Ban suggests Iraqi PM reaffirm in writing Kuwait land boundary ‘Onus now on Baghdad to demonstrate tangible progress on remaining obligations’
UNITED NATIONS, April 1, (KUNA): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Thursday welcomed the Security Council’s decision last December to partially exit Iraq from under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, but urged Baghdad, nevertheless, to demonstrate “tangible” progress on its remaining obligations, including reaffirming in writing Kuwait’s land and maritime boundary as a confidence-building measure towards improving their relations.
“The onus is now on Iraq to demonstrate tangible and expeditious progress on its outstanding Chapter VII obligations,” particularly on issues related to missing persons and archives, compensation and border maintenance, Ban wrote in a report to the Security Council. It is scheduled to examine it next week.
The Security Council requested the Secretary-General last year to report to the Council every four months on the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), covering key security, political, economic and social developments in Iraq, as well as related regional and international events.
Ban welcomed the “positive momentum generated following the recent historic exchange of high level visits by the Prime Ministers of Iraq and Kuwait,” and commended the decision to form a joint bilateral committee to immediately take steps to address issues of mutual concern between the two countries.
However, he added, “it is my hope that this new spirit of goodwill will translate into concrete actions that can contribute to building confidence between the two sides. To this end, both my Special Representative (Ad Melkert) and High-Level Coordinator (Gennady Tarasov) will continue to assist Iraq and Kuwait in bringing closure to these long-standing issues.” On the Kuwaiti detainees missing since the invasion, Ban said a joint Iraq-Kuwait team conducted last December an exploratory field assessment to a possible site of Kuwaiti mass graves in Nassiriyah under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross with logistical support provided by UNAMI. Further field work at the site is scheduled for this month, he indicated.
Ban took the opportunity to “reiterate my call on the Government of Iraq to reaffirm its commitment to Council resolution 833 of 1993 with respect to its land and maritime boundary with Kuwait as soon as possible and to take urgent steps to resume the border maintenance work including the relocation of farmers away from the borderline with Kuwait.”
Making “tangible” progress on all these outstanding issues, he indicated, remains a “pre-requisite for the normalization of Iraq’s international standing equal to that which it held prior to the adoption of resolution 661” following its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Ban even suggested that a letter from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki “reaffirming the land and water boundaries pursuant to Security Council resolution 833 of 1993 would be an important confidence-building measure towards improving relations between Iraq and Kuwait.” On the security situation in Iraq and the protestors demands for better governance and end to corruption, Ban said the “unfolding events have shown over the past few weeks that Iraq is not immune to the wave of civil unrest that has affected other parts of the region.” The demonstrations that took place across Iraq, and the violence that ensued, underscore the urgent need to address the poor state of public services, high unemployment, and the perceived failure to tackle corruption, he said.
Unless there is quick and concerted action by the Iraqi Government to address these concerns, he warned, “the political and security gains that Iraq has made in recent years could be undermined.” Ban said UNAMI is expanding its security capacity and realigning its resources in order to ensure that robust, credible and flexible security arrangements are in place before the US Forces withdraw from Iraq later this year.
Notwithstanding the progress that has been achieved on the political front, he said, the overall security situation remains “tenuous as some seek to undermine the progress Iraq has made over the past few years in reducing sectarian violence.” In this context, he said, “I wish to reassure the Government of Iraq that UNAMI and the UN Country Team will spare no effort in assisting it to address the major socio-economic challenges facing the country.”
UNITED NATIONS, April 1, (KUNA): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Thursday welcomed the Security Council’s decision last December to partially exit Iraq from under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, but urged Baghdad, nevertheless, to demonstrate “tangible” progress on its remaining obligations, including reaffirming in writing Kuwait’s land and maritime boundary as a confidence-building measure towards improving their relations.
“The onus is now on Iraq to demonstrate tangible and expeditious progress on its outstanding Chapter VII obligations,” particularly on issues related to missing persons and archives, compensation and border maintenance, Ban wrote in a report to the Security Council. It is scheduled to examine it next week.
The Security Council requested the Secretary-General last year to report to the Council every four months on the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), covering key security, political, economic and social developments in Iraq, as well as related regional and international events.
Ban welcomed the “positive momentum generated following the recent historic exchange of high level visits by the Prime Ministers of Iraq and Kuwait,” and commended the decision to form a joint bilateral committee to immediately take steps to address issues of mutual concern between the two countries.
However, he added, “it is my hope that this new spirit of goodwill will translate into concrete actions that can contribute to building confidence between the two sides. To this end, both my Special Representative (Ad Melkert) and High-Level Coordinator (Gennady Tarasov) will continue to assist Iraq and Kuwait in bringing closure to these long-standing issues.” On the Kuwaiti detainees missing since the invasion, Ban said a joint Iraq-Kuwait team conducted last December an exploratory field assessment to a possible site of Kuwaiti mass graves in Nassiriyah under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross with logistical support provided by UNAMI. Further field work at the site is scheduled for this month, he indicated.
Ban took the opportunity to “reiterate my call on the Government of Iraq to reaffirm its commitment to Council resolution 833 of 1993 with respect to its land and maritime boundary with Kuwait as soon as possible and to take urgent steps to resume the border maintenance work including the relocation of farmers away from the borderline with Kuwait.”
Making “tangible” progress on all these outstanding issues, he indicated, remains a “pre-requisite for the normalization of Iraq’s international standing equal to that which it held prior to the adoption of resolution 661” following its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Ban even suggested that a letter from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki “reaffirming the land and water boundaries pursuant to Security Council resolution 833 of 1993 would be an important confidence-building measure towards improving relations between Iraq and Kuwait.” On the security situation in Iraq and the protestors demands for better governance and end to corruption, Ban said the “unfolding events have shown over the past few weeks that Iraq is not immune to the wave of civil unrest that has affected other parts of the region.” The demonstrations that took place across Iraq, and the violence that ensued, underscore the urgent need to address the poor state of public services, high unemployment, and the perceived failure to tackle corruption, he said.
Unless there is quick and concerted action by the Iraqi Government to address these concerns, he warned, “the political and security gains that Iraq has made in recent years could be undermined.” Ban said UNAMI is expanding its security capacity and realigning its resources in order to ensure that robust, credible and flexible security arrangements are in place before the US Forces withdraw from Iraq later this year.
Notwithstanding the progress that has been achieved on the political front, he said, the overall security situation remains “tenuous as some seek to undermine the progress Iraq has made over the past few years in reducing sectarian violence.” In this context, he said, “I wish to reassure the Government of Iraq that UNAMI and the UN Country Team will spare no effort in assisting it to address the major socio-economic challenges facing the country.”