid foundation for improved international relations. Under this scenario, the good forces will combine to neutralize the evil ones; the “haves” and the “have-nots” might stand a better chance of interacting beneficially; reason and prudence will reign supreme, while the outlaws, saboteurs and vicious tyrants will continue to lose ground. In the end, living conditions will improve under a new world order based on the principles of justice, which promote peace and security for all.