It is a pleasure, Sir, to see you on the podium
conducting the affairs of the thirty-seventh
session, whose agenda includes the most important
issues, issues directly related to the security,
peace, stability and future of mankind; We have
great confidence that your vast knowledge and
experience, and the active role played by your
friendly country in international relations, wi!!
help us, and you, realize our expecta¬tions of
this session. In the name of the Amir, the
Government and the people of Kuwait, please
accept our congratulations on your election.
166. The thirty-sixth session was fortunate in
having been presided over by a colleague who is
dear to you and to us, Mr. Ismat Kittani; he
played a distinguished role and one deserving of
our appreciation and our gratitude.
167. Since this is the first time I have
addressed the general Assembly since the
Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar
took office, I take this opportunity to say again
that my country welcomes his accession to that
high position; we wish him good luck and all
success.
168. Furthermore, I must not let this
opportunity pass without expressing to the former
Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, our thanks
and appre¬ciation for his constructive and
dedicated efforts to help establish world
security and stability during his term of office.
We extend to him, too, our best wishes in the
coming years.
169. The world situation has entered on a new
era of complication and confusion, which have
left their mark on the noble values that mankind
has accepted as its constitution, values such as
those of sovereignty, independence, justice,
non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful
coexistence among nations, and the elimination of
the pains and evils inherent in blocs and in
competing selfish interests.
170. The political rivalry between the two
competing camps has led to dialogue and being
replaced by confrontation and estrangement, and
thus has put an end to what was left of the
policy of detente, with its favorable impact on
international relations.
171. The increasing complications of
international relations and conflicts among
various interests have increasingly involved
smaller nations in the spheres of influence of
the super-Powers, to an extent that actually
jeopardizes even the unity, solidarity and
effectiveness of the regional organizations which
have been playing an important role in furthering
the secu¬rity and prosperity of the countries and
peoples of the respective regions.
172. The confusion arising from the ambiguity
of the international situation has had an obvious
impact on the ability and effectiveness of the
United Nations and its various organs,
particularly the Security Council. In his report
on the work of the Organiza¬tion, the
Secretary-General was honest with him, and
accurately described a fact which can no longer
be denied when he talked candidly about the
weakening of the effectiveness and credibility of
the United Nations as an instrument for achieving
peace and preventing war. We realize that the
United Nations has, unfortunately, not been able,
except in a few rare occasions, to act
effectively to maintain peace in the world.
Instead, we note that it has become a stage which
the competing Powers use flagrantly as an
instrument for defending their own interests by
every possible means, to the extent that the
Security Council has been unable to fulfil its
primary responsibility—not because of remoteness
from the scene of events or any reluctance to
exert efforts, but because of the abuse by some
of its members of their right of veto.
Those members, upon whose shoulders rests a
special responsibility for maintaining
international peace and security, have in
addition used their power in the Council to
prevent any collective measures from being
adopted by the international community whenever
such measures would affect any part of their
spheres of influence.
173. There is now a very wide gap between
com¬mitment to the principles and provisions of
the Charter and the actual behavior of nations in
their inter¬national relations. Resorting to the
force of arms and military supremacy as
instruments to solve problems rather than on the
force of truth, justice and interna¬tional values
has impaired the prestige of the United Nations,
which once embodied the hopes of mankind in a
society where security, prosperity, justice and
brotherhood prevailed.
174. The State of Kuwait believes that this
dangerous situation makes it imperative urgently
to consider responsible and serious action by all
the members of the international community to
rekindle the commit¬ment to the principles of the
Organization.
175. Since the beginning of this year the
General Assembly has had to convene several
special sessions to discuss the dangerous
developments relating to the question of
Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.
The Security Council has also met several times
during the same period for the same purpose.
Those two bodies have adopted resolutions, under
the pro¬visions of the Charter, to deal with the
flagrant aggres¬sion perpetrated by Israel
against an independent and sovereign Member
State—Lebanon—and against the displaced
Palestinian people. That people's loss of its
land and legitimate rights and its dispersal and
the suffering inflicted upon it for more than 35
years have been caused primarily by the creation
of Israel itself.
