Thirty-fourth report of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 14 of resolution 1284 (1999) 14 December 2012

This is a 12 page report that Ban Ki Moon submitted to the Security Council on December 14th. It is one of 2 reports that he submitted that day concerning Iraq but as of today this is the only one available so far. I will keep an eye on the other one and get the link out there as soon as they make it available.



http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/931

http://www.uncc.ch/resolutio/res1956.pdf


http://www.uncc.ch/resolutio/res1483.pdf

United Nations S/2012/931
Security Council Distr.: General
14 December 2012
Original: English
12-64345 (E) 171212 171212
*1264345*
Thirty-fourth report of the Secretary-General pursuant to
paragraph 14 of resolution 1284 (1999)
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 14 of Security Council
resolution 1284 (1999) and covers developments on the issues of missing Kuwaiti
and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property, including its national
archives, since the issuance of my previous report, dated 14 June 2012
(S/2012/443). The present report also covers the outcome of my consultations in
Iraq and Kuwait on 5 and 6 December with the two Governments on the role of the
United Nations in facilitating the implementation of paragraph 14 of resolution 1284
(1999).
II. Recent activities with regard to the repatriation and return
of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, or their remains
2. Throughout the reporting period, Gennady Tarasov, the High-level
Coordinator, actively promoted cooperation between Iraq and Kuwait in the search
for missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, including during his two visits to
the region in September and November. Working in close contact with the members
of the Tripartite Commission and its Technical Subcommittee, the primary body
dealing with the fate of persons unaccounted for since the Gulf War of 1990-1991,
the Coordinator focused his efforts on facilitating joint exploratory missions, within
the framework of the Technical Subcommittee and under the aegis of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to sites in Iraq where those
missing persons might have been buried. He also encouraged the intensification of
Iraq’s own investigations in different parts of the country, as well as the stepping up
of its information-gathering efforts in order to make the work of field missions more
precise and effective. Follow-up meetings of the Technical Subcommittee and the
Tripartite Commission were held on 3 and 5 December, respectively.
3. A fifth field exploratory mission was conducted in Khamisiyah (southern Iraq)
from 3 to 18 September. To date, more than 10,000 trenches have been dug in the
search for remains. These efforts are still hampered, however, by a lack of precise
information and have not yet yielded results.
4. In addition, Iraq conducted its own investigations to explore possible grave
sites on its territory. These included, among others, excavations in Ramadi (central


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Iraq) and in the Samawah area (southern Iraq), where unidentified human remains
were found. Anthropological data on the findings were sent to Kuwait via ICRC,
with DNA samples for genetic identification to follow. Iraq also sent staff for
training in Australia and indicated its intention to purchase new equipment for the
localization and the exhumation of remains. According to available information,
about 50 officials of the former Iraqi regime were visited in prison but denied any
knowledge of possible grave sites where the remains of missing Kuwaitis might be
discovered.
5. On 20 November, the Coordinator travelled to Baghdad where he met with
Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Hussain al-Shahristani, and the Minister of Human
Rights, Mohammed al-Sudani. Both reiterated their Government’s determination to
fulfil all its outstanding obligations with regard to Kuwait. The Deputy Prime
Minister noted that although Iraq would prefer to terminate the mandate of the
High-level Coordinator and address this issue bilaterally with Kuwait, Iraq would
not object to folding this file into the mandate of the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Mr. Al-Sudani reconfirmed the commitment of Iraq to
continue the search for missing persons in cooperation with Kuwait and the
Tripartite Commission and its Technical Subcommittee.
6. On 21 November, the Coordinator travelled to Kuwait, where he met with the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sabah Al-Khaled Al
Hamad Al Sabah, who reiterated the importance of Iraq complying with all of its
outstanding obligations and the readiness of Kuwait to support Iraq in completing
the process. He added that Kuwait did not expect the mandate to continue until all
the missing were found, but additional progress was expected in the search for
missing Kuwaitis.
III. Recent activities with regard to the return of Kuwaiti
property
7. The issue of missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archive, is an
integral part of paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999). Although a
number of items were found in Iraq and returned to Kuwait during the reporting
period, no significant progress has been made in the search for the national archive
of Kuwait, nor has credible information about its fate or whereabouts emerged.
8. In his recent meetings with Iraqi officials, the Coordinator continued to urge
the Government of Iraq to make full use of the recently created Iraqi committee on
the Kuwaiti national archives and to report to the United Nations on the results of its
activities. In September the Coordinator was informed that Kuwait had set up its
own committee on the archives, chaired by the director of the international
organizations department of the Foreign Ministry, which was waiting for an
indication from Iraq on when both entities could meet in order to further work on
the search for missing Kuwaiti property.
9. On 27 June, Iraqi and Kuwaiti representatives met for the purpose of returning
Kuwaiti property consisting of tapes belonging to the archive of the official radio
station of the State of Kuwait and two books belonging to the University of Kuwait.
According to the minutes of the meeting shared with the Coordinator by the

Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations on 29 June (see annex I),
the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait noted:
The return of some of the property is undoubtedly a step forward, that the
Kuwaiti side hopes will be followed with the return of the more valuable and
more important property, particularly the National Archives belonging to the
Amiri Diwan, the Diwan of His Highness the Crown Prince and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
10. In a letter dated 1 October (see annex II), the Permanent Representative of Iraq
to the United Nations informed the Coordinator that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Iraq had published an advertisement on its official website, as well as in a number
of national newspapers, urging Iraqi citizens in possession of any documents or
property belonging to the State of Kuwait to transmit them to the committee in
charge of coordinating Iraqi efforts regarding the Kuwaiti national archive.
11. While the fate of the Kuwaiti national archive has yet to be discovered, Iraq
has demonstrated, by finding other missing Kuwaiti property, that its credible and
sustained efforts were bearing results.
IV. Way forward
12. Pursuant to paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999), since
2000, I have submitted 34 reports to the Security Council regarding the repatriation
or return by Iraq of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals or their remains, as well
as the return of all Kuwaiti property, including archives, seized by Iraq.
13. While the remains of 236 Kuwaitis have been found in Iraq by Kuwaiti search
and exhumation teams in 2003 and 2004, attempts to find the remains of
369 Kuwaitis have been unsuccessful since then, despite commendable goodwill
demonstrated by Iraq. With regard to missing Kuwaiti property, Iraq has recovered
and delivered to Kuwait a number of items such as the archive of official Kuwaiti
television and radio stations, microfilm archives of Kuwaiti newspapers and old
banknotes and coins, as well as the keys to safes from the Central Bank of Kuwait.
There has, however, been little progress in the search for the national archive.
14. In all of my reports to the Council, including that dated 8 April 2009
(S/2009/190) and the report submitted pursuant to paragraph 5 of Security Council
resolution 1859 (2008) of 27 July 2009 (S/2009/385), I have called upon both sides
to pursue cooperation and implement confidence-building measures to foster
progress in the resolution of the humanitarian issue of missing Kuwaiti persons and
property. In my previous report, which the Security Council welcomed in a press
statement of 20 June 2012, I also expressed my belief that Iraq and Kuwait should
begin exploring other arrangements to consolidate efforts in the search for missing
Kuwaiti nationals and property.
15. Over the course of the year, the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait have held
consultations and exchanged letters on this issue, and they conveyed to me their
respective positions regarding the future implementation of paragraph 14 of Security
Council resolution 1284 (1999).
16. On 18 June 2012, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, in a letter to me, had
requested that the mandate of the High-level Coordinator be terminated and dealt


