GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATIONS ON KUWAITI PROPERTY

UNCLAS STATE 109013 SENSITIVE C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC IZ SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATIONS ON KUWAITI PROPERTY AND MISSING PERSONS, OCTOBER 22 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. USUN should draw from the following building blocks during October 22 consultations regarding repatriation by Iraq of missing Kuwaitis and Kuwaiti property, including the Kuwaiti national archives. ¶2. (SBU) Begin building blocks: -- I would like to begin today by thanking Ambassador Tarasov for his detailed report regarding the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals or their remains and the return of all Kuwaiti property, including archives, seized by the former Iraqi regime. These remain important issues and, while we welcome the increased cooperation between Kuwait and Iraq, much work remains. -- Since the Council last met to discuss this issue, we are heartened by the positive and continuing momentum that has ensued, especially in locating and identifying the remains of missing American servicemen, Captain Michael Scott Speicher, and both Iraq and Kuwait's utilization of the Tripartite Commission's Technical Subcommittee (TSC) as a positive display of bilateral relations and progress. -- We are also very encouraged by Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) recent work to advance the search for missing Kuwaitis from the 1990 Iraqi invasion; particularly, the recent media campaign to solicit eyewitness accounts, including the publishing in Iraqi newspapers on August 16 of the names and photographs of the approximately 370 Kuwaitis still missing and accompanying hotline numbers and website addresses for contacting relevant GOI agencies; the excavation of some 27 potential mass grave sites near Kerbala on September 28 and the reports that excavation teams have been putting in twelve-hour days since that date, digging to depths of 3-4 meters in search of mortal remains; and the continued attempts to solicit actionable information from witnesses, particularly, those who claim to have knowledge of three different mass grave sites containing as many as 100 bodies near Ramadi. -- Unfortunately, no conclusive progress has been made in finding the Kuwaiti archives and no credible information about their whereabouts has emerged. -- Building on these recent efforts, we urge the Iraqi government to make a concerted push to provide whatever information it can to bring these matters to a close and to support the extension of the High Coordinator's mandate for a further eight months, in accord with the recommendation of the Secretary-General in April 2009. We also call on the Government of Iraq to follow up on its offer to host the next TSC in Baghdad on November 18. -- We look forward to Ambassador Tarasov's continued work and believe that at the end of the High Coordinator's eight-month mandate extension, Iraq and Kuwait will have furthered bilateral cooperation, located and identified remains of the missing to "end years of anguish and uncertainty for the families," and determined the disposition of the Kuwaiti national archives, which are the priceless cultural patrimony of that nation. Progress on these issues is an important step for Iraq to take to return to the legal and international standing it enjoyed prior to the adoption of UNSCR 661 (1990). -- Also, in extending the High Coordinator's mandate until June 2010, we call on all relevant parties to work together to advance progress on this issue. End building blocks. CLINTON