Fletcher Features
Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United Nations speaks at Fletcher
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| Ambassador Mohammad Abdullah Abulhasan, Permanent Representative of
the State of Kuwait to the United Nations, spoke to Fletcher students about the crisis between Iraq and the United Nations on Monday October 28. It was Ambassador Abulhasan’s second address to the Fletcher community, sponsored by the Fletcher Diplomatic Club, the South West Asia Club and the Fletcher Development Office. The event attracted media attention from the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Boston Herald, Channels 5 and 7, and WGBH-FM radio. Mohammad Abdullah Abulhasan has been Ambassador Extraordinary and
Ambassador Abulhasan spoke to the full ASEAN Auditorium about Iraqi’s history of defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and expressed his strong belief in the need for enforcement action. “Do we sincerely believe that Iraq is not a threat to international peace and security?” he asked. “Should we as neighbors, not to mention as victims of its expansionist tendencies and aggression, trust that Iraq has suddenly decided to relinquish its quest [for the possession of weapons of mass destruction], three decades, billions of dollars and 11 years of sanctions later. “You must forgive and understand our cynicism,” he added. Ambassador Abulhasan expressed his firm belief that any enforcement action against Iraq should come through the United Nations. He pointed to the United Nations’ success in responding to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. He said never before in history had the United Nations proved so effective and its action would serve as an example of “the effectiveness of applying the ideals of the United Nations Charter”. “Iraq had violated all fundamental international principles and laws by its invasion of my country, and the United Nations, had patiently and systematically exhausted all the tools stipulated by its charter to remedy the situation,” Ambassador Abulhasan said. While reinforcing the case for collective enforcement of United Nations resolutions, Ambassador Abulhasan stressed Kuwait was not in favor of United States policy of regime change, especially given the potential negative implications which might “exacerbate the suffering of the Iraqi people”. “We the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, although most at risk by virtue of geographical realities and who will reap the most reward by the removal of President Saddam Hussein, have always maintained that regime change in Iraq is a matter for the Iraqi people to decide and cannot be dictated or forced from outside,” he said. “It is imperative that decisions of war and peace rests with the collective will of the international community embodied in the authority of the United Nations Security Council. “Any use of force must be a last resort and within the United Nations framework and only after all other available means have been exhausted,” he added. Ambassador Abulhasan expressed his belief this message had reached decision makers in Washington and was a factor in its decision to work with the United Nations Security Council. He said President Bush’s speech and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2002 presented “a realization that Iraq’s defiance of the will of the international community and international legality was undermining the legitimacy and credibility of the United Nations”. “This coming year will be the litmus test not only of Iraq’s willingness to comply but of the Security Council determination to assume its primary role of maintenance of international peace and security,” he added. At the conclusion of his speech, Ambassador Abulhasan answered questions from the audience. The lecture was followed by a reception in the Hall of Flags. |