The Senior Representative for implementing the relevant resolution on the Iraq-Kuwait dossier warned the Security Council today that “more than 35 years after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, this humanitarian file remains unresolved”.
Mari Yamashita, Senior Representative of the Secretary-General for the Implementation of Security Council resolution 2792 (2025) affirmed that out of the original 605 missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, the fate of only 290 individuals were clarified over the past three decades, while 315 remain missing — including 308 from Kuwait — with August 2023 the last time an identity was confirmed.
Running Out of Time
She recalled visiting Iraq and Kuwait twice and attending in observer capacity two meetings of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-led Tripartite mechanism. Extensive efforts undertaken include excavations of 14,000 trenches at the Khamisiyah site, where the Technical Subcommittee is focused, as it is presumed to contain the remains of between 150 and 180 missing Kuwaiti nationals. “If confirmed, this would account for at least half of the remaining caseload,” she stated. However, “new witnesses are increasingly difficult to identify”, she said, stressing: “We are running out of time.”
Citing challenges, including a key witness who provided accounts that differ from his original testimony and is no longer willing to cooperate, she voiced regret that “the Government of Iraq was not able to secure his participation”.
Plan to Locate Missing Property Needed
On the issue of missing Kuwaiti property, she recalled some has been returned, including materials transferred to the Kuwait National Library in 2019, but meaningful progress has been limited. “A clear pathway” and plan to identify and locate the missing property and archives is needed, she said.
She welcomed the recent high-level meeting between the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the Prime Minister of Iraq. However, calling for greater urgency, she recalled meeting family members of missing persons in Kuwait, stating that, “after 35 years, their pain and trauma is felt every day”.
As the floor opened for debate, delegates agreed on the urgency of establishing the fate of missing Kuwaiti citizens and third-country nationals, returning their remains to their families, as well as Kuwaiti property, to finally overcome the burdensome legacy of the tragic events of 1990–1991.
No Answers, No Relief
The representative of Liberia, also speaking for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, stressed that “for the families of the 315 Kuwaiti and third-country nationals still unaccounted for, the passage of time has brought neither answers nor relief”. However, this “does not diminish the responsibility to pursue” this “humanitarian obligation”, he stressed. Citing the absence of new identifications during the reporting period and lack of progress on missing Kuwaiti property, he called for priorities, including preserving and pursuing evidence, as witness testimony, archival records and institutional knowledge become harder to recover every passing year.
The representative of the United Kingdom, while highlighting opportunities offered by DNA analysis and geospatial tools, stressed that “technology alone cannot provide all the answers”, encouraging anyone who may hold relevant information to come forward. France’s delegate, agreeing witnesses are becoming rare, stressed that Iraqi territory must not be used to launch attacks on its neighbours and similarly, attacks on Iraqi and Kuwaiti territory “must stop”, underlining that “this is why the State’s monopoly on arms is essential”.
Bahrain’s delegate highlighted the Gulf Cooperation Council’s December 2025 statement calling on Iraq to make maximum efforts to reach a final resolution of these humanitarian files. The recent understanding between Kuwait and Iraq regarding the formation of a joint working team to discuss outstanding bilateral issues and develop a roadmap is a positive step.
Need to Locate and Interview Known Witnesses
Emphasizing that “building confidence matters but it is not sufficient on its own”, the United States’ delegate urged the parties to promptly complete action points, including locating and interviewing known witnesses, and called on the Tripartite Commission to finish its monitoring framework with clear key performance indicators so the Council can assess progress ahead of its review.
The representative of the Russian Federation recognized that, with the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) having expired on 31 December 2025, “an important stage of international support for that country’s post-conflict recovery” ended. Asserting that Iraq has fully demonstrated the capacity to address the challenges on its own, she stressed strict observance of the parameters of the resolution mandate, “preventing the politicization of the dossier”.
Rabea Saad al-Adsani, Assistant Foreign Minister for Prisoners of War and Missing Affairs of Kuwait, said the successful completion of the files concerning prisoners, missing persons and Kuwaiti property is essential for strengthening his country’s relationship of respect and good neighbourliness with Iraq.
The challenge goes beyond scarcity of new information, but is also the “failure to follow up on the information and testimony that has already been received”, he stated. Examples of delays and operational obstacles include the possibility that the remains of 150 and 180 Kuwaiti missing persons may be in burial sites at Al-Khamisiyah. While stressing Iraq’s responsibility to “identify and make contact with witnesses”, he noted that Kuwait has provided “information, documents, satellite imagery and technical assessments”. Also expressing concern about lack of progress on missing Kuwaiti property, including national archives, he called on Iraq’s Government to establish a clear mechanism and precise timeline tracing the property’s movements during the occupation.
Expressing support for the Senior Representative’s mandate, he noted the many Kuwaiti families who live in the hope of learning the truth about their loved ones, who have the right to know.
Iraq Continuing Efforts to Follow up
Responding, the representative of Iraq said his Government has continued taking the necessary legal, technical and field measures, in cooperation with Kuwait and ICRC. After “years of serious work”, 294 of around 602 missing Kuwaiti nationals have been identified and repatriated, while Iraq continues efforts to follow up on witnesses, taking into account their protection and confidentiality of information.
While acknowledging no new cases of identification of missing persons have been recorded, he said “this does not mean that efforts were halted” — rather, it highlights the magnitude of challenges associated with more than three decades of events and the diminishing pool of witnesses and information.
On lost Kuwaiti property, Iraq has continued its efforts to return the property and documents found, including about 200,000 books to the Kuwaiti National Library in 2019, and surrender of 738 boxes of materials belonging to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, along with historical artifacts, in 2022. He reiterated a request to Kuwait to provide the Commission with detailed inventories of the missing items. He emphasized that addressing “this painful humanitarian legacy” is a step towards mutual trust and good-neighbourly relations.