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.