US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT3371

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003371 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KAWC, KPOW, IO, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: IRAQI HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER PROMISES INCREASED 
COORDINATION IN IDENTIFYING POW REMAINS 
 
1. SUMMARY.  The recently appointed Iraqi Minister of Human 
Rights, Bakhtyar Amin, attended the 46th meeting of the 
Tripartite Technical Sub-committee held in Kuwait on 7 
September under International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) auspices.  This marks the first time that a member of 
the IIG has participated in a Tripartite meeting and signals 
a new direction for the joint Iraqi-Kuwaiti focus on 
resolving the POW issue, as well as finding and returning all 
remains as quickly as possible.  Additionally, the Kuwaiti 
government announced the recovery of 328 sets of remains and 
the further identification of 175 of those sets.  The Iraqi 
delegation reported the identification of approximately 262 
mass grave sites so far. END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  The Tripartite's Technical Subcommittee meeting was 
attended by the new Iraqi Minister of Human Rights, Bakhtyar 
Amin, and an Iraqi delegation of three; a Kuwaiti delegation 
of six; a Saudi delegation of five; delegates from the 
British, French, and U.S. Embassies; as well as the ICRC 
delegation.  Over a period of three hours, Amin expounded on 
the IIG's intention to fully cooperate with and support the 
Kuwaiti effort to recover all of the remains in Iraq.  He 
requested repeatedly that the names of all of the Iraqis who 
had taken refuge in Saudi Arabia during the Shi'a uprising of 
1991-92 be passed to his office so that notification could be 
given to their respective families.  The head of the Saudi 
delegation replied that the names would be passed to the 
UNHCR but demurred at giving them directly to the Iraqis. 
Amin then pursued the matter with the ICRC, asking for names 
and current locations of the refugees.  The ICRC regional 
delegate, Michel Meyer, explained that due to privacy laws, 
they could not give the Iraqis anything more that a name of a 
person.  Amin hoped to give the families of the 60,000 
persons who were known to have crossed into Saudi a 
definitive answer as to their current status.  It is an issue 
that he will, no doubt, take up again in future meetings. 
 
3.  The Kuwaiti delegation gave a succinct summary of the 
recovery of remains since the March 2004 meeting and spoke of 
the current recovery problems in Iraq due to the security 
situation.  The Kuwaitis had recovered 328 sets of remains 
and had identified 175 through DNA testing.  After Kuwaiti 
detailing of the sites that were investigated, the Iraqi 
delegation asked for, and was promised, to be included in all 
future recovery efforts.  The Saudis mentioned that they had 
information on two Saudi nationals who might be buried in 
Iraq.  The ICRC requested all of the information be submitted 
in writing and also asked that such information be considered 
close-held out of respect for the families involved. 
 
4.  COMMENT.  The participation of the Iraqi Minister of 
Human Rights marks a hopeful new beginning in the cooperation 
between the three countries and their search for closure in 
finding, recovering, returning, and burying their dead.  With 
the ICRC as the mediator, it is possible that there will be 
an unparalleled level of focus and attention that may allow 
the Tripartite to increase its operations and succeed at 
recovering most of their fallen.  Although there was mention 
of security concerns which cut short the latest Kuwaiti 
efforts, the Iraqis assured the Kuwaitis that all future 
recovery missions would be supported with Iraqi security on 
site.  END COMMENT. 
LeBaron