Middle East situation/Palestine question – Astana Declaration/OIC Council of Foreign Ministers – Letter from Kazakhstan (excerpts)

   Letter dated 8 July 2011 from the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General 

 I have the honour to forward the Astana Declaration on “Peace, Cooperation and Development”, adopted by the thirty-eighth session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Astana from 28 to 30 June 2011 (see annex). 

 I would be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly under agenda item 122 (s). 

Annex to the letter dated 8 July 2011 from the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General 

 Organization of Islamic Cooperation Astana Declaration 

Peace, cooperation and development 

Adopted by the thirty-eighth session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Astana from 28 to 30 June 2011 

 We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), participating in the thirty-eighth session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Astana at a time of dynamic change, which holds challenges as well as opportunities for the Muslim Ummah and all humankind, and being aware of the added significance of this Council meeting, declare the following:

/…

4.  We recognize the emerging challenges to our community posed by the unfolding significant developments in the Middle East and North Africa. We appeal to all those concerned to engage in constructive dialogue and work towards peaceful solutions, assuring the protection of civilians. In the spirit of the OIC Charter, we will work, inter alia, through OIC, in order to turn these challenges into an opportunity to improve the lives of our peoples by promoting peace, cooperation, rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms, good governance, democracy and accountability. 

 5.  We reiterate the need for an early settlement of the Palestinian issue and express full support to the Arab Peace Initiative aimed at reaching a lasting, comprehensive and just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We applaud the significant institution-building efforts accomplished by the Palestinian National Authority, and call on the international community to acknowledge the progress achieved and to recognize the independent, sovereign state of Palestine based on the borders of 4 June 1967.

 6.  We strongly condemn Israel’s settlement building and expansion, which constitute a flagrant violation of international law, which is an obstacle to restarting negotiations leading to an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territory by Israel since 1967. We call for the implementation of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions pertaining to the Arab-Israeli conflict, in particular resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978), 1515 (2003) and 1860 (2009). We also condemn illegal Israeli policies and actions aimed at altering the Arab and Islamic character of occupied East Jerusalem, changing its demographic composition and isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings. We reaffirm our support to the efforts made by His Majesty King Mohamed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, as well as the efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein of Jordan in this regard.

 7.  We condemn Israel’s persisting occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanese territories, and we emphasize our support for these two countries in regaining all their territories occupied by Israel.

/…

____________