Iraq seems willing to return key Kuwaiti documents, UN reports

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has welcomed pledges by Baghdad to return documents belonging to the Kuwaiti national archives, which were seized during Iraq's 1990 invasion, according to a new report released today.

In a report to the Security Council, Mr. Annan says he received a letter from the Iraqi Foreign Minister on 8 June confirming the Government's intention "to return documents and property belonging to Kuwait through a mechanism that would include the League of Arab States and the United Nations, through UNIKOM [UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission], and in the presence of representatives of Kuwait and Iraq, a representative of the United Nations Secretariat and a representative of the League of Arab States."

Calling this an "encouraging development," Mr. Annan recalls that the Council has long stressed that the return of the Kuwaiti national archives "would be an important signal of the willingness of Iraq to cooperate on outstanding humanitarian issues." Council members support further exploration of pragmatic approaches for identifying modalities for the return of Kuwaiti property.

Mr. Annan has proposed - and both sides have agreed - to re-establish a mechanism previously used for the return of property. "I am encouraged and hopeful that the responses of Kuwait and Iraq… represent an auspicious beginning to a process that could lead to the full resolution of this issue," he says.

The Secretary-General also looks forward to further addressing the matter during the next round of his discussions with the Iraqi Foreign Minister, set to resume early next month in Vienna. "The forthcoming round of talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq will provide an opportunity to address this issue in more detail," he writes.

"After many years of dashed hopes, it appears that some substantive progress regarding the return of Kuwaiti property can be made," the Secretary-General says, adding that Yuli Vorontsov, the high-level Coordinator on the issue, stands ready to facilitate the process.

While welcoming recent positive moves, the Secretary-General strongly urges Baghdad to make further efforts regarding all remaining Kuwaiti property in its possession. "As the leadership of Iraq is fully aware, this humanitarian issue can only be brought to closure through a complete return of all Kuwaiti property," he says.