"Iraq's UN ambassador, Hamid al-Bayati, told reporters that Baghdad was trying to locate some 600 Kuwaitis, a process that could take a long time.
He said that the lifting of Iraq's Chapter 7 status should not have to wait until all missing persons were found or their bodies identified.
Mr Bayati added that there were disagreements on the demarcation of the Iraq-Kuwait border but that the countries were "on the same page" and should be able to agree"
Nov 17, 2009
Iraq-Kuwait reconciliation plan
UNITED NATIONS - THE United Nations is outlining a plan to help Iraq end its dispute with neighboring Kuwait over war reparations, 19 years after Baghdad invaded the oil-producing Gulf state, a UN official said on Monday.
Baghdad wants the UN Security Council to reduce its reparation payments to Kuwait, which it ordered Iraq to pay after the 1991 Gulf war ended Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's 1990-1991 occupation of Kuwait.
Iraq says the reparations - more than US$20 billion - are unfair and wants the amount reduced so it has more money for reconstruction and development. It has called for annulling Security Council decisions requiring the payments under Chapter 7 of the UN charter.
UN special envoy to Iraq Ad Melkert told a meeting of the 15-nation council on Iraq that a top priority was the 'normalization of (Iraq's) regional relations, not least with Kuwait, and the related exit from Chapter 7 provisions.'
Mr Melkert said the UN mission in Iraq would outline a plan for achieving this. 'We will seek consent of both parties to define a mutually agreed agenda, the completion of which should resolve any remaining issues and should normalise Iraq's position within the UN,' he said.
Kuwait opposes ending Iraq's Chapter 7 status. But council diplomats say they might vote to lift the restrictions in the coming months, paving the way for Iraq to renegotiate the amount of reparations it pays to Kuwait.
AP
