- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 28 and 29 January 1991 (19th and 20th Sittings) (see addendum to Doc. 6365, report of the Political Affairs Committee, Rapporteur : Mr Soares Costa) Text adopted by the Assembly on 29 January 1991 (20th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly regrets that all diplomatic efforts to secure a peaceful, political solution in conformity with United Nations resolutions were rejected by Saddam Hussein, whose intransigence obliged the international community to resort to the use of force (‘‘all necessary means''), provided for by United Nations Security Council
Resolution 678 of 29 November 1990, with a view to re-establishing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait.
2. It emphasises its firm endorsement of all relevant Security Council resolutions.
3. The Assembly expresses its full support for the Allies' action in the Gulf and their contribution to the implementation of United Nations resolutions by the multinational forces, as authorised by
Resolution 678, and commends the instructions to minimise civilian casualties wherever possible. It also welcomes the non-military contribution of several states, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Security Council
Resolution 678, and invites other states to join this action.
4. It denounces Iraq's attacks on Israel, a country not part of the allied forces, and expresses its sympathy and solidarity whilst saluting Israel's restraint in reacting to a provocation designed to widen the conflict and weaken the resolve of the Arab members of the international coalition to liberate Kuwait.
5. It condemns Iraq's record of disregard for human rights and inhuman treatment of prisoners of war and warns against their criminal use as ‘‘human shields'' in strategic sites, flagrantly violating the third Geneva Convention (1949), recognised by all states involved in the conflict, as well as against any possible use of non-conventional weapons, and insists that the Government of Iraq permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to pursue its work on the basis of the international treaties which fully apply to Iraq.
6. The Assembly condemns the disgraceful attack on the environment represented by Iraq's fouling of the Gulf with oil, with catastrophic effects which can be considered a crime against humanity.
7. The Assembly stresses that this conflict is not with the Iraqi people but only with Iraq's aggression against another Arab state, in violation of international law, especially as this aggression, according to Amnesty International and other reports, is now taking on genocidal proportions.
8. The Assembly encourages all initiatives aimed at obliging Iraq to comply without further delay with United Nations resolutions.
9. It calls upon member governments and parliaments to contribute to the international effort which will be necessary to bring help to the refugees and victims of the war.
10. The Assembly voices its determination to see that, once the aggression in Kuwait is ended by a complete withdrawal of Iraqi forces and the restoration of the legitimate Kuwaiti Government, the Council of Europe and the international community must resume their efforts to resolve the wider Middle East problems, with a view to ensuring respect for the individual and collective rights of all the peoples in the region, and the implementation of United Nations resolutions.
11. The Assembly calls for a war crimes tribunal to be established to deal with the many crimes already committed by the Iraqi authorities as well as those which may be committed before the aims of the United Nations resolutions have been secured.
