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Security Council calls for greater Iraqi efforts to resolve post-invasion issues with Kuwait

A pile of wreckage left behind in downtown Kuwait after looting and destruction by Iraqi occupation forces in 1991.
UN Photo/John Isaac
A pile of wreckage left behind in downtown Kuwait after looting and destruction by Iraqi occupation forces in 1991.

Security Council calls for greater Iraqi efforts to resolve post-invasion issues with Kuwait

Security Council members today called on Iraq to intensify its efforts to clarify the whereabouts of Kuwait’s national archives, which disappeared during Iraq’s 1990 invasion of the country.

In a press statement issued this afternoon the 15-member body voiced concern that “no substantial progress” has been made towards clarifying the fate of the archives and that previous calls for greater efforts had yielded limited results.

But it welcomed the Iraqi Government’s approval of an inter-ministerial committee to lead and coordinate efforts regarding the archive.

In the statement the Council also stressed the need for Iraq to build on existing steps to fully meet its commitments to implement all obligations to Kuwait in the wake of the invasion, particularly in finding Kuwaiti or third-country nationals.

The statement followed a briefing from Ambassador Gennady Tarasov, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High-Level Coordinator for the issue of missing Kuwait and third-country nationals and property, on Mr. Ban’s latest report on the issue.

Council members also supported Mr. Ban’s recommendation to extend the financing of the activities of Mr. Tarasov for another six months.