Annan hopeful for 'satisfactory closure' on missing Kuwaitis in Iraq

In a new report on the fate of Kuwaitis who went missing in Iraq after the 1990 invasion of their country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he is hopeful that with the expanding activities of Kuwaiti investigative teams and increased cooperation by the new Iraqi authorities, more human remains will eventually be brought to Kuwait and more missing persons files can be closed.

Out of a total of 605 cases, the number of remains identified has now reached 227, Mr. Annan says in his 19th four-monthly report mandated by the Security Council. He notes that the exhumation process has been complicated by several factors, the most difficult of which is the security situation in Iraq. Among other factors are weather and ground conditions, as well as the arrangement of mortal remains in the graves.

The report describes the efforts of the UN High-level Coordinator on the issue, Yuli Vorontsov, to uncover information on missing Kuwaiti persons and property. He travelled to Kuwait in mid-July and was informed by Kuwaiti officials that assessment and investigative teams had visited Iraq for field missions from March to May 2005.

Those missions had been coordinated with the Iraqi side and the multinational force.

Given the extent of cooperation among the parties, as well as their determination to move forward, Mr. Annan says that he is confident that the issue of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and third-party nationals will be brought to a "satisfactory closure."

As in the past, Mr. Annan strongly condemns the executions by the previous Iraqi regime. "This killing and the decade-long cover-up of the truth constitute a grave violation of human rights and international humanitarian law," he says stressing that those responsible for those crimes, in particular those who ordered the executions, must be brought to justice.