Kuwait has urged Iraq to take concrete and timely measures to resolve longstanding issues related to missing Kuwaiti nationals, prisoners, and the recovery of Kuwaiti property, including national archives. The call was made by Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Prisoners and Missing Persons Affairs, Ambassador Rabie Al-Adasani, during a United Nations Security Council session held on October 27 in New York.
More than 35 years after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Kuwait emphasized the urgency of completing unresolved files concerning missing persons and property to improve bilateral relations. Ambassador Al-Adasani noted that the primary challenges are not only a lack of new information but also insufficient follow-up on existing testimony and a failure to fulfill previously agreed commitments.
He pointed to burial sites in Al-Khamisiyah as a possible location for the remains of between 150 and 180 missing Kuwaitis. An Iraqi witness, identified as an adviser in the office of the Iraqi prime minister, had provided documented details including coordinates and names of individuals who might have further knowledge. However, Kuwait said that repeated requests to the Iraqi government to act on this information have gone unanswered for years.
Kuwait has actively supported efforts to resolve the issues by providing documentation, satellite imagery, and technical assessments, as well as contributing $1 million annually to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for search operations. Despite these efforts, Kuwait reiterated that Iraq holds the primary responsibility for identifying witnesses, tracing Kuwaiti property, and facilitating its return, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Al-Adasani stressed the need for Iraq to establish clear mechanisms and timelines to trace the movement of Kuwaiti property during the occupation and to identify the parties involved in handling or transferring it. Referring to the UN secretary-general’s report released on October 1, he highlighted that little progress has been made recently. The report noted that 315 persons remain missing overall, with Kuwait listing 308 individuals.
While Iraq has repeatedly committed to enabling interviews with witnesses and former officials who might provide critical information, many such pledges remain unfulfilled. This includes permitting ICRC interviews with nine detained former Iraqi officers connected to Kuwait’s occupation—interviews that have yet to take place. Additionally, a former Iraqi official known as the “Director of Kuwait Security” during the occupation was due to be interviewed, but his execution in February 2026 prevented this.
Al-Adasani warned that ongoing delays in conducting these interviews risk permanently losing essential sources of information. He called for these interviews to proceed without administrative hindrance.
The assistant foreign minister also noted that the United States has returned archives of the former Iraqi regime to Iraq twice, most recently last year in a digital format. This offers an opportunity to leverage advanced digital search tools, including artificial intelligence, to verify information that might aid in locating Kuwaiti property or identifying those who controlled it.
Kuwait has put forward 13 performance indicators designed to monitor outstanding commitments, pinpoint delays, and assign responsibility. Ambassador Al-Adasani urged the United Nations to focus not just on documenting activities and stated commitments but on measuring actual implementation and outcomes. He recommended that future reports clearly specify what agreements have been met or remain outstanding, the reasons for any delays, and those accountable.
His remarks come ahead of a scheduled review in June 2028 under UN Security Council Resolution 2792 (2025), which will be informed by four substantive reports prepared under the mandate of the secretary-general’s High-Level Representative, rather than five as previously required.