KUWAIT: HisHighness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received atBayan Palace yesterday Kuwait's Permanent Representative at the UN headquartersin New York Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi. Meanwhile, Ambassador Otaibi saidthat Kuwait had scored some vital diplomatic achievements through its 2018non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC). Speaking on the mostsignificant efforts by the State of Kuwait during the first period of itssecond membership, Ambassador Otaibi said that after four decades from itsfirst run, Kuwait had proved to the world that it is a nation involved inimportant global issues.
On June 2, 2017,Kuwait gained 188 of 192 votes necessary to join the UNSC as a non-permanentmember, said Ambassador Al-Otaibi, affirming that Kuwaiti diplomacy had alwaysstood on a moderate and balanced platform, which championed world peace as wellas welfare and justice for all. "Chairing the UNSC in the second month ofmembership was not an easy task," he said, lauding the Kuwaiti leadershipand Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their supportive stance during Kuwait'stenure.
In its FebruaryPresidency of the UNSC, five resolutions were passed, four press statementsissued, and 33 meetings were held, indicated Otaibi, noting that the main focusof Kuwait was to put forward Arab causes, specifically the plight of thePalestinian people suffering from the unethical and inhumane Israeli occupationof their land. He added that the Kuwait efforts in the Palestinian regard wascrowned with Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas participation in aKuwait-chaired UN Security Council meeting.
Syrian crisis
On Syria,Ambassador Otaibi said that alongside Sweden, Kuwait managed to push for theapproval of resolution 2401, unanimously adopted on February 24, 2018. Itcalled for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria for 30 days. The senior diplomatalso touched on Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-HamadAl-Sabah's participation in several UNSC meetings, namely the one organized byKuwait on maintaining global peace and security with the participation ofcurrent UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and former General Secretary BanKi-Moon. Back on Syria, the Kuwaiti senior diplomat said that Kuwait and Swedenpushed on December 13, 2018 for a renewed mechanism of humanitarian aiddeliveries in Syria, which was resolution 2449.
In regards toYemen, Kuwait had played an important role to put an end to the conflict in thefellow Arab country through its UNSC membership, said Otaibi. Kuwait was partof the efforts to approve resolution 2451 regarding the humanitarian situationin Yemen, said Ambassador Otaibi who called on all involved parties of theconflict to abide by the results of the national dialogue, UNSC resolutionsconcerning Yemen, and the outcome of the recent Sweden Yemen talks.
Kuwait, recently,transported Yemeni delegations to the Stockholm talks, as well as providing$250 million to various humanitarian entities and organization to ease the painof those caught in the conflict of Yemen, affirmed the Ambassador.
Returning to theissue of Palestine, Ambassador Otaibi said that Kuwait tried to push for UNSCresolutions for the sake of Palestinians; however, the veto - regularly used bya number of UNSC permanent members - usually stood in the way. Kuwait hadalways been keen on supporting the humanitarian cause in Palestine, donatingthis year a sum of $50 million to UNRWA, revealed Otaibi.
Rohingyas' plight
Beyond promotingArab causes whether in Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Lebanon, the State ofKuwait also managed to stand with humanitarian causes such as the plight of theRohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, noted Ambassador Otaibi. He indicated thatvia Kuwait-State-owned planes, Kuwait transported UNSC members from the UK andPeru and other countries to the region of conflict to have a betterunderstanding of the horrific situation.
On other Kuwaitiachievements during the membership, Otaibi said that Kuwait launched the ideaof preventative diplomacy, a stance in which diplomats and diplomatic measuresplay an important part in halting aggression and maintaining security andpeace. In coordination with the Netherland, Sweden, and Ivory Coast, the Stateof Kuwait forwarded approved resolution 2417, a document strongly condemningthe starving of civilians, unlawfully denying humanitarian access as warfaretactics.
In connectionwith the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 from the Iraqi aggression and occupationof 1990, Ambassador Otaibi highlighted the environmental impact of the horrificpast event on the environment during several UNSC proceedings. On hispredictions for the second year of Kuwait's membership, Al-Otaibi said that theState of Kuwait would chair the UNSC in June of 2019, affirming that hiscountry will continue to promote just causes as well as security and peace inthe deliberations. - KUNA