Kuwait

At the outset, let me say that it is my pleasure to personally extend to you, Mr. President, on behalf of the Government and the people of the State of Kuwait, my most sincere congratulations on your unanimous election as President of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. Your election represents an acknowledgement and an appreciation of the prominent stature of the fraternal State of Qatar, which has strong and distinct links and relations with my country, Kuwait. I am confident, Sir, that you will conduct the work of this session in a manner conducive to ensuring its success. We also would like to pay tribute to the efforts of your predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, on his outstanding presidency and his successful conduct of the work of the previous session. We congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment as Secretary-General and wish him continued success. We were pleased to see the accession by the State of South Sudan to the United Nations. Kuwait recognized the State of South Sudan on the first day of its independence. We are confident that the Government and the brotherly people of South Sudan — a people with whom we are proud to have a strong relationship — will achieve security, stability and economic development for their country. There is no doubt that our Organization is growing more important by the day. Over the past six decades, the international arena has been the scene of numerous events and developments that have had a direct impact on international peace and security. As the most legitimate, credible and independent multilateral international mechanism, the United 11-50865 22 Nations has remained a safe haven for Member States seeking solutions to questions, problems and crises. There is a general conviction that no one country alone, no matter how powerful and capable, can face the dangers of terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate change, epidemics, organized crime or any challenges that do not respect or recognize geographic or national borders. Recently, the role of the United Nations has expanded significantly. This is particularly true in connection with the humanitarian disasters that we have witnessed, whether man-made or natural. The latest example was the famine affecting the Horn of Africa as a result of drought and violence. The United Nations has been able to mobilize humanitarian aid and to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. Those actions have alleviated the suffering and saved the lives of millions. The growing importance of the United Nations in our world today requires the improvement and strengthening of its capabilities. We must enhance its performance. This will require measures and steps to reform its major bodies, including the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, as well as develop their functions and responsibilities to enable those bodies to carry them out efficiently and effectively. It is therefore incumbent upon all States Members of the United Nations to support the Organization, commit to implementing its resolutions and provide it with the needed financial resources, in a timely manner without any conditions. In the final analysis, the power of the United Nations is but a reflection of the support that Member States provide in pursuance of its lofty objectives and the fulfilment of its needs. We have witnessed with great concern the developments and events in the Middle East region, such as will lead to more deterioration in its security and stability. The use of force and the acts of violence that have claimed the lives of thousands must cease so as to prevent further bloodshed. The legitimate demands of peoples for the implementation of serious and prompt political, economic and social reforms must be heeded. In that respect, the State of Kuwait supports all efforts calling for dialogue, understanding and the rejection of violence. The State of Kuwait attaches great importance to consolidating and developing its relations with its neighbours on firm and solid grounds, based on mutual respect and common interests, as well as to promoting these relations to a level that meets the aspirations of the peoples of the region. In this context, the State of Kuwait supports the calls made on the Islamic Republic of Iran to take serious and genuine confidence-building measures, to abide by the resolutions of international legitimacy, to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency so as to dispel fears and doubts surrounding its nuclear programmes, and to cooperate positively in resolving the dispute over the occupied Emirati islands according to the principles and rules of international law. This year, the State of Kuwait celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its independence and the twentieth anniversary of its liberation from the Iraqi Saddami occupation. That liberation was truly considered one of the most salient successes of the United Nations in its efforts to deter aggression and eliminate its effects, based on the principles of the Charter and the resolutions of international legitimacy. In November, Kuwait will also celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its Constitution, which codified the democracy that has become an integral part of the State of Kuwait since its establishment. That is considered one of the most outstanding achievements of the people and Government of Kuwait. Those are all historic occasions for a small peace-loving country that believes in the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and international law. Our country relies in its relations with other States on respect for the principles of sovereignty, independence and non-interference in the internal affairs of others, as well as the settlement of all disputes by peaceful means. The State of Kuwait also seeks to overcome its painful memories by establishing strong relations of cooperation, mutual respect and good-neighbourliness with the brotherly Republic of Iraq. We deeply hope that development and stability will prevail there, and that further progress will be achieved in Iraq’s efforts to enforce security and rebuild the economy, which was destroyed by the former regime’s aggressive and expansionist policies. We reaffirm our commitment to providing all forms of support to help Iraq implement its remaining international obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions and regain its role in the regional and international sphere. 