His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday exchanged congratulations and greetings with kings and presidents of sisterly Arab countries on the holy occasion of Eid Al-Adha. In his congratulatory cables, His Highness the Amir expressed sincere wishes for the Arab and Muslim nations to enjoy more security, stability and progress./agencies

The United Nations Human Rights Council has called on Myanmar to immediately commence the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees stuck in squalid camps for internally displaced persons in Bangladesh.

The council adopted the resolution without a vote on July 7, expressing grave concern over continuing reports of serious human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar, in particular against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.

Reiterating the importance of conducting an “international, independent, fair and transparent investigation into gross human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar,” the council urged Myanmar to cooperate fully with the UN and “to grant full, unrestricted and unmonitored access” to all UN mandate holders and human rights mechanisms.

It also requested that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights monitor and follow up on the implementation of the recommendations made by the independent international fact-finding mission, including those on accountability.

More than 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state due to a bloody military crackdown in August 2017 and they remain in camps in Bangladesh.

A UN fact-finding mission report found that Myanmar’s military committed four of the five acts constituting genocide against the Rohingya. It said military chief Min Aung Hlaing and five other senior generals must be prosecuted for genocide and war crimes against humanity.

“Initiatives must be scaled up and more support is needed to create conditions for voluntary returns"

Myanmar’s military had denied atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine and insisted its clearance operations were justified to root out Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militants who attacked border posts in August 2017.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called for the voluntary return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar once the situation allows.

“Initiatives must be scaled up and more support is needed to create conditions for voluntary returns in a just, safe and sustainable manner,” he said after visiting Rohingya camps in Bangladesh in May.

The UN rights body’s resolution came as the military junta continues its scorched-earth campaign in several regions across the country by using air strikes and artillery shelling while junta troops have allegedly committed massacres of civilians, made arbitrary arrests, burned villages and looted properties.

Despite the UN and world leaders repeatedly calling for an end to the violence, the junta has continued its reign of terror.

The conflict-stricken Southeast Asian nation is facing political, economic and social crises following the military coup on Feb.1, 2021 after toppling the elected civilian government.

Myanmar’s junta has faced mounting pressure from the international community over rights abuses and proceedings against military leaders are underway at the International Court of Justice./UCAnews

The Amiri Diwan is pleased to convey to citizens and residents the congratulations of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah on Eid Al-Adha, wishing them amity, security and safety.

The Amiri Diwan seizes this blessed occasion to convey to His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Prime Minister the highest congratulations and blessings on this occasion. His Highness the Amir also congratulates citizens and residents on Eid Al-Adha, wishing both Arab and Islamic nations a happy feast, security and safety. (KUNA)

Kuwait welcomes the extension of the ceasefire agreement in Yemen, and the renewed commitment shown by Yemeni parties to halt all military operations, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Kuwait praises the efforts made by the United Nations special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg to strengthen this commitment, which comes in the context of the initiative announced by Saudi Arabia in March 2021, to end the Yemeni crisis, said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry also hopes that the extension of the truce would contribute to reaching a “comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis based on the three references (Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference and Security Council Resolution 2216)… in a manner that preserves the security and stability of Yemen and its territorial integrity and achieves the aspirations of the Yemeni people.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry welcomed the inter-Yemeni agreement to bolster up the UN-sponsored truce, stressing the need to open humanitarian corridors to Taiz. The Ministry appreciated in a statement the efforts of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Yemen to enhance commitment to truce in keeping with the Saudi initiative of March 2021 to settle the crisis in Yemen through political means.

The statement stressed the Kingdom’s firm support for everything that could guarantee security and stability in Yemen and achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Yemeni people. It highlighted the importance of the Houthis’ commitment to the provisions of the truce, the speedy opening of humanitarian corridors to Taiz, and depositing revenues in the Central Bank of Yemen to pay the salaries of civilians. On Wednesday, Grundberg said that Yemeni government and Houthis agreed to consolidate the truce in the run-up to Eid Al-Adha, due on Saturday. – KUNA

Acting Director General of Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Dr Mubarak Al-Azmi, and representative of authority departments met with India’s Ambassador to Kuwait Sibi George and his delegation on Thursday. Azmi welcomed the Ambassador and lauded the historic relations between the two countries, adding that he is keen on strengthening mutual ties. The two sides discussed bringing in and employ Indian labor, as well as providing protection for workers in Kuwait, PAM said in a statement.

Azmi said the marketplace in Kuwait attracts labor according to its need of experienced specialties. He said PAM exerts its efforts to improve the process of bringing in labor in a way that serves the developmental interests of Kuwait, while at the same time care for the laborers’ situation and rights as stated by the labor law and decisions issued by PAM in this regard.

Azmi emphasized the basic role of the authority in providing legal protection and guaranteeing a suitable work environment that ensures the rights of all laborers, including those in the private sector or domestic helpers. Meanwhile, Ambassador Sibi George thanked the State of Kuwait for its efforts and development that deserve to be commended./agencies

An announcement naming Kuwait’s new prime minister will be made during the first week after the Eid Al-Adha break, most likely on Tuesday, July 19, sources told Kuwait Times. The prime minister-designate will have a few days to form his Cabinet, then take the oath of office before HH the Amir. This process will not go beyond the end of this month or the start of August.

