Lessons to be learned from UN ‘war tribunals’: Kuwaiti official

Kuwait against lawless acts in maritime safety

NEW YORK, Dec 13, (KUNA): The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda provide valuable learning experiences that should be closely examined, said a Kuwaiti official on Wednesday.

“We witnessed last year the end of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which indicted those responsible for grave human rights violations,” advisor Tariq Al-Banay said amid a UN Security Council session over the tribunal.

Peace does not necessarily mean a world void of conflicts, rather, it is justice for the victims of war crimes and other transgressions, the Kuwaiti official explained.

He applauded the UN Security Council for its efforts to ensure that the rule of law is respected, saying the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was a successful initiative and a step towards preserving justice.

As part of efforts to reinforce the legal system, he said the UN Security Council is putting together a judicial code of conduct, in addition to other initiatives given the myriad of challenges facing the legal profession.

Hailed for “irreversibly changing the landscape of international humanitarian law,” the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was a UN court of law that dealt with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Furthermore, Kuwait has affirmed condemnation against lawless acts in maritime safety, strengthening international and regional efforts to address maritime security threats.

This came in a discussion of an item on oceans and maritime laws at the UN General Assembly by Chancellor at Kuwait’s permanent mission to the UN Tahani Al-Nasser.

She said that maritime transport sector is one of the largest transport activities in the world and threating this sector causes a major concern to all countries.

She added that Kuwait participated in many activities and meetings related seas and oceans, while also participated in the regular meetings of the international maritime organization.

Al-Nasser praised the UN General Secretary’s report, especially concerning to occeans and seas laws, adding that the Kuwaiti delegation was very keen to address this topic.

Meanwhile, The National Assembly (parliament) on Wednesday approved MPs’ request to task the parliamentary committee for protecting public funds to look into (alleged) flaws in the design of Al-Zor refinery.

It also blessed another request to charge the Audit Bureau with examining contracts of the renewable energy project in AlShagaya.

The MPs, in their motion, alluded to “repercussions of the scandalous faulty designs of Al-Zor refinery which will lead to losses .. estimated at more than USD 15 billion.”

They asked that the parliamentary public funds commission probe “irregularities, damage resulting from complacency, suspected corruption and public fund squandering with respect of the poor sketching of AlZor refinery, the affiliate petrochemical complex, pin pointing those responsible.” They also requested that a relevant report be submitted in two months.

Tahani Al-Nasser