I am greatly concerned at reports of the continuing detention of Kuwaiti citizens in Iraq since the end of the Gulf War. The seriousness of this issue was emphasised by the delegation of Kuwaiti parliamentarians which visited Ireland in October last to ask for our assistance, and that of our EU partners, in pursuing this matter.
Since then Ireland has raised the issue within the EU. It was agreed that contacts with Iraq should be utilised to pursue the matter. I am raising the question of the continued detention of Kuwaiti citizens, together with other humanitarian issues, with the Iraqi authorities.
The Kuwaiti authorities will themselves continue to raise this issue at the regular meetings involving the International Red Cross, Kuwait and Iraq held at the border between these countries and hosted by the United Nations Iraq and Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM).