Getting to Know the State of Kuwait

While I was Secretary of the Board of UNITAR (The UN Institute for Training and Research), I was tasked with supervising a special study. It was (in short) "issues of Small States." Its drafter was an Eritrean scholar, friend of mine, by the name of Dr. Berhan Andemicael. Later, Berhan headed the NY Liaison Office of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as I moved from UNITAR to establish the first Peace Research Center within the then UN Department for Secretary Council Affairs.

This is the context of this monthly blog, entitled "Getting to Know the State of Kuwait." Reason: Kuwait is described by the Kuwaitis as a "Small State." I beg to differ. States, in my own definition, are neither big, mid-size, nor small. Each State from Monaco to Russia draws their description from two sources: The character of their people, and the contribution they make towards internal welfare, and external management of their foreign affairs.

With these parameters in mind, I have observed Kuwait through its presidency of the UN Security Council in February, as well as through its celebration of its Liberation Day on February 26, 2018. Not only did I observe both the Foreign Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, as well as the Kuwait Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Mansour Alotaibi; my gaze roamed beyond, as a search light, shining a spot on the totality of that environment of a State, whose origins date back to the mid 17th Century.

As I peered through the fog of the endless practice of UN compromises, a requisite for Security Council complex drafting and passing of resolutions, I detected Kuwaiti calm and well modulated voice from the presidential chair. No screams, no shouts, no pointing of blaming fingers on issues, such as Syria, Yemen, Libya, Central African Republic, Palestine and ISIS.

The outward motion hummed on noiselessly. Its combustion engine was not that of a tractor, but of a Mercedes Benz. The goal was to move things forward, even through the boulders of big power rivalries seeking to score points, not necessarily moving towards the two principal objectives of the UN: peace and prosperity.

Not since the 1990s when UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali issued his twin agendas, one for peace, the other for development, have I, as professor of international law and organizations, seen the likes of the Kuwait concept memorandum on energizing the peace and prosperity pillars on which the UN Charter of 1945 had been established. Seeing in it the spirit of a "small" but resilient State, I have assigned it a course of study for my spring intern from St. Francis College, New York City, Julia Cruet. Her successors (I only take one notable undergraduate each semester from St. Francis College -a class of one student!!), shall benefit by that historic concept paper introduced by Kuwait into the UN annals.

Beyond the UN realm, I came to discern in the public events organized by the Permanent Mission of the State of Kuwait to the UN, what I can only describe as "the of sinews resilience" of Kuwaiti Society. From that I learnt why the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait of 1990 had failed. That power grab by Saddam Hussein had collapsed, not only because of the collective military intervention by the UN. The roots of that failure, as I came to recently discover, grew deeper in the sands of Kuwait through a population that said: Saddam "you can burn our oil fields. But you shall not extinguish our 350 years of Kuwait ID!!"

How did I reach that conclusion? Not through fantasy of a person like myself who was born in the desert of an Egyptian province called Sharqiah, west of the two Suez Canals. But through:

• Their orchestra playing in the UN General Assembly Hall;
• Their songs evoking the transition from the "hard times," to "the blessed times of plenty;"
• Their diverse skin color which reminds me of the American and the Egyptian models;
• The engagement by Ambassador Alotaibi and his Deputy, Mr. Bader AlMunayekh of little Kuwaiti girls dancing to their native music;
• The teamwork of their diplomats who seem never to forget why they are in New York serving Kuwait and the world;
• The outward openness and affability of their ladies whether diplomats, spouses, advisers or local recruits;
• Their generosity writ large not only at the Mission; but also worldwide through the "Kuwait Development Fund." They have even contributed significantly in 2018 towards the rebuilding of Iraq;
• Their national dress, especially the head gear, black AQAL (thick cord) holding in place a snow white Kaffieyeh covering a man's head, and needing constant adjustment with a flourish;
• Their security guards who never fail to greet every permitted visitor with the equivalent of the song in Oklahoma: "Oh What a Beautiful Day!!"

I am finally getting to know the State of Kuwait through only two weeks of residence at the Permanent Mission.

So please note: Kuwait is not only a State; it is "a state of mind!!"