176. As recorded by all the Western news
media, Israel's actions in Lebanon were more
brutal and inhuman than anything ever witnessed
by the world before—a human holocaust which did
not discriminate between men, women and children,
the total destruc¬tion of everything on the land,
under the pretext of security safeguards, a
pretext universally acknowl¬edged to be
fallacious.
177. We wonder what would be the fate of the
world if all nations tried to solve their
security problems in this manner.
178. The horrible massacre which shocked
every¬one's conscience throughout the world has
once again confirmed the dimensions of the blind
fanaticism and the racist Zionist hatred of the
Israeli regime directed against the defenseless,
innocent people in the Palestinian camps, which
had been evacuated by the Palestinian fighters
when they left west Beirut under guarantees from
the United States of America —which is precisely
why that country bears a moral as well as a legal
responsibility for what happened there.
179. Hence the international community is
called upon to do more than express condemnation
or shed tears, because evil forces do net react
to moral prin¬ciples or human feelings. It is
therefore necessary to restrain them by means
that are not beyond the capabilities of the
international community. As usual, Israel has not
respected any agreements, pledges or charters.
Its behavior is not governed by any values or
principles. This is clearly shown by the extent
of its disregard for United Nations
resolutions—which is precisely what has led us to
call upon Member States, after all that has
happened, to suspend Israel's membership of the
United Nations as a first step as well as a
deterrent to force it to obey the will of the
international community.
180. The Arab land, the cradle of divine
revelations which participated in bringing the
principles of peace, justice and brotherhood to
the peoples of the world, is victim today to the
Zionist arrogance of power, with all its American
arms of destruction—an arro¬gance of power that
has caused such frustration among the people of
Palestine and the other peoples of the region
that the resultant explosion threatens tc add a
new element to the present conflict of power and
arms, with the emergence of bitter anger and
mutual hatred.
181. While drawing the attention of the
international community to this dangerous abyss
towards which our region is heading and which
reminds us of the tragic human conflicts of the
ages, we appeal to it firmly to resist this
imminent danger. It is possible to disarm the
hand, but difficult to defuse hatred in the heart.
182. After what happened in Lebanon, Kuwait is
convinced that the independence, security,
territorial integrity and safety of the brotherly
people of that country cannot be a subject for
debate. It follows that the necessary measures
must be taken to compel Israel to abide by
Security Council resolutions 308 (1982) and 509
(1982) calling for its immediate and
unconditional withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
183. The Palestinian people, under the
leadership of the PLO, have emerged from the
latest tragic events much stronger and more
united and cohesive. Through its conduct
politically in negotiations and militarily on the
battlefield, the PLO has proved that it is the
legitimate spokesman of the Palestinian people
and that it is deeply committed to international
responsi¬bility and its role in the preservation
of peace and security in the Middle East.
184. It has become obvious from a whole series
of Israeli violations, such as the annexation of
Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights to the
raid on the Iraqi nuclear installation and the
barbaric invasion of Lebanon, that Israel's
ultimate intention is to achieve one particular
objective which it does not even bother to
conceal—namely, the establishment of Greater
Israel—and its strategy to achieve that objective
has become crystal clear—namely, to use the
flimsy pretext of security as a means of
achieving ' its expansionist designs.
185. In their constant search for a peaceful,
just and honorable solution to the Palestinian
question, the Arab countries were able to
manifest once again, at the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference, held in Fez, the Arab nation's
capability of living up to the situation by
adopting a series of general principles as an
accepted basis for a peaceful and durable
solution to the Palestinian question which would
safeguard the legitimate rights of the people of
Palestine. Elements of the proposed settlement
were inspired by the Arab countries' sense of
international and historical responsibility and
the principles and bases of interna¬tional
charters, as well as of United Nations
reso-lutions, such as the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territories by force, the right of
all peoples to full self-determination, free of
any narrow or biased interpretation, the peaceful
settlement of disputes and the Security Council's
responsibility for maintaining international
peace and security.
186. The unanimity shown by Arab heads of
State in adopting the principles of the Fez
Conference offers the international community a
unique opportunity to move ahead on the road to a
new era based on this initiative, which is
rightly considered an important turning point
whose meaning should not be lost on anyone and
which expresses the genuine and firm desire of
the Arab countries to end the conflict and
preserve peace in the area.
187. It was not surprising to see that Israel
rejected those Arab principles, for that
rejection reflects the Israeli strategy in the
Middle East—a strategy based on the consolidation
of the and the impo¬sition of new on the
international community.
