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Kuwait tells UN Assembly Arab States should have permanent Security Council seat

Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, addresses the General Assembly.
UN Photo/Cia Pak
Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, addresses the General Assembly.

Kuwait tells UN Assembly Arab States should have permanent Security Council seat

Taking the podium at the United Nations annual General Assembly today, Kuwait called for enlargement of the 15-member Security Council, with the Arab States being granted a permanent seat especially as issues relating to their region top the agenda of the decision-making body.

Taking the podium at the United Nations annual General Assembly today, Kuwait called for enlargement of the 15-member Security Council, with the Arab States being granted a permanent seat especially as issues relating to their region top the agenda of the decision-making body.

Prime Minister Sheik Jaber al Mubarak al Hamad al Sabah stressed the “wide-ranging demographic dimension” of the Arab States with a population of over 350 million, noting that the 22 States represent nearly 12 per cent of the 193 UN Member States.

He highlighted the numerous crises facing the Middle East, including Israel’s recent attacks in Gaza, its continued occupation of occupied Palestinian and Arab lands and “its attempts to change the demographic nature of Jerusalem by its Judaization.”

He also deplored exacerbation of the cycle of violence in Syria that has “claimed the lives of more than 190,000 people, caused 3 million people to become refugees, and displaced another 6 million.”

Since Wednesday, speakers have taken to the podium in the UN’s renovated General Assembly Hall to address the 193 Member State on the theme of “Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda” as well as urgent crises ranging from the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and South Sudan.