Middle East situation/Palestine question – Final communiqué of OIC FMs Annual Coordination meeting – Letter from Yemen (excerpts)

Letter dated 17 October 2005 from the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour, in my capacity as Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Group in New York, to transmit herewith the final communiqué of the annual coordination meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 23 September 2005 (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would arrange for the present letter and its annex to be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 24, 25, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 50, 51, 52, 54, 56, 66, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 84, 89, 90, 94, 97, 100, 103, 108, 110, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119 and 120, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Abdullah M. Alsaidi

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 17 October 2005 from the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

[Original: Arabic, English and French]

Final communiqué of the annual coordination meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference

United Nations Headquarters, New York

23 September 2005-19 Shaa’ban 1426

  The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC Member States held their Annual Coordination Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 23 September 2005, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah Alsaidi, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Yemen to the United Nations. His Excellency Ambassador Ibrahim Jambari, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, attended the meeting representing the UN Secretary General. The Meeting, after deliberation, adopted the following:

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9.   The Meeting reaffirmed the centrality of the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the whole Islamic Ummah. It affirmed the Arab nature of East Jerusalem and the need to defend the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy places. It reiterated its condemnation of the attempts by Israel, the occupying Power, to change the status, demographic composition and the character of East Jerusalem, in particular by its unlawful colonization practices, including its settlement activities and construction of the Wall in and around the City.

10.   The Meeting reaffirmed its principled support for the right of the Palestinian people to national independence and the exercise of sovereignty in their State, Palestine, with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. It reaffirmed the rights of the Palestine refugees in accordance with international law and General Assembly resolution 194(III) of 11 December 1948. The Meeting reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle to achieve self-determination led by their legitimate national leadership.

11.   The Meeting strongly condemned the continuing illegal Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif. It condemned in particular the wilful killing of Palestinian civilians, including extra-judicial executions; the wanton destruction of homes, infrastructure and agricultural lands; the detention and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians; and the imposition of collective punishment on the entire Palestinian population, including severe restrictions on the movement of persons and good, including prolonged curfews.

12.   The Meeting also strongly condemned the illegal Israeli policy and practice of colonization of the Palestinian land through its settlement activities and construction of the expansionist Wall, which has involved the confiscation of thousands of more dunums of Palestinian land, the isolation of dozens of Palestinian villages, towns and cities and the extensive destruction of property and the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinian civilians. The Meeting viewed such illegal activities as tantamount to de facto annexation of large parts of the Palestinian territory, which would render impossible to realize the establishment of the State of Palestine.

13.   The Meeting noted with regret the negative and defiant response by Israel to the Advisory Opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice, its non-compliance with General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004, and its continued construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem. The Meeting, thus, called once again for respect of the Advisory Opinion and the implementation of resolution ES-10/15 and encouraged all States to impose punitive measures against those entities and companies contributing to the construction of the Wall and against settlements products, settlers and all those profiting from any illegal activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds. The Meeting also called for the following specific actions:

a)   At the United Nations, further measures should be taken, in accordance with operative paragraph 5 of resolution ES-10/15, and also called on the Security Council to undertake its responsibilities by adopting a clear resolution and undertaking necessary measures in this regard. The Secretary-General of the United Nations should also expedite the work with regard to the request made by the General Assembly in resolution ES-10/15 to establish a register of damage caused by the Wall and to ensure that the positions and documents of the UN Secretariat are fully consistent with the Advisory Opinion.

 b)   With regard to Member States, the Meeting called upon them to undertake measures, including by means of legislation collectively, regionally and individually, to prevent any products of the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their markets consistent with the obligations under international treaties, to decline entry to Israeli settlers and to impose sanctions against companies and entities involved in the construction of the wall and other illegal action in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

c)   With regard to the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Meeting called on them to adhere to Article 1 common to the four Geneva Conventions and to undertake measures to ensure compliance by Israel with the Convention.

14.   The Meeting welcomed the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 58/292, of 6 May 2004, on the “Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, and stressed the need for follow-up in ensuring that Israeli credentials to the United Nations do not cover the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

15.   The Meeting reaffirmed its support for a comprehensive peace, based on relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003) as well as agreed principles, which call for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and all other occupied Arab territories. In this context, the Meeting reiterated its endorsement of the Arab Peace Initiative as adopted by the Fourteenth Arab Summit, held in Beirut, Lebanon, on 28 March 2002.

