Israeli action in OPT – GA 10th emergency special session – Letter

Letter dated 10 December 2003 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly

In my capacity as Chairman of the African Group for December 2003, I have the honour to inform you that the African Group has mandated me to convey its utmost abhorrence of the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations during the debate of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly under the item “Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, on 8 December 2003.

Members of the African Group were gravely disturbed by the fact that the Permanent Representative of Israel used the forum of the General Assembly to make callous and derogatory remarks specifically directed at the sponsors of the draft resolution, the majority of which are African Group members. The members of the African Group considered the remarks to be particularly offensive and a direct attack against sovereign Member States of Africa and reserve their right to defend themselves against any future verbal attacks of this nature.

The African Group kindly requests the circulation of the present letter as a document of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5.

(Signed) Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo

Ambassador

Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations

Chairman of the African Group for the Month of December