News-Info-Alerts

Re: UN on Kuwaiti POWs

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: January 09, 2003

"From IRNA

UN coordinator on Kuwaiti POWs to visit Iraq

United Nations, Jan 7, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- The UN coordinator for affairs of citizens of Kuwait and other countries who are allegedly held in captivity in Iraq, Yuli Vorontsov, is to visit Baghdad from January 17 to 19, UN spokeswoman Hua Jiang announced at UN Headquarters here on Monday.

Until last year, Baghdad boycotted any talks with the prominent Russian diplomat, who was appointed to the post in 2000. On December 12, 2002, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri invited the UN coordinator to visit Iraq.

Kuwait accuses Iraq of forcibly holding in captivity 605 people since the end of the 1990-1991 Gulf war, 580 of whom are subjects of Kuwait.

Baghdad maintains that it holds no Kuwaiti prisoner of war (PoW). On this ground, Iraq has been boycotting since 1998 the work of the international commission on Kuwaiti POWs.

The UN Security Council has repeatedly expressed concern over the fate of Kuwaiti subjects along with those of other countries, and has urged Baghdad to fully implement the decisions taken at the Beirut summit on the MiA (missing in action) issue.

During an all-Arab summit in March last year, Iraq and Kuwait agreed in principle to begin normalization of bilateral relations.

The UNSC has also repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to cooperate with Yuli Vorontsov in the discharge of his functions as UN coordinator.

On December 18, 2002 the UNSC again expressed full support for Ambassador Vorontsov and urged Baghdad fully to cooperate with him in the fulfillment of his mandate.

After visiting Iraq, the Russian ambassador will head for Kuwait and from there visit Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

In the Egyptian and Saudi capitals he will hold talks with the leadership of the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

©2000 Islamic Republic News Agency ( IRNA). All rights reserved"