Letter dated 10 June 2013 from the Secretary-General addressedto the President of the Security Council

United Nations S/2013/346



Security Council Distr.: General







12 June 2013



Original: English



13-36279 (E) 170613 200613





*1336279*





Letter dated 10 June 2013 from the Secretary-General addressed



to the President of the Security Council





I wish to draw your attention to Security Council resolution 833 (1993), in



which the Council welcomed the decision of the Secretary-General to make the



necessary arrangements for the maintenance of the physical representation of the



international boundary between Iraq and Kuwait until other technical arrangements



are established by Iraq and Kuwait for this purpose, as recommended by the Iraq-



Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission in section X.C of its report (S/25811



and Add.1). The United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) made



the necessary arrangements in the former demilitarized zone until its withdrawal in



March 2003.



Following an enquiry from the Government of Kuwait, the Secretary-General



wrote to the Governments of Kuwait and Iraq on 13 and 15 April 2005, respectively,



to inform them that, owing to the departure of UNIKOM and for security reasons,



the United Nations had been unable to inspect or maintain the physical



representation of the boundary since March 2003. He also reiterated his full



commitment to continuing to discharge his responsibility pursuant to Security



Council resolution 833 (1993). A field assessment mission, bringing together



representatives of the United Nations and both Governments, was deployed to the



border form 11 to 25 February 2006, as part of the preparatory work of the Iraq-



Kuwait Boundary Maintenance Project. Subsequent attempts by the United Nations



to make the necessary arrangements proved unsuccessful, owing to late and



incomplete contributions to the Project Trust Fund, as well as the non-removal of



obstacles obstructing the line of sight between boundary pillars, which was one of



the recommendations of the field assessment mission.



The United Nations continued to pursue the matter, but had to deactivate the



Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Maintenance Project in 2009 owing to lack of progress. On



20 March 2012, following a visit to Kuwait by the Prime Minister of Iraq, the



Government of Iraq paid its outstanding contribution of $600,000 to the Trust Fund.



On 29 April 2012, the Iraq-Kuwait Joint Ministerial Committee requested that the



maintenance of the physical representation of the boundary be resumed by the end



of October 2012.



On 4 May 2012, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs agreed to



the request of the permanent representatives of Iraq and Kuwait to the United



Nations that the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Maintenance Project be reactivated. From



4 to 11 June 2012, a second field assessment mission, bringing together



representatives of the United Nations and both Governments, was deployed to the



S/2013/346











border to update the concept of operations and the scope of field maintenance work.



Following the selection of companies for engineering and surveying services and the



deployment of Iraqi and Kuwaiti technical observers, field maintenance work, under



the supervision of United Nations technical staff, started on 15 January 2013.



According to the scope of work, field maintenance work consisted of restoring



all boundary pillars and sub-pillars, witness markers, survey plaques and country



name plates to their original status and installing additional pillars if necessary. The



work was completed on 28 March 2013 (see annex I, tables listing engineering and



surveying services provided), by which date the Governments of Kuwait and Iraq



had removed all the obstacles between boundary pillars. The United Nations is



finalizing the sets of maps of the border area, which will be handed over to the



Governments of Iraq and Kuwait along with all relevant technical data and



information.



In line with the relevant provision of Security Council resolution 833 (1993),



on 30 May 2013, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Iraq and Kuwait informed me



that, on 28 May 2013, their Governments had signed a memorandum of



understanding establishing a bilateral technical arrangement for the physical



representation of the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait (see annexes II and III).



In the light of the completion of the maintenance of the physical representation



of the international boundary between Iraq and Kuwait, and the establishment of a



bilateral technical arrangement for that purpose, it will no longer be required that I



make the necessary arrangements. I would therefore consider that my



responsibilities under Security Council resolution 833 (1993) have been discharged.



In line with relevant United Nations financial rules and regulations, residual funds,



if any, less applicable administrative costs, will be returned from the Iraq-Kuwait



Boundary Maintenance Project Trust Fund to the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait.



I should be grateful if you would bring the present letter and the annexes



thereto to the attention of the members of the Security Council for their information



and any action deemed appropriate.





(Signed) BAN Ki-moon



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