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with through bilateral channels, possibly in cooperation with ICRC or UNAMI (see
annex III).
17. In a letter dated 20 July 2012 to the President of the Security Council
(S/2012/567), Kuwait expressed the hope that the Security Council would appoint
another High-level Coordinator or a Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral, adding that “it would be appropriate if such a High-level Coordinator or
Special Representative were to follow up on all of Iraq’s outstanding international
obligations” (see S/2012/567). However, in a subsequent letter, dated 17 September
2012, to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Hoshyar Zebari, Kuwait clarified
its position to Iraq. In the letter, which was shared with the United Nations, Kuwait
expressed the hope that the Security Council would establish a new mechanism
under Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations through either: (a) the
appointment of a new High-level Coordinator; (b) the appointment of a new Special
Representative; or (c) the expansion of the mandate of UNAMI to include the issues
of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. The
letter further stated that this would happen after the fulfilment on the ground of
Iraq’s other outstanding obligations, specifically those related to the border.
18. During my recent visit, I held intensive follow-up discussions with the
Governments of the two countries on the continuation of United Nations activities in
this regard. Both parties reiterated their respective positions, and, welcoming a
continued United Nations role, were amenable to folding those activities into the
UNAMI mandate, but under certain conditions for Kuwait, most notably the
fulfilment by Iraq of its border-related obligations.
19. During my consultations with the leadership of Kuwait and Iraq, I also
impressed on both countries that a historic opportunity was at hand to put the past
behind them and usher in a new era of cooperation. Taking into account the
positions previously expressed by their respective Governments, I shared with them
my view that UNAMI, with its large human rights presence and offices in Iraq and
Kuwait and its ability to engage with relevant authorities in both countries, could be
well positioned to address these issues on a continuous basis inside Iraq. I also
emphasized the imperative for Iraq to move quickly in fulfilling all of its obligations
under relevant Security Council resolutions.
V. Observations
20. Iraq continues to make steady progress towards regaining its rightful place in
the region, the Arab world and the broader international community as a founding
member of the United Nations. I fully recognize the importance of the issues of
missing Kuwaiti persons and property for the Government and people of Kuwait.
While I believe that Iraq has demonstrated goodwill on the issue of missing persons,
it can do more in that regard, and even more on the issue of missing property,
including archives.
21. I am encouraged by the positive momentum generated by the visits of the
Prime Minister of Iraq to Kuwait on 14 and 15 March and the Emir of Kuwait to
Baghdad to attend the League of Arab States Summit on 29 March, as well as the
second session of the Joint Kuwait-Iraq Ministerial Committee on 29 April, to
address all outstanding issues and normalize relations. I hope that this spirit of
positive cooperation will continue and will usher in a renewed period of confidencebuilding between the two parties.
22. I welcome the initiative of the Iraqi Committee coordinating the search for
Kuwaiti missing property, including the national archive, to place advertisements in
the Iraqi press and on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. I look forward to the
Committee’s sustained efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of the Kuwaiti national
archive, and encourage the members of the Iraqi Committee to meet with their
Kuwaiti counterparts at the earliest possible time to further discuss modalities for
both to sides to work together on the matter.
23. I would like to acknowledge the leading role of ICRC in the task of resolving
the issue of missing persons, and the support and contribution of Kuwait, as well as
other members of the Tripartite Commission and its Technical Subcommittee. Joint
exploratory missions in Iraq within the framework of the Commission under the
aegis of ICRC appear to be an appropriate and concrete mechanism for probing the
fate of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals.
24. During my recent visit to the two countries and in my meetings, in particular
with the Emir of Kuwait and the Prime Minister of Iraq, I witnessed a positive
disposition on the part of both parties to move forward and address outstanding
issues, which, I trust, will be conducive to further progress on the issues of missing
Kuwaiti persons and property. Based on my consultations with the two
Governments, I believe that intensified United Nations activities on the ground in
assisting the Government of Iraq could yield concrete results on the issue of Kuwaiti
missing persons and property. UNAMI could be particularly well suited for this
task, in which case I would continue to report to the Security Council on the
implementation and progress made on both issues. In this context, I would take into
account the overall progress made by Iraq in the implementation of all its
outstanding Chapter VII obligations, most notably the urgent need for tangible
progress on its outstanding international obligations concerning the Iraq-Kuwait
boundary maintenance project (Security Council resolution 833 (1993)) and the
compensation of farmers (Security Council resolution 899 (1994)).
25. I view the next few months as a crucial confidence-building period between
Iraq and Kuwait that will hopefully lead to the expeditious resolution of outstanding
multilateral and bilateral issues between them. During this interim period, the two
parties can count on the full support of the United Nations to facilitate the
normalization of their relations. I am committed to resolving the issues of missing
Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property as soon as
possible with the cooperation of the two parties. I look forward to working closely
with the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait both directly and through my
representatives in this regard. In light of the efforts of my High-level Coordinator
during his recent mandates, I am still exploring the best approach for the next period
for the work of the United Nations in this field. I am considering several options.
These include asking UNAMI to fulfil this role, an approach both parties noted was
acceptable to them; appointing an interim coordinator under the existing financial
arrangements; replacing the current High-level Coordinator upon his retirement with
another; or asking someone from United Nations Headquarters to assume this
mandate.
26. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Tarasov, who will be
ending his tenure as High-level Coordinator on 31 December, for his efforts in
carrying out the tasks entrusted to him.



