Mideast situation/Golan – GA resolution

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

[without reference to a Main Committee (A/51/L.39)]

51/28. The Syrian Golan

The General Assembly,

Having considered the item entitled "The situation in the Middle East",

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,1/

Recalling Security Council resolution 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981,

Reaffirming the fundamental principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,

Reaffirming once more the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2/ to the occupied Syrian Golan,

Deeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967, contrary to the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,

Noting with satisfaction the convening at Madrid on 30 October 1991 of the Peace Conference on the Middle East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973 and 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978 and the principle of land for peace,

Expressing deep concern about the stumbling of the peace process on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks, and hoping that talks for ensuring a just and comprehensive peace in the region will soon be resumed from the point that has been reached,

1. Declares that Israel has failed so far to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981);

2. Declares also that the Knesset decision of 11 November 1981 annexing the occupied Syrian Golan constitutes a grave violation of resolution 497 (1981) and therefore is null and void and has no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to rescind it;

3. Reaffirms its determination that all relevant provisions of the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 1907,3/ and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 continue to apply to the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, and calls upon the parties thereto to respect and ensure respect for their obligations under those instruments in all circumstances;

4. Determines once more that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation constitute a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region;

5. Calls for the resumption of the talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and for the respect for the commitments and guarantees reached during the previous talks;

6. Demands once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session on the implementation of the present resolution.

72nd plenary meeting

4 December 1996

Notes

1/ A/51/543.

2/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.

3/ See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915).