188. In our view, the international community
must consider those Arab principles as the
greatest oppor-tunity ever offered to settle the
Middle East crisis and the Palestine question on
a concrete and realistic basis.
189. It is the view of Kuwait that the United
States, in particular, should seriously consider
this Arab ini-tiative, should understand its
meaning and should respond to it positively so
that it will become an accepted fact which will
establish truth, security and justice in a region
where the clouds of injustice and aggression have
been and still are looming. On the other hand,
the group of European countries which had for a
long time sought to participate in any
con¬structive approach to settling this thorny
issue should seriously consider those principles
and should not let the dream of peace in the
Middle East be dashed by the misleading and
deceptive policy of Israel. It is within our
reach to hold on to the ray of hope—to preserve
it and strengthen it so that it will eventually
turn into an impregnable bulwark protecting the
rights of the just and preserving peace.
190. I should now like to refer to what I said at
the 18th meeting of the thirty-sixth session
about the establishment of the Gulf Co-operation
Council, which has now become a fact and which
has proved to be the right and successful
instrument for developing co¬operation among
member States, improving their rela¬tions, and
achieving co-ordination, integration and
interdependence among their peoples in all
fields, thereby serving their mutual interests
and strength¬ening their capability of
participating in the preserva¬tion of peace and
security in that vital area of the world. It has
also stressed another important fact: namely,
that security and stability in the Arabian Gulf
area are the responsibility of its peoples and
countries, which reject foreign interference from
any source and under any pretext and that the
member States alone have the right to defend
their security and maintain their independence.
The Council has also emerged in the field of Arab
relations as a tributary of Arab unity and
solidarity.
191. Kuwait views with great concern the
ongoing war between two Moslem neighbors, Iraq
and Iran, which has exhausted, over a period of
more than two years, the great potential of their
human and economic resources and has exposed the
area more than ever before to the possibility of
intervention by foreign Powers attempting to
impost their hege¬mony and their influence and to
international areas and internal affairs.
192. Kuwait commends the positive initiative
of fraternal Iraq concerning the withdrawal of
its forces to the international borders and the
cessation of hostilities. It views this as an
honest and genuine contribution on the part of
Iraq to put a quick end to the war. We are still
hopeful that neighbouring Moslem Iran will soon
follow Iraq's example in this respect.
193. Kuwait fully appreciates all the honest
efforts exerted by all parties concerned to find
an honorable and just solution to the dispute—one
which would safeguard the rights and dignity of
both parties. But in spite of the fact that those
efforts have, unfor¬tunately, not been successful
so far, we still believe in the necessity of
continuing them and even inten¬sifying them. We
also hope that the supreme interest of
maintaining peace and security in the area will
prevail over all other considerations. We are
con¬vinced that the immediate cessation of
hostilities would create the right climate for
the solution of all problems, in accordance,
above all, with the spirit and ideals of Islamic
brotherhood and with interna¬tional law.
194. The situation on our Asian continent is
still replete with explosive crises that threaten
our peace and security. Foreign troops are still
on Afghan soil, and all the efforts exerted by
the United Nations to reach a peaceful and just
solution to that crisis on the basis of the
various resolutions adopted by the As¬sembly are
foundering. While we appreciate the
par¬ticipation of the parties to the dispute in
the meeting recently held at Geneva under the
aegis of the United Nations, we call for an
intensification of efforts at subsequent meetings
in order to arrive at a solution that will
safeguard the rights of the people of Afghanistan
to self-determination and to establish the
political system they deem suitable, free from
any foreign intervention. We also affirm the
right of the Afghan refugees to return to their
homeland. Kuwait is con¬vinced that none of these
goals can be secured without the withdrawal of
foreign troops from Afghanistan and
non-intervention in its internal affairs.
195. We regret the failure of the efforts made
so far to convene an international conference to
discuss the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a
Zone of Peace. Kuwait has been stressing the need
to convene such a conference because of its
conviction that the peace and security of the
Indian Ocean and the withdrawal of foreign bases
from that area are vital and closely linked to
international peace and security. Kuwait also
reit¬erates its advocacy of the declaration of
the Middle East as a nuclear-weapon-free zone in
order to enable the countries of that region to concentrate
on solving their development problems and
carrying out their economic development
programmes.