23 11-50865 More than six decades have elapsed and the United Nations remains incapable of finding a solution to the Palestinian question and of putting an end to the Israeli occupation of Arab territories. Worse, the suffering of the Palestinian people only increases with the years. Their economic and social conditions worsen, settlements expand, their lands are confiscated, their water is stolen, their homes and land are besieged, their movements are restricted and their sons and daughters are imprisoned. Most troubling of all is that the international community stands idly by, a passive spectator to Israel’s unchanging practices and policies, despite the fact that those policies not only violate the most rudimentary rules of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, but undermine any chance to achieve peace. Israel’s inhumane practices against our brothers in Gaza — such as the totally unjustified blockade and the deliberate destruction of infrastructure, despite continued international condemnation, to name but two — are a glaring example of Israel’s indifference to its obligations and world public opinion. The international community is therefore called upon to pursue its efforts to bring pressure to bear on Israel so that the Palestinian people enjoy their right to self- determination. The Palestinian State must be established, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Israeli occupation of all the Arab territories it has occupied since 4 June 1967, including the Syrian Golan, must end. Israel must also cease its continued violations of the sovereignty of Lebanon and withdraw from all its occupied territories. We wish to renew once again our full commitment and support to the bid and endeavours of the Palestinian Authority to obtain membership in the United Nations as an independent, sovereign and full Member State. The State of Kuwait welcomes the international reports issued by the United Nations and its agencies concerning the Millennium Development Goals adopted at the 2000 Millennium Summit and the status of their achievement. We can all be proud of the accomplishments in reducing the number of persons infected with HIV/AIDS and providing medication to greater numbers of infected people, as well as progress in fighting other communicable diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis. However, despite those accomplishments, much remains to be done, since these accomplishments are unevenly distributed among States. Many indicators confirm that some States will not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. That could be attributed to a number of causes, the most obvious of which is the ongoing global economic and financial crisis and its negative impact on the majority of States, large and small, rich and poor. However, developing countries, especially the least developed, have suffered most because of the weakness and vulnerability of their economies. Their economic growth has faltered and the volume of their exports fallen, while unemployment rates have risen. At the same time, the prices of food and basic commodities have risen, exacerbating the economic and social impact of the crisis. No sooner had the world started to recover from the economic crisis than the symptoms of another began to emerge, threatening once again the growth of the global economy. That new crisis is exemplified in the sovereign debt of the United States and a number of European countries. The international community must forge ahead in restructuring the international financial institutions in order to ensure their sustainability, improve their ability to perform their duties effectively and efficiently, and make them more representative of and fair to the countries that need their support. The world today is in dire need of a just, fair and balanced global trading system that bridges the enormous gap between States, ensures mutual benefit and assists in integrating the economies of poor countries into the global economic system. Developed countries must also fulfil their commitments and increase their official development assistance to the level of 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product, as agreed internationally. In that context, the State of Kuwait will spare no effort to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to States stricken by natural disasters or to respond to appeals by the United Nations or its agencies to alleviate the suffering of the peoples of such States. We believe in the importance of the role of the United Nations in the field of humanitarian assistance, and the State of Kuwait has therefore increased its voluntary contributions to a number of international organizations and specialized agencies, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Central Emergency 11-50865 24 Response Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although the State of Kuwait is a developing country, since its independence in 1961 it has followed a special policy in support of developing countries and least developed countries by extending a helping hand and providing humanitarian and development assistance when and as needed. More than 100 countries throughout the world have benefited from that assistance, which exceeds $15 billion. The Emir of the State of Kuwait has launched several initiatives, including the decent living initiative, the initiative to support and encourage small and medium-size projects, and the initiative to develop and rebuild eastern Sudan, with a view to alleviating the suffering in many countries affected by the increase in the prices of food and energy, as well as those whose economies have been affected by the global financial crisis and have witnessed increased unemployment and poverty. Many countries have benefited from those initiatives. The United Nations has convened numerous international conferences and adopted many resolutions, agreements and statements. It has united our visions, guided our endeavours and mobilized our resources and our potential so as to consolidate our common work to combat corruption, strengthen the rule of law and good governance, ensure respect for human rights, and empower women and bolster their role in society, inter alia. We look forward to a more effective international role within the context of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, in order to intensify dialogue between various civilizations, religions and cultures; disseminate the values of tolerance, moderation and mutual respect; and reject any expression of violence or extremism, which undermine our potential to work together to spread the culture of peace and abide by the lofty purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of our Organization.