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Ban urges Iraq to show "tangible" progress to obligations towards Kuwait

By Saloua Jendoubi

UNITED NATIONS, July 16 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Friday reiterated his "personal commitment" to seeing Iraq achieve full normalization of its international status.
In his quarterly report to the Security Council on the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Ban urged Iraq to help him achieve this full normalization by demonstrating to the Security Council "tangible and expeditious" progress in implementing its outstanding obligations towards Kuwait.
It is almost seven months now since the Security Council lifted a number of Chapter VII mandates on Iraq, a move unanimously hailed as a major step towards the normalization of Iraq's international status, Ban said in the report.
"I take this opportunity to reiterate my personal commitment to seeing Iraq achieve full normalization of its international status. I therefore wish to remind the Government of Iraq of the importance of demonstrating to the Security Council tangible and expeditious progress on outstanding obligations pertaining to Kuwait, in particular, missing Kuwaiti persons and property, including archives, and the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Maintenance Project," he said.
He also reminded Baghdad that the issue of compensation payments to Iraqi private citizens whose assets remained on Kuwaiti territory following the demarcation of the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait and pursuant to resolution 899 of 1994 is "still pending," and that the UN Department of Political Affairs is "awaiting a response" to proposals it submitted to Iraq in 2009 in this regard.
On the maintenance of the border posts, Ban said the Government of Iraq has yet to confirm its readiness to continue the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Maintenance Project (IKBMP) and contribute its share of the additional funding - USD 600, 000 - required to complete the project. "I have yet to receive a response from the Government of Iraq to my note verbale dated 29 April 2011 requesting the Government's confirmation in this regard." "Progress on these fronts could create a positive momentum" and enable the Security Council to get Iraq completely out from under Chapter VII, he stressed. In this context, he noted, both his Special Representative Ad Melkert and the UN High-Level Coordinator Gennady Tarasov "remain committed to assisting Iraq and Kuwait in bringing closure to these long-standing Security Council mandates." Ban commended both Kuwait and Iraq for the steps taken thus far by their respective governments towards normalizing their relations, and for their "continued efforts" to address outstanding bilateral issues. He recalled that a Joint Ministerial Committee consisting of senior officials from both countries met on 28-29 March of this year in Kuwait to discuss all outstanding issues, distinguishing between Iraq's outstanding obligations to the Security Council and other issues of bilateral interest. "The minutes of the ministerial meeting have yet to be agreed upon," he noted.
"I wish to convey my sincere hope that there will be a follow-up to the first Joint Ministerial Committee meeting held in Kuwait in March and that both parties will remain committed to finding viable solutions. I am confident that an open and honest discussion will go a long way in confidence-building between the two countries," he stressed.
Ban also noted that on 26-27 May, an Iraqi delegation, comprised of officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport, travelled to Kuwait to ascertain facts relating to the planned construction of the Mubarak al-Kabeer Port on Kuwait's Bubiyan Island. The delegation was sent after several members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives claimed that the proposed Kuwaiti port would affect Iraq's economic and navigational interests. The report of the delegation has been presented to the Iraqi Council of Ministers. Iraq and Kuwait continue to clarify the matter bilaterally through diplomatic channels, Ban said.
On the situation in Iraq, Ban noted that during the last few months, Baghdad expressed its commitment to improve the daily lives of the Iraqi people.
However, he added, Iraq's poverty index remains high at 22.9 per cent with a poverty gap of 4.5 per cent, with poverty levels vary considerably by governorate. Approximately 1.75 million Iraqis are estimated to be either internally displaced or refugees in neighboring countries, "constituting one of the largest displaced populations in the world." School enrolment rates, he also indicated, have decreased at primary and secondary levels, and illiteracy rates among the poor reached 29 per cent for those aged 10 and above.
The Council is scheduled to examine the report on July 19th. (end) sj.nfm KUNA 160937 Jul 11NNNN