By Salwa Jandoubi
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (KUNA) -- Kuwait regretted inclusion of two Kuwaiti citizens' names in the list attached to United Nations Resolution 2170 enforcing sanctions on extremist Islamic groups in Syria and Iraq.
In a statement to KUNA, the State of Kuwait's Permanent Delegate to the UN, Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, expressed regret for the decision of listing the names of the two Kuwaitis, as affiliated to the resolution, adopted on Friday. The UN resolution stipulated stringent curbs on the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) and Iraq and the Nusra Front (ANF).
Kuwait will abide by the UN Resolution 2170 and implement all its terms, affirmed the Kuwaiti envoy, in a statement to KUNA following a Security Council session.
Kuwaiti laws prohibit citizens from being involved in illegal activities, criminalize direct or indirect affiliations to any terrorist organizations and respect international obligations, said the Kuwaiti delegate to the UN, after the Security Council adopted the resolution demanding that the ISIL, the ANF, all other individuals, groups and entities associated with Al-Qaeda "cease all violence and terrorist acts, and disarm and disband with immediate effect." Elaborating, Ambassador Al-Otaibi stated that Kuwait had amended some of the legislations and laws to render them more compatible with international treaties and accords.
Moreover, the State of Kuwait fully adheres to implementation of Security Council resolutions, in line with the UN Charter, namely provisions 24 and 25, he said.
On the enlisting of the two Kuwaiti citizens, Hajjaj Bin Fahd Al Ajmi and Hamid Hamad Hamid Al-Ali, to be penalized with travel embargo and assets' freezing, among other measures, Ambassador Al-Otaibi said their enlisting would not be permanent, "for there are certain mechanisms that regularize listing and omitting names of the suspects particularly when proven innocent of the charges of having links with terrorist organizations." Kuwait, in the past, succeeded in persuading Council member states to remove the "Islamic Daawa" from an identical list, after providing proofs that it had no links with any terrorist organization.
The State of Kuwait supports the international community in combating all forms of terrorism and will cooperate with it in full, he said, noting that Kuwait will not oppose to any council decision.
Concerned Kuwaiti citizens can file a plea with the sanctions committee and provide proofs of not having such affiliations. (end) sj.rk