Security Council Press statement on IRAQ-KUWAIT

 

The following Security Council press statement on Iraq-Kuwait was read out today by Council President Neven Jurica ( Croatia):

The members of the Security Council received a briefing from Ambassador Gennady Tarasov, the Secretary-General’s High-Level Coordinator for the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and the repatriation of Kuwaiti property, on the latest report of the Secretary-General.

The members of the Security Council noted that a positive identification of human remains had been made.  Council members again expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of those involved.

The members of the Security Council noted with regret that there had been a lack of progress on exhumation activities and expressed their appreciation for the support offered by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) to the Iraqi Ministry for Human Rights to accelerate progress on this matter.

The members of the Security Council expressed their concern at the absence of progress on clarifying the fate of the Kuwaiti national archives.

The members of the Security Council noted the positive stance taken by the Iraqi authorities, and welcomed the first visit by the High-Level Coordinator to Baghdad since 2003 to pursue dialogue on the outstanding issues.

The members of the Security Council noted the good intention of both the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait to cooperate on this issue.

The members of the Security Council hoped that further progress would be made during the coming months.  They joined the Secretary-General in urging collaboration and practical involvement of all parties in order to bring the long-standing issues of the Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and the fate of the archives to a satisfactory resolution, further strengthening existing friendly relations.

The members of the Security Council undertook to continue to monitor progress and looked forward to a comprehensive report by the Secretary-General in April 2009 to include an update on progress during that period, as well as an assessment of the progress that might be achieved, including the conditions that would be necessary and a timescale for completion of the mandate.

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For information media • not an official record