GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATIONS ON KUWAITI PROPERTY

UNCLAS STATE 036831

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
USUN FOR GERMAIN AND KUJAWINSKI
HAGUE FOR MANNING

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UNSC IZ KU
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATIONS ON KUWAITI PROPERTY
AND MISSING PERSONS, APRIL 16


1. (U) This is an action request. USUN should draw from the
following building blocks during April 16 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 work 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 increase in cooperation and
contacts between Kuwait and Iraq, much work remains.

-- It is our hope that the greatly improved environment in
Iraq, which the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
helped bring about through its work on elections preparation
and political reconciliation, will increase opportunities to
investigate the whereabouts of the missing or their remains.
Locating and identifying remains offers the opportunity to,
in the words of the report, "end years of anguish and
uncertainty for the families" of the missing. We also extend
our thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross,
which chairs the Tripartite Commission, which is the primary
mechanism for dealing with the issue of missing persons and
does important work on behalf of the missing worldwide.

-- Likewise, it is our hope that a serious and significant
investigation can be undertaken as to the disposition of the
Kuwaiti national archives, which are the priceless cultural
patrimony of that nation. Iraq has also suffered the loss of
some of its patrimony, when key objects were taken from its
National Museum and National Library, and thus can appreciate
the importance of this task. Similarly, in Resolution 1483,
the Security Council took action to facilitate the return of
these objects.

-- 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 six months to allow that
push to occur.

-- We welcome the recommendations in the High Coordinator's
report as to the steps to address outstanding issues and
highlight his conclusion that a lack of Iraqi ministerial
capacity negatively impacts success in the resolution of
these issues.

-- As the Iraqi government increasingly takes responsibility
for its own affairs, it is important that Iraq build this
capacity, with the assistance of the international community
as necessary.

-- We look forward to Ambassador Tarasov's continued work and
believe that at the end of a six-month extension we will be
in a better position to decide the future of his mandate.

End building blocks.
CLINTON