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Annex I
Letter dated 29 June 2012 from the Permanent Representative of
Kuwait addressed to the High-level Coordinator
[Original: English]
It is my pleasure to attach herewith the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June
2012 for the purpose of receiving Kuwaiti property from the Republic of Iraq,
consisting of tapes belonging to the Radio Station of the State of Kuwait as well as
the minutes of the meeting held on the same day, for the purpose of receiving
Kuwaiti property from the Republic of Iraq consisting of books belonging to the
University of Kuwait (see enclosures).
(Signed) Mansour Al Otaibi
Ambassador
Permanent Representative




Enclosure
[Original: Arabic]
Protocol of receipt of Kuwaiti property from the Republic of Iraq
consisting of tape recordings belonging to Kuwait Radio
27 June 2012
On 27 June 2012, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions,
the State of Kuwait received from the Republic of Iraq 27 crates containing tape
recordings belonging to the archives of Kuwait Radio that had been seized by the
former Iraqi regime during its occupation of Kuwait in 1990.
The items were received at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Kuwait in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a
representative of the Ministry of Information, a representative of the Iraqi Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and a representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to
Kuwait. This protocol was prepared and signed in the presence of the representative
of the United Nations office in Kuwait.
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this partial
recovery of property was undoubtedly a step forward, and that the Kuwait side
hopes that it will be followed by the return of more valuable and significant
property, including, in particular, the national archives belonging to the Amiri
Diwan, the Diwan of the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State of Kuwait
(Signed) Jasim Mubarak al-Mubaraki
Director, Department of International
Organizations, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
(Signed) Yusuf Mustafa Abudullah
Assistant Deputy for Broadcasting
Affairs, representative of the Ministry
of Information
United Nations
(Signed) Hashim Hassan Ali
Operations Manager, United Nations
Development Programme in Kuwait
Republic of Iraq
(Signed) Muhammad Hussein
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum
Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to
the State of Kuwait
(Signed) Mu‘ad Abdulwahhab
Abdulrazzaq
Compensations Office, Department of
Legal Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs



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Enclosure 2
[Original: Arabic]
Protocol of receipt of Kuwaiti property from the Republic of Iraq
consisting of books belonging to the University of Kuwait
27 June 2012
On 27 June 2012, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions,
the State of Kuwait received from the Republic of Iraq two books belonging to the
University of Kuwait that had been seized by the former Iraqi regime during its
occupation of Kuwait in 1990.
The items were received at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Kuwait in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a
representative of the Ministry of Information, a representative of the Iraqi Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and a representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to
Kuwait. This protocol was prepared and signed in the presence of the representative
of the United Nations office in Kuwait.
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this partial
recovery of property was undoubtedly a step forward, and that the Kuwait side
hopes that it will be followed by the return of more valuable and significant
property, including, in particular, the national archives belonging to the Amiri
Diwan, the Diwan of the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State of Kuwait
(Signed) Jasim Mubarak al-Mubaraki
Director, Department of International
Organizations, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
(Signed) Yusuf Mustafa Abudullah
Assistant Deputy for Broadcasting
Affairs, representative of the Ministry
of Information
United Nations
(Signed) Hashim Hassan Ali
Operations Manager, United Nations
Development Programme in Kuwait
Republic of Iraq
(Signed) Muhammad Hussein
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum
Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to
the State of Kuwait
(Signed) Mu‘ad Abdulwahhab
Abdulrazzaq
Compensations Office, Department of
Legal Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs



Annex II
[Original: English]
Letter dated 1 October 2012 from the Permanent Representative
of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the High-level
Coordinator
Upon instruction from my Government, I have the honour to inform you that
the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has republished an advertisement in the official
Ministry’s website and in a number of local Iraqi newspapers such as Al-Zaman,
issues 4307 and 4308, Al-Sabah, issues 2637, 2638 and 2639, Al-Sabah al-Jadeed,
issues 2385, 2386 and 2387, Al-Bayan, issues 1020, 1021 and 1022, Al-Etehad,
issues 3072, 3073 and 3074, Al-Alam, issues 660, 661 and 662, Al-adala, issues
2512, 2513 and 2514, Al-Muwattin, issue 1726, Tareq al-Shaal, issue 32,
Al-Mashriq, issues 2461, 2462 and 2463, Al-Mada, issues 2595, 2596 and 2597 and
Al-Bayena, issues 1656, 1657 and 1658 which urges Iraqi citizens in possession of
any documents or property belonging to the State of Kuwait to transmit them to the
Committee in charge of coordinating the efforts regarding the Kuwaiti archives
established in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a part of Iraq’s obligations
before the international community. Please find attached the text of the
advertisement (see enclosure).
(Signed) T. Hamid Al-Bayati
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative



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Enclosure
[Original: Arabic]
Announcement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on all decent citizens who have
information regarding property or documents that belong to the State of Kuwait to
contact our Ministry with a view to seeing that they are returned to Kuwait, in
accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Cooperation with the Ministry is an act of patriotism that will help to resolve
various matters with which we have been saddled as a result of the crimes
committed by the former regime, and will help Iraq regain its status in the
international community.
Those who provide information will be rewarded by the Ministry and will have
performed a valuable service for their country.
Announcement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Human Rights call on all
decent citizens to come forward with any information they might have regarding
persons who went missing in the Kuwait war and their whereabouts.
The Iraqi Government has made assiduous efforts to find those missing
persons or recover their remains. We have thus far succeeded in finding 236 missing
persons, but another 373 are still missing. Accomplishing this task is part of our
international obligations. Providing information regarding those missing persons
will help our beloved country free itself of the burdens with which it has been
saddled as a result of the crimes committed by the former regime, and will
safeguard Iraq’s reputation and standing in the international community.



Annex III
[Original: English]
Note verbale dated 27 June 2012 from the Permanent Mission of
Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the Office of the
Secretary-General
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations presents
it compliments to the Office of the Secretary-General and in reference to its note
verbale dated 18 June 2012 has the honour to attach herewith the letter from
Hoshyar Zebari, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq addressed to
Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (see enclosure).
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq would deeply appreciate it if
the attached letter could kindly be forwarded to its highest destination.



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Enclosure
[Original: Arabic]
18 June 2012
We should like to refer to the letter that we addressed to you, dated 5 July
2011, in which we proposed that the mandate of Ambassador Gennady Tarasov, the
Secretary-General’s High-level Coordinator on the issue of missing Kuwaiti and
third-country nationals and the repatriation of Kuwaiti property, should be
terminated and the matter addressed bilaterally by Iraq and Kuwait.
You are aware of the efforts that have been exerted by Iraq with a view to
resolving this question, and of the consultations that Iraq has held with the States
that are permanent members of the Security Council, which have led to perceptible
progress being made towards the transference of the question to bilateral relations.
We should therefore like to request the Security Council, through you, to close the
question and transfer it to bilateral relations, by sending a Kuwaiti team that will be
based in Iraq, either at a headquarters location to be determined by mutual
agreement or within the Kuwaiti Embassy in Baghdad, in order to complete work on
the outstanding issues in cooperation with the Iraqi team. That step would bring the
mandate of the High-level Coordinator to a close, either immediately or by the end
of 2012 at the latest. The joint team would cooperate with the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has expressed its readiness to cooperate
with regard to this question in its capacity as a humanitarian organization, or with
the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The Security Council
could then adopt a resolution releasing Iraq from its obligations under Chapter VII
of the Charter of the United Nations in respect of this question.
Among the proposals raised in the course of our discussions with some States
members of the Security Council was the idea of transferring the question from
Chapter VII to Chapter VI of the Charter and addressing it bilaterally under the
supervision of ICRC or UNAMI.
We wish to emphasize that Iraq is committed to continuing the search for
missing persons. It is fully determined to address this poignant humanitarian issue,
which is of such importance to the Kuwaiti families that lost loved ones. We also
emphasize that the establishment of a bilateral committee, as proposed, would allow
us to cooperate directly in resolving this humanitarian question.
We hope that you will understand Iraq’s sincere position on the resolution of
this question, and that you will provide the necessary support for the successful
fulfilment of that task.
Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.
(Signed) Hoshyar Zebari
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq