Throughout its 21-year existence, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, or UNAMI, has helped address social and economic challenges, with respect to promoting human rights and supporting women’s rights and governance reform, among others.
UNAMI still has important work to do before it concludes its mission at the end of 2025, especially in regard to locating Kuwaitis and missing Kuwaiti property, said Ambassador Robert Wood, U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations.
“The United States urges the governments of Iraq and Kuwait to redouble their efforts in support of the Tripartite Commission, and for Special Representative al-Hassan and his team in UNAMI to do all they can to assist. ... Colleagues, the end of UNAMI’s mandate should not spell the end of work on Kuwaiti missing persons and property.”
The United States understands the importance of identifying missing persons and repatriating their remains based on its own experience from the war in Vietnam and, more recently, at the World Trade Center in New York City, said Ambassador Wood. That’s why the U.S. has provided new satellite images for the identification of four potential burial sites in Iraq.
“We encourage efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Iraq to conduct joint analyses and site investigations as soon as possible. We will also continue our own research on four sites in Kuwait by trying to locate witnesses among U.S. veterans’ associations.”
“As the governments of Iraq and Kuwait pursue resolution of all outstanding issues, we must also keep an international spotlight on efforts to ensure justice and accountability for victims of crimes against humanity committed by [ISIS], including genocide against the Yezidis and gender-based violence in Iraq,” urged Ambassador Wood:
“We commend the work by the Government of Iraq to establish the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation for this purpose. We also welcome Iraq’s desire to share evidence with third countries bilaterally on a case-by-case basis, to ensure that members of ISIL/Da’esh are held accountable for their crimes in Iraq.”
The United States remains committed to working with the government of Iraq to strengthen and deepen the long-term, whole of government partnership in pursuit of a secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq.