16.   The Meeting expressed the hope that the international community and the Quartet would undertake the necessary efforts to salvage the Road Map and implement its provisions towards its stated aims and goals in accordance with international law. It expressed concern at repeated Israeli attempts to evade the Road Map and to substitute it with different steps.

17.   The Meeting stressed that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the dismantling of the settlements is a promising step, and emphasized that the withdrawal should be complete and irreversible, should be accompanied by similar steps in the West Bank, and should be part of and consistent with the Road Map. In this regard, the Meeting stressed the need and importance of the construction and operation of the airport and seaport in Gaza and the establishment of the safe passage (a permanent geographical link) between the West Bank and Gaza.

18.   The Meeting reiterated the proposal endorsed by the OIC and the Non-Aligned Movement countries to convene a conference for International and Regional Organizations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The purpose of this conference will be to reaffirm the basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, and to explore was and means to establish in 2006 an independent Palestinian State on the basis of 1967 borders as stipulated in the Road Map plan.

19.   The Meeting stressed the need for the OIC, at all levels, to continue practical and political support for the just resolution of the Question of Palestine. It commended the efforts made by Al-Quds Committee, under the chairmanship of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, to safeguard the Arab Islamic identity of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and it also commended the OIC Committee on Palestine for its work.

20.  The Meeting, recalling resolution 5/32-PAL of the 32nd Session of the ICFM (Sana’a June 2005), and taking into account the situation prevailing in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the grave violations of the international humanitarian law that continue to be perpetrated by Israel, the occupying Power, reiterated the position of the Member States of the OIC which calls for the postponement of the proposed Diplomatic Conference to adopt a Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem.

21.   The Meeting strongly condemned Israel’s policy of refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981) concerning the occupied Syrian Golan and its policies of annexation, building of colonial settlements, confiscation of land, diversion of water sources and imposition of Israeli nationality upon Syrian citizens. It also demanded Israel to completely withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan to the June 4 th 1967 lines in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the principle of land for peace, the Madrid Peace Conference terms of reference and the Arab Peace Initiative, adopted by the Beirut Arab Summit on 28 March 2002. The meeting also demanded Israel to release all Syrian detainees citizens of the Syrian occupied Golan, taking into consideration that some of them have been detained for more than 20 years.

22.   The Meeting condemned threats against some Member States, particularly the Syrian Arab Republic, and condemned the decision of the US Administration to impose unilateral economic sanctions against Syria. It also condemned the so-called “Syria Accountability Act”. It urged Member States to further strengthen their brotherly ties with Syria in all fields.

23.   The Meeting supported Lebanon in its efforts to complete the liberation of all its remaining territories under Israeli occupation including Shab’a farms, and urged the United Nations to compel Israel to pay reparations for all the losses it has inflicted, or caused, as a result of its persistent aggression against Lebanon. It further supported Lebanon in its demands for the removal of the mines left behind by the Israeli occupation, which planted these mines and therefore bears the responsibility for removing them. It also supported the inalienable rights of Lebanon to utilize its waters in accordance with international law and condemned Israel’s designs on these waters. It held Israel responsible for any action such as infringing upon Lebanon’s sovereignty, its political independence, the safety of its people, or the integrity of its territories, and in this regard, the Meeting condemned the continuing Israeli violations of the Lebanese sovereignty. It demanded the international community to take all necessary measures to compel Israel to immediately cease these violations and release all the remaining Lebanese prisoners and abductees detained in Israeli prisons. It reaffirmed the right of the Palestine refugees to return to their homes, and rejected settling them in Lebanon.

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58.   The Meeting urged all parties directly concerned to consider seriously taking practical and urgent steps required for implementing the proposal to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, and warned against the dire consequences of the continuing rejection of Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to place promptly all its nuclear facilities under the full scope of the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In this regard, the Meeting supported the draft resolution submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic to the Security Council on 29 December 2003 regarding the establishment of a zone free from all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and called upon the Security Council to act positively on the draft to achieve that lofty goal in the region.

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