S/PV.8463 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. After consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council. “The Security Council recalls its resolution 2107 (2013) on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait and all its previous resolutions and presidential statements addressing the issues of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and the return of Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, and takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 4 of resolution 2107 (2013). “The Security Council commends the ongoing efforts by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in the implementation of resolution 2107 (2013). The Security Council expresses its full support for the Special Representative and Head of UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs for UNAMI Alice Walpole in their efforts to resolve outstanding issues related to Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and the return of Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, and urges them to continue engagement on these issues. The Security Council expresses deep gratitude to former UNAMI Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ján Kubiš for his tireless efforts to fully implement resolution 2107 (2013). The Security Council welcomes the strong bilateral relations between Iraq and Kuwait and commends the Government of Kuwait’s continued support for Iraq in its efforts to achieve stability, and welcomes Iraq’s efforts to fulfil all remaining obligations in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions. “The Security Council further welcomes the ongoing cooperation between Iraq and Kuwait in the search of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, and the positive efforts by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence on this important humanitarian endeavour, and encourages the Iraqi Government to continue with these efforts in the same constructive vein and to ensure that all appropriate institutional, financial and technical support is made available to facilitate future activities, and further encourages the international community to provide the necessary advanced and innovative technical equipment to Iraqi authorities to assist in identifying burial locations in accordance with best practices. “The Security Council shared the views expressed by the Secretary-General in his reports that ascertaining the fate of missing persons and providing answers to their grieving families depend on steadfast commitment, action and the adoption of new and innovative ways to push the issue forward. ‘The Security Council expresses its strong support for the perseverance of the members of the Tripartite Mechanism and its Chair, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in their effort to locate the remains of the missing persons. The Security Council notes the latest meeting of the Technical Subcommittee of the Tripartite Mechanism on 11 December 2018 and the Tripartite Commission on 13 December, and welcomes in this regard the additional information provided to the ICRC by France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America that might help to identify potential burial locations, as well as the formal adoption by the Technical Subcommittee of the ICRC’s Review Project Report, as an important contribution towards progress on the issue. The Security Council encourages the two countries, consistent with resolution 2107 (2013), to collaborate closely through the Tripartite Mechanism to achieve further concrete results. “The Security Council notes with regret that there remain 369 cases of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals still unresolved and that no human remains have been exhumed since 2004. The Council reiterates its deepest sympathy to the families of the missing and expresses its condolences for the lives lost. “The Security Council welcomes the sustained commitment of the Government of Iraq to returning all remaining Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, and acknowledges the important steps taken recently by the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait to reinvigorate this file and welcomes in particular the handing over of a consignment of Kuwaiti property by His Excellency Mr. Barham Salih, President of the Republic of Iraq, during his recent visit to Kuwait on 11 November 2018 to meet His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait. “The Security Council encourages the Iraqi Government to continue its search for the missing property, in particular to reinvigorate its search for the missing Kuwaiti national archives. “The Security Council expresses its intention to remain engaged on these important issues.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2019/1. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for reading out presidential statement S/PRST/2019/1, whose adoption by the Security Council we welcome. We would like to thank all Council members for their support for the statement. The adoption of the presidential statement today on the issues of detainees, missing nationals and the repatriation of property comes as an assurance that those issues, including of course the national archive, are pending and remaining commitments under relevant Security Council resolutions. We understand that those issues have nothing to do with international peace and security. However, they are humanitarian issues in nature and are reminders of the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait in 1990 — issues that are not over yet. We are of the view that today’s presidential statement actually sends important messages to all the parties concerned, including the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The statement embodies the support of the Security Council for all the endeavours made by those entities, and the Council stresses that these issues, namely, the detainees, the missing nationals and the Kuwaiti property, are at the heart of the UNAMI mandate, pursuant to resolution 2107 (2013). In addition, the presidential statement sends messages to Iraq, namely, that the Security Council appreciates and values the efforts made by the Iraqi Government, through its Ministry of Defence, to search for detainees and missing nationals so as to know their fate. It also sends an important message to Kuwait, specifically to the families of the missing nationals, who do not know the fate of their loved ones, namely, that the Security Council is interested in this issue and follows up on it, as it is still on the agenda of the Council.