196. Like the Middle East, the African
continent continues to be an arena of strife and
conflict that threaten its political stability
and impede its economic progress. The Middle East
is plagued by an aggressive and racist Zionist
regime, while the African continent is plagued by
a similar racist regime that is still being
imposed on the people of South Africa and Namibia
despite all the international attempts to find a
just and honorable solution to their problems.
197. Kuwait reiterates its support for and
solidarity with the people of Namibia in their
just struggle and with the black majority in
South Africa as it struggles against the policies
of discrimination and apartheid being pursued by
the white minority in that country . We salute
and support the front-line States and SWAPO for
their political perseverance in attempting to
find a peaceful settlement to the problem of
Namibia. We also condemn the perverted methods
used by the racist regime in South Africa in its
attempts to obstruct a peaceful settlement to
that problem. Kuwait would also urge the Western
nations to exert the utmost pressure on South
Africa in order to force it to respond positively
to international efforts to achieve a
comprehensive and just settlement to the
situation in southern Africa.
198. Kuwait is also watching the development
of the situation in Eritrea and hopes that a just
solution that will guarantee that the people of
Eritrea attain their national aspirations can be
found.
199. In a few months the Seventh Conference of
Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned
Coun¬tries will convene in the Indian capital.
The movement non-aligned is still? 20 years after
its creation, facing tremendous challenges; it
requires from its members an increased adherence
to its principles and ideology. By taking the
initiative of not acting as host to the Seventh
Conference, Iraq has proved its earnest desire to
maintain the unity and effectiveness of the
movement. Kuwait believes that States members of
the movement should avoid being drawn into the
conflict between the great Powers, which seek to
polarize those States towards one camp or the
other. Kuwait also feels a special interest in
the forthcoming Conference in India and hopes
that its results will reflect the aspirations of
the third world.
200. We cannot fail to note the sense of
disillusion¬ment felt by the international
community at the failure of the second special
session on disarmament. The continuing
development of weapons of mass destruc¬tion, the
continued conducting of nuclear tests and the
continued stockpiling of huge quantities of
weapons has exposed the lack of political will on
the part of the Powers involved to create a
favorable climate for disarmament.
201. Kuwait believes that the economic
problems facing today's world are for the most
part caused by the tremendous costs of the arms
race. We therefore call upon the United Nations
to refuse to allow itself to be impeded by the
temporary set-back of the failure of the second
special session and to continue its attempts to
achieve the cherished aspirations and dreams of
mankind.
202. Through its long experience in
contributing to the development of third-world
countries, Kuwait realizes that the achievement
of development in the developing countries is
primarily the responsibility of those countries.
That responsibility, however, does not release
the advanced countries from their commitments to
the developing nations and, conse¬quently, a
formula should be worked out to co-ordinate,
follow up and implement the activities of
economic co-operation among the developing
nations them¬selves, on the one hand, and between
them and the developed and advanced nations on
the other. While Kuwait fully appreciates the
efforts that were made during the past year to
launch global negotiations to achieve economic
co-operation, it expresses its disap¬pointment at
the many obstacles being placed in the way of
such negotiations by the developed nations, which
continue to look upon this vital matter from the
viewpoint of their selfish interests.
203. The Third United Nations Conference on
the Law of the Sea made important specific
progress when it adopted the draft Convention
which the Conference had been debating for more
than 10 years. Kuwait, aware of its international
responsibility, appeals to all nations which have
not yet approved this Con¬vention to join the
rest of the international community in its common
conception of the organization and utilization of
all the important and vital aspects of the
Convention in the best interests and for the
prosperity of mankind. Kuwait hopes that this
Con¬vention will be ratified as soon as possible.
204. The delegation of Kuwait, while sharing
the concern of the international community over
the current international political and economic
situation, is convinced that it is imperative to
continue the dialogue and intensify the bilateral
and multilateral contacts among all nations. This
concern for interna¬tional peace and security, as
expressed by all Mem¬ber States, makes us fully
confident that, given honest intentions and
explicit goals, it will be possible to realize
our hopes in the establishment of co-operation
among peoples and to avoid the evils of wars and
disputes. Progress and prosperity will thus come
closer and be more significant.