Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2792 (2025), Security Council Requests Appointment of Senior Official to Address Fate of Missing Persons in Gulf War
The Security Council today requested the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Representative with a mandate focused solely on efforts to repatriate or return all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals — or their remains — and to ensure the return of Kuwaiti property, including the national archives.
More than three decades after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing 1990–1991 gulf war, many in both countries still do not know the fate of their family members. As the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) — which has been mandated to address the issue — draws down, members have been weighing options for a follow-on mechanism to ensure continued progress towards the final resolution of outstanding issues between the two countries.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2792 (2025) (to be issued as document S/RES/2792(2025)), the Council also requested the Secretary-General to keep it informed of progress by 31 March 2026, and every six months thereafter, and to make available his good offices to strengthen confidence and mutual trust between Iraq and Kuwait on missing persons and property.
In further terms, the 15-member organ underlined that it will consider the continued need for United Nations oversight on missing persons and property not later than 31 December 2030, or sooner in the event of sufficient progress.
Text Helps Sustain Council Attention on Missing Kuwaitis
Speaking after adoption, Kuwait’s delegate welcomed the text and recalled previous Council resolutions concerning the fate of prisoners and missing persons and Kuwaiti property, including Council resolution 2732 (2024), which reaffirmed the need for continued follow-up on these files after the end of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). "Today, the new resolution constitutes a significant step in this path," he said.
The appointment of a Senior Representative to follow up on these files and submitting periodic reports "will allow for objective assessment that would ensure that momentum is maintained" and will guarantee international oversight on this, he said. Further, it will prevent any "slowing down that could perpetuate the suffering of families", he added.
Closing these files is also crucial to strengthening regional stability and building trust, he noted, adding that improved bilateral relations between his country and Iraq will create a more open environment in the Gulf and would integrate that country into regional cooperation. "The success of Iraq is a success for Kuwait," he affirmed, while underscoring that the sustainability of this success is contingent upon Iraq’s commitment to take steps towards ending these humanitarian files.
More Than 1,000 Iraqis Also Missing
Iraq’s delegate, however, said that the good offices of the Secretary-General are a sufficient mandate to facilitate bilateral cooperation on this matter, without the need for a Council resolution. Nevertheless, his country demonstrated "unparalleled cooperation and a great deal of flexibility" during the negotiation "despite our great disappointment with the text" and the rushed discussions. He voiced reservations regarding the five-year period specified in the resolution, adding that this does not reflect the significant efforts made by all parties.
"The current wording of the text undermines the noble humanitarian objective of the draft resolution" because it violates the principle of balance, he said. Further, this matter does not constitute a threat to international peace and security, he said, adding also that the bias towards one party’s narrative over another could open the way to complex dynamics in similar future cases.
The delay in resolving the missing persons file is not due to his country’s negligence; rather, it is due to the lack of sufficient international support, as well as Kuwait’s failure to respond to repeated demands from the Tripartite Commission to excavate potential sites on its territory. His country has completed the payment of compensation and has returned the remains of 294 Kuwaiti missing persons — the search continues for the remaining 308 individuals. "Iraq is one of the countries that has suffered the most" in the matter of missing persons, due to wars and terrorism, he said, stressing that his country understands this pain all too well. The Council must encourage Kuwait to cooperate in the search for more than 1,000 Iraqi missing persons.
Follow-up Mechanism Must Conclude as Soon as Possible, Says United States
Several Council members, including the representatives of France, China and Somalia, who also spoke for Algeria, Guyana and Sierra Leone, welcomed the unanimous adoption, voiced support for UNAMI and praised the constructive engagement of Kuwait and Iraq. Panama’s delegate said the text will pave the way for healing the scars of affected families, as well as reconciliation between the two countries. The representative of the United Kingdom, who drafted and led negotiations on the text, said the unanimous adoption "demonstrates our shared commitment to the humanitarian imperative of enabling families to know the fate of their loved ones following conflicts". He hoped that its implementation will further deepen trust between Iraq and Kuwait.
At the same time, the representative of the United States stressed that the new mechanism must conclude its work as quickly as possible, and ideally considerably before December 2030. Council resolution 2732 (2024) reflects the fact that "Iraq has changed dramatically in recent years," and UNAMI’s mission needed to be realigned, he said. Stressing the need to "contain costs and share the funding burden more fairly", he said the mechanism authorized today is streamlined and time-bound, in line with the region’s political realities and United States President Donald Trump’s Administration’s approach to UN resourcing.
Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here.