PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED STATES ON KUWAITI MISSING PERSONS AND PRISONERS OF WAR

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED STATES ON KUWAITI MISSING PERSONS AND PRISONERS OF WAR

The question of 600 Kuwaitis still unaccounted for by Iraq would be one of the issues under consideration in the comprehensive review of sanctions against that country by the Security Council, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, A. Peter Burleigh, said during a Headquarters joint press conference this afternoon with the Vice-Chairman of the Kuwait National Committee for Missing Persons and Prisoners of War Affairs, Ibrahim Al-Shahine.

The question of missing persons and prisoners of war held a lot of resonance for Americans, Ambassador Burleigh continued. It was another prisoner-of-war issue in which, years after a conflict had ended, families were still waiting for accounts of their loved ones, including even information that they were no longer alive, wanting any information that would enable them to have some kind of closure on the issue. Mr. Al-Shahine represented the families of those 600 Kuwaitis for whom there had still been no accounting from Iraq, and it was a question he took up with Council members during his annual visits to New York.

The subject was also important, Ambassador Burleigh added, because it was one of those arising in the Council from time to time as a most important humanitarian issue remaining unresolved after the conclusion of the Persian Gulf war, after hundreds of Kuwaitis had been taken out of Iraq during the time of Iraq's occupation of the State of Kuwait and had remained unaccounted for ever since. The question of those missing Kuwaitis was one about which the Government of Iraq was legally obligated to provide full information and documentation, as had been set out in Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 686 (1991) and 687 (1991).

Mr. Al-Shahine said other towering issues should not overshadow the important humanitarian one that those held in Iraq without an accounting had been innocent people, most of them civilians, who had been taken across the border out of their own countries in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Iraq had not allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be present during the occupation, which had been another breach of the Geneva Conventions, while Iraqi forces had systematically arrested Kuwaitis at random, holding thousands in schools, prisons, private houses and sports stadiums until transported to prisons in Iraq. After the liberation of Kuwait, the uprising in the south of Iraq had helped free some of those Kuwaitis, and an ICRC presence would have helped free others. Security Council resolutions 686 and 687 had referred to Iraq's commitment to release and return Kuwaitis and internationals, and Iraq had made the commitment to do so. Yet, eight years after Kuwait's liberation, 600 Kuwaitis were still unaccounted for.

Many measures had been taken to obtain an accounting of those 600 people, Mr. Al-Shahine continued. The Security Council had called on the ICRC to chair a Tripartite Committee comprised of representatives of Iraq and Kuwait and other involved countries. More than 53 meetings had been held with the Iraqis over the issue and files had been presented, complete with testimonies of witnesses and documents left behind by the Iraqi army when they had withdrawn, signed by an Iraqi officer, including name and rank, stating that such and such a person had been arrested.

All that evidence had been met with silence by Iraq, Mr. Al- Shahine said. The Iraqi authorities had refused to give information about who was alive or dead. They had refused to grant access to the ICRC to visit those prisoners and had refused to give the ICRC information about them. Therefore, when the yearly review of Iraq's compliance with Security Council resolutions came up, Kuwait considered it important to not let more weighty concerns overshadow the important humanitarian one. Those 600 people, both Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti, represented large segments of the Kuwaiti society, hundreds of thousands of extended families.

"So it's not just 600 and not just the number that makes the issue important, but the humanitarian element of the issue, and the fact that it shows the Iraqi people are not complying with their commitment", Mr. Al-Shahine said. "And this humanitarian issue should not be allowed to be used for humanitarian leverage. Those human beings, most of whom had been civilians, should not be used for such causes.

Asked what the Security Council could do other than raise the issue and what impact the comprehensive review would have on the question of the missing Kuwaitis, Mr. Al-Shahine said Kuwait had full confidence in the ICRC, but that the humanitarian nature of the ICRC meant that it did not exert pressure on parties. It depended on the good will of parties to achieve success or end up with failure. The Security Council, as an international body, had the power to exert pressure on the Iraqis to comply with Council resolutions and international law and to cooperate with the ICRC Tripartite Committee. "Our request to the Security Council is to use whatever means and power it has to implement its own resolutions and achieve compliance with the Tripartite Committee", Mr. Al-Shahine added.

