Kuwait renews support for Palestinian issue as top foreign policy priority
Kuwait reiterates stance on protecting human rights
NEW YORK: Kuwait asserted its ‘historic’ and ‘unwavering’ stance towards supporting refugee issues and the Palestinian issue as its first foreign policy priorities. This came during a speech delivered by Kuwait Legal Advisor of the Permanent Delegation to UN Fudha Al-Duwaish before the UN General Assembly Third Committee on Thursday. The committee discussed the report of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with issues relating to refugees, returnees, displaced persons and humanitarian issues. Kuwait always supported the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for implementing educational and health programs, she said.
Duwaish admired the UN for adopting the Global Compact on Refugees, which complements the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants as the first intergovernmental agreement, under the UN’s auspices. Kuwait, under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, made great efforts to alleviate refugees’ suffering, she noted. Duwaish said that this was done by establishing international conferences, with the aim of urging countries and major donors to fulfill their commitments, adding that as of 2018, Kuwait provided financial contributions estimated at $430 million to UNHCR.
There is a close collaboration between UNHCR and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in supporting countries hosting Syrian refugees.
She pointed out that Kuwait hosted three international donor conferences to support the humanitarian situation in Syria during 2013, 2014 and 2015, contributing actively to other conferences held in London and Brussels, where the total pledged in all those conferences amounted to $1.9 billion. Kuwait, in partnership with the EU and UNHCR, chaired an international donor conference to support the requirements of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, during which it provided 15 million dollars. Duwaish called on the international community and international organizations to abide by the principles of the UN Charter, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law to protect refugees.
Human rights Meanwhile, Kuwait has reiterated its principled stance on protecting and maintaining respect for human rights, ensuring their implementation. The affirmation was made in a speech, delivered by Kuwait’s Diplomatic Attache of the Permanent Delegation to the UN Nasser Al-Majroub on Friday, before the UN General Assembly, discussing the report of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Kuwait’s Constitution provides many economic, social, political, civil and religious rights to all citizens, without discrimination such as the right to education, property, work and freedom in practicing religious rituals, he said.
Many articles of the constitution are in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and international conventions concerned with the preservation of human rights, he underlined. Despite serious violations of human rights worldwide, great efforts are being made to protect it, Majroub pointed out. The international community urges countries to promote human rights, reflected in inclusion in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, he said. He stressed Kuwait’s eagerness to fulfill obligations by submitting periodic reports to committees concerned with human rights to the UN within the specified dates and deadlines.
Third report Kuwait submitted its third periodic report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as its third to sixth periodic report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in November 2018. The initial report reviewed the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in September 2019, which was welcomed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Majroub explained. Kuwait is preparing to discuss its third comprehensive national report to the UNHRC in early 2020, Majroub noted. He expressed the importance of cooperating with the mechanisms of the UNHRC, benefitting from the international body experience to achieve further progress in human rights. Majroub noted that the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities visited Kuwait in the end of 2018, which was an evidence of that cooperation.
Kuwait shares the concern of the UNHCHR over Israel’s continued violation of the inalienable rights of Palestinians, international human rights law (IHRL) in defiance of Security Council resolutions, he added. He regretted the continued suffering of the Rohingya minority, saying it is time for them to enjoy a safe life and peacefully return home. The Kuwaiti diplomatic attache commended the role of the Head of UNHCHR Michelle Bachelet and her office over their great efforts to spread and consolidate the principles of human rights. He stressed Kuwait’s continued support to the Office of UNHCHR, pointing out the challenges it faces in order to ensure states’ obligations under IHRL— KUNA