The Cabinet’s formation will not take more than a month, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new Cabinet will be short-lived, as it will deal with the new National Assembly elections after the current parliament is dissolved in September or October. Elections will take place within two months from the dissolution decree. The government will then resign, leading to consultations for the formation of a new government. Sources said the new Cabinet will attend a National Assembly session to approve the budgets and closing accounts and the state’s financial status, then parliamentary sessions will end and will not discuss any proposed laws or any other issues.

HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah had submitted his resignation in early April following a grilling by opposition MPs and after 26 lawmakers, two more than the required quorum, said they will support a motion to declare non-cooperation with the premier. The resignation had been accepted by HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled and the cabinet were asked to continue as a care-taker government to run emergency matters.

In a national speech last month, HH the Amir announced plans to dissolve the National Assembly and call for fresh polls to end ongoing political disputes between the government and opposition MPs that had effectively paralyzed the functioning of the government and the assembly for months. Forming a new Cabinet is important to issuing the Amiri decree dissolving the assembly.

HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks Wednesday with current and former national assembly speakers and prime ministers as part of the customary consultations before naming a new premier. HH the Crown Prince could rename HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled to form a new cabinet or may name a new personality to form the cabinet.

Medicines’ budget

In other news, Health Minister Dr Khalid Al-Saeed asked the Cabinet for a KD 260 million budget for medicines and medical supplies for the strategic reserves to boost health security in the country, sources told Kuwait Times. He also asked for warehouses of an area of at least 35 sq m with international specifications to be approved by the engineering and projects affairs department in coordination with the medicines and medical supplies department in the ministry.

Saeed justified his request in an official letter by saying that the COVID-19 pandemic caused problems internationally, with difficulties in supplying medicines due to insufficient financial allocations for medicines and medical supplies, in addition to many companies declining to meet orders due to a rise in raw material prices and lack of storage spaces./agencies

 The Kuwaiti Al-Sadu Handcraft Cooperative Society was accredited Thursday as a non-government advisory organization for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In statements to KUNA, Al-Sadu honorary chairperson Sheikha Altaf Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah hailed the UNESCO’s accreditation as an achievement for Kuwait. The accreditation would boost the society’s role in serving cultural heritage and promoting creative social development and the cultural identity of the country, she said.

Sheikha Altaf noted that Al-Sadu Society was the second Arabian Gulf organization to be accredited by UNESCO within the framework of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Accordingly, Al-Sadu Society would have a special seat at the UNESCO, could vie for posts at the convention’s committee, and take part in annual meetings of the intragovernmental committee of the convention and the non-government organizations meetings.

Meanwhile, Al-Sadu Society Chairperson Sheikh Bibi Duaij Al-Jaber Al-Sabah expressed delight for the achievement. The accreditation comes after the success in including Kuwait’s traditional weaving of Al Sadu on the UNSECO Intangible Heritage list in December 2020 and the inscription of the Kuwaiti traditional art on the Heritage List of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Shekha Bibi told KUNA.

Mevlida Hukic dearly misses her husband, three of her sons and two brothers who were among the thousands of victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I always dreamed of them after they were killed. I still ‘see’ them and cry. I'm still struggling. It wasn’t easy to raise children and guide them to the right path. Now they’re gone. I don't know how long God will give me to live,'' she said.

The 74-year-old Hukic will finally bid farewell after 27 years to her son Sejad and husband Hajdin on the 27th anniversary of the genocide.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are buried at a memorial cemetery in the village of Potocari, located six kilometers (3.7 miles) northwest of Srebrenica.

Hukic had buried one of her sons earlier at the Potocari Memorial Center. But the remains of her youngest son, Samir, have never been found.

She said she raised her children with strong moral values.

"People admired them. After they were killed, I always saw them in my dreams,'' said Hukic.

Hukic said she seeks justice for those who are responsible.

"I don't hate anyone, but as a Muslim, I ask Allah to give those murderers what they deserve. Despite everything, we still have to live together. I hope the same things do not happen again, (that) there will always be peace. I always live in fear that something will happen again,'' she said.

Hukic now lives with her son Zuhdo, who managed to survive the route used by Bosnian civilians to reach a safe zone.

They both still live in the hope of finding Samir.

Bosnia Herzegovina on Monday will bid farewell to 50 more identified victims of the Srebrenica genocide on the 27th anniversary of Europe's worst genocide since World War II.

Thousands of visitors from various countries will attend the funeral service and burials.

After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery will rise to 6,721.

A total of 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces attacked the UN "safe area" of Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch troops tasked with acting as international peacekeepers.

Srebrenica was besieged by Serb forces who were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form their own state.

The UN Security Council had declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the spring of 1993. However, Serb troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic – who in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide – overran the UN zone.

The Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area, killing around 2,000 men and boys on July 11 alone. Some 15,000 Srebrenicans fled to the surrounding mountains but Serb troops hunted down and killed 6,000 of them in the forests.

The bodies of the victims of the genocide were found in 570 parts of the country./aa