Ambassador Burleigh recalled that in discussions of the comprehensive review over the sanctions on Iraq, it had been agreed that all relevant resolutions would be reviewed in two phases. One would be the disarmament phase and the other would be "other issues", including the one on missing persons. Speaking in his capacity as representative of the United States and not in his capacity of Security Council President for the month, Ambassador Burleigh said it was an extremely important issue to be resolved, and that Iraq had legal obligations to meet under this issue as well, and they had not done that.

US-Kuwait Press Conference - 3 - 17 November 1998

A correspondent who said she recognized the importance of the issue after having been in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf war nevertheless asked why the press event was taking place today. "Does it have something to do with what is going on in Washington or what is or is not going on in Baghdad?" she asked.

Ambassador Burleigh said it had nothing to do with any of that. "Mr. Al-Shahine was in town and we had an appointment this afternoon. I thought it was a good opportunity to remind you all who cover United Nations affairs that this is another important issue related to Iraq."

Asked how the issue was related to paragraph 22 of resolution 687, Ambassador Burleigh said it was simply another issue on which Iraq had to comply. "The issue is related to all the relevant resolutions", he added.

Asked about the seeming perception that the United States Ambassador was the only Council member to talk about the issue in public, Ambassador Burleigh said the issue was mentioned by many members within the Council. The United States did take great care that the issue be remembered and made a point of commenting on it when talking about Iraq and its obligations to the resolutions. It was important to not lose the humanitarian element behind the discussions about the weapons of mass destruction.

"Just to understand properly, is it the United States position that the comprehensive review would not be complete and sanctions could not be lifted until the 600 people were identified or returned, either alive or their bodies?" a correspondent asked. "And does that include even the concept of incremental lifting of sanctions? Would you oppose even a first step until the 600 had been accounted for?"

Ambassador Burleigh said a number of questions were imbedded in that one. First, there was no question of incremental lifting of sanctions, it would not be allowed under the resolution and no member of the Council was known to be arguing for incremental lifting of sanctions under resolution 687. The question of the missing Kuwaitis would be one of the issues taken up in the second phase of the review, which would be done immediately after the first phase, or disarmament. "Also, as far as the United States is concerned, we don't expect the comprehensive review to result in the lifting of sanctions. The comprehensive review is a review of all the resolutions and all Iraqi obligations in all categories, and there are lots of unanswered questions, with regard both to the weapons categories and to the missing Kuwaitis, but there are also other questions such as Kuwaiti property and archives and others."

"And all those have to be addressed before the sanctions can be lifted?" the correspondent asked, and Ambassador Burleigh said they would all certainly be addressed in the comprehensive review.

US-Kuwait Press Conference - 4 - 17 November 1998

"We don't see the sanctions lifting as a result of the comprehensive review, let's put it that way", the Ambassador said, and the correspondent said he did not understand whether the United States position was a negotiating position or an absolute position that the sanctions would not be lifted until all such issues as the missing people and property and so on had been complied with. "Our position has been consistent since 1991, that all those obligations need to be met", the Ambassador restated.

Asked by another correspondent what would constitute a satisfactory address of the issue concerning missing Kuwaitis, Mr. Al-Shahine restated the evidence already presented to Iraq regarding those who were missing and unaccounted for. "So we would want all that information taken into account and then we would want the several hundred still alive to be returned. The fate of those who had been executed or had died due to other conditions would have to be clarified for their families to be relieved." The reason the issue was critical, he continued, was because each day that passed was critical for those still alive and in prison. "We don't know how they are being treated", he said, adding "That's why it's important to resolve the question quickly."

Ambassador Burleigh seconded the view that an accounting of the missing persons was critical. Even if they were not alive, it was important that the bodies of the deceased be repatriated to their families. "Those families need to bring some closure to this very painful issue eight years later", he said.

As a last question, a correspondent then asked about the confrontation between the United States and Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Ambassador Burleigh said there was no confrontation between the United States and Mr. Annan. "It is not true. We hold him in the highest esteem and we think, for example, that what he was able to accomplish this weekend was very beneficial", he added.

"What about the famous letter mentioned by many media?" the correspondent asked.

"The Secretary-General had informed the Council that he would make his decision about whether he would send a letter or make a telephone call or whatever. He made his decision and he sent a letter within his authority as Secretary-General. So, no one on our side is criticizing him."

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