Kuwait welcomes Burundi relative, albeit ‘fragile calm’ – Al-Munayekh
Support for continued inter-Burundian Dialogue renewed
NEW YORK, Nov 24, (KUNA): Kuwait’s deputy representative to the United Nations said the political, security and humanitarian situations in Burundi improved in 2018 compared to the last year.
Though the number of Burundians suffering from food shortage reduced by 35 percent, the situations remain to be a source of concern, Bader A. Al-Munayekh said at a UN Security Council session on the East African country.
Spotlighting Burundi’s exceptional recent political developments, the Kuwaiti diplomat expressed hope that the relative calm on the ground holds, allowing free, fair and secure elections in 2020.
Al-Munayekh underlined that the Arusha Accords of August 2000, and the country’s Constitution, adopted through a referendum on May 17, 2018, provide a crucial basis for political progress.
He renewed Kuwait’s support for the continued inter-Burundian Dialogue, hailing the adoption of the National Development Plan, which has the potential to improve the lives of Burundians across the country.
On the security situation, which is improving despite some violence by armed groups, he called for intensified national dialogue and a recommitment to holding the 2020 elections in a safe, free and credible manner.
The humanitarian situation – as well as continued reports of human rights violations – nevertheless remains alarming, he stressed.
He reiterated the need for the government to intensify its efforts to pursue the social and economic reintegration of returning refugees.
Al-Munayekh appreciated the efforts made by the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and former president of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa to facilitate and support the inter-Burundian Dialogue over the last three years.
He urged the Burundian government and the main political parties that opted out of the fifth session of the dialogue, brokered by the East African Community (EAC), to reconsider their decision and help their country emerge from the current political impasse.
In his briefing to the Security Council, Michel Kafando, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Burundi, said the security situation remained calm but the government of Burunid has yet to resume cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Reports of human rights violations and hate-speech incidents against opposition figures continue to be a source of concern, he regretted.
Meanwhile, food insecurity threatens approximately 1.7 million people and some 380,000 Burundians remain displaced outside the country, Kafando pointed out.
Overall, the situation remains fragile and it is now time for the United Nations, the African Union and other partners to re-evaluate the best way to help Burundi out of the crisis, he added.
Governor Sheikh Fawaz with
citizen Sa’ad Al-Subai’e.
Kuwait’s deputy representative to the United Nations Bader A. Al-Munayekh at
a UN Security Council session.
Continued from Page 5 If we talk about the situation in Cyprus, how do you see the discoveries that Cyprus makes in the field of oil and gas and how can Cyprus take advantage of this wealth so that it can play a bigger role in the region?
The discovery of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean has opened new horizons in our bilateral relations. Perhaps, the most important step was undertaken with the conclusion of three agreements – with Egypt, Israel and Lebanon – delimiting our respective Exclusive Economic Zones, based on the median line principle, in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Exclusive Economic Zones delimitation created the necessary legal and economic security, which attracted major oil and gas companies to invest and do business in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Cyprus has adopted the view that hydrocarbons can become a tool of cooperation and synergies that would create an economy of scale, an inviting environment for companies and investors; a tool that would meet the energy security needs of the region and gradually contribute to greater stability in relations among countries of the region and promote security and peace. And ultimately, why not, a catalyst for greater, more institutionalized political co-operation in the region.
To this end, and being accepted by all as an honest broker with no hidden agenda, we have reinforced our historic close ties with the countries of our immediate region and, alongside Greece, we have established trilateral partnerships with neighboring countries. These trilateral mechanisms
constitute a fitting example of what can be achieved when countries with shared concerns and common interests join powers, instead of isolating themselves. The trilateral mechanisms are a first promising step to what can develop, when conditions are ripe, into a regional, institutionalized cooperation mechanism, and a regional dialogue serving the common goals of strengthening relations, promoting solidarity and mutual understanding.
What are the latest developments in the Cyprus problem?
The UN Secretary General in his report on Cyprus last October, expressed the view that prospects for a comprehensive settlement remain alive. For us, the current state of affairs will never be accepted as a solution and we therefore welcome the Secretary General’s assessment as well as his conviction that the way ahead must be well prepared. In this regard, we are closely engaging with his representative Ms Jane Holl Lute, who was in Cyprus on 31 Oct 2018. We will do our utmost to contribute to the materialization of the Secretary General’s hope that upcoming discussions can lead to the deployment of the full weight of his good offices mission.
We remain committed to continue negotiations from where they were left off in Crans Montana on the basis of the six-point package of the UNSG and the hard won acquis that was formed during the process. The basis of the solution remains the bizonal, bicommunal federation as described in United Nations Resolutions, that will reunify Cyprus as a modern, functional and EU acquis-compliant State without external interference, guarantees or foreign troops, that will be able to continue to exercise its role as an actor of stability, prosperity and a crossroad of cooperation in the wider region of the Middle East.