Mideast situation/Jerusalem/Golan – SecGen report pursuant to A/RES/42/209 – Replies received from Member States

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Report of the Secretary-General

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 42/209 of 11 December 1987 in order to inform the General Assembly of the steps taken by the Secretary-General to fulfil the requests addressed to him in that resolution to report on various aspects of the agenda item entitled "The situation in the Middle East".

2. In paragraph 3 of resolution 42/209 A, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Security Council, to continue his efforts with a view to convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East and to apprise the Assembly of the results of his consultations no later than September 1988. The Secretary-General has already reported to the General Assembly and to the Security Council on his efforts in pursuance of that resolution (A/43/691-S/20219 ).

3. In paragraph 15 of resolution 42/209 B, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council periodically on the development of the situation and to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-third session a comprehensive report covering the developments in the Middle East in all their aspects. That report will be submitted separately at a later date as a document of the General Assembly and the Security Council.

4. In resolution 42/209 C, which deals with Israeli policies in the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, and in resolution 42/209 D, which coals with tho transfer by some States of their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem in violation of Security Council resolution 478 (1980), the General Assembly called upon all States to adopt a number of measures concerning relations with Israel and called upon the States concerned to abide by the provisions of the relevant Assembly resolutions. In order to fulfil his reporting responsibility under the: above-mentioned resolutions, the Secretary-General, on 17 February 1988, addressed notes verbales to the Permanent Representative of Israel and to the Permanent Representatives of the other Member States and requested them to inform him of any steps their Governments had taken or envisaged taking concerning implementation of the relevant provisions of those resolutions. As at 5 October 1988, replies had been received from Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Nigeria, the Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Those replies are reproduced in section II of the present report.-

II. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM MEMBER STATES

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

"Original: English]

[l5 April 1988]

1. The Permanent Representative wishes to inform the Secretary-General that, with regard to paragraph 2 of resolution 42/409 A, the Government of Brunei Darussalam has made its view known on the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, and continues to hold the view that such a conference is useful in finding a peaceful, comprehensive and just settlement to the conflict.

2. As to the other provisions in resolutions 42/209 B, C and D, the Permanent Representative also wishes to inform the Secretary-General that Brunei Darussalam does not have any relations with Israel whatsoever, and will abide by the provisions of the relevant United Nations resolutions regarding Israel.

BURKINA FASO

"Original: French]

[10 May 1988]

1. Recent developments in the Middle East reveal the need to find an urgent solution to the crisis. The intransigent attitude adopted by Israel is certainly not such as to facilitate the initiatives taken throughout the world for a peaceful, just and comprehensive settlement of the situation. Burkina Faso supports all measures designed to restrain the Israeli Government and to induce it to conform to the will of the international community and the tenets of international law.

2. Convinced of the just cause of the Palestinian people and of the other~Arab countries, Burkina Faso will do everything possible to ensure the effective implementation of the measures stipulated in these resolutions.

MALAWI

[Original: English]

21 July 1988]

Malawi's policy has always been in support of contact and dialogue in resolving differences. Based on this, we support in principle the call for an international peace conference to include all the parties in the conflict as proposed by the United Nations.

NIGERIA

[Original: English]

[20 May 1988]

The Federal Government of Nigeria wishes to reconfirm that it supports the early convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East. Such a Conference should bring together all parties to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which should participate in the Peace Conference on an equal footing with other parties concerned in the conflict. The Federal Government of Nigeria is of the opinion that the Peace Conference should be held under the auspices of the United Nations.

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

[Original: Arabic]

23 May l988]

The Syrian Arab Republic supported General Assembly resolution 38/58 C on the convening of an International Conference on the Middle East, as indicated in its letter addressed to you and distributed in document A/43/272 of 31 March 1988, and has supported General Assembly resolutions, the most recent being resolutions 42/66 D of 2 December 1987 and 42/209 A of 11 December 1987. (For text of letter, see A/43/272, Para. 4.)

UGANDA

[Original: English]

[15 June 1988]

The Government of Uganda does not have diplomatic, economic, commercial or consular relations with the State of Israel. It has continuously advocated a comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem and, to this end, supported the convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in which all the parties concerned, including the PLO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, would participate on an equal footing and in its own right. The Uganda Government has, therefore, complied with the said resolution.

UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

[Original: Russian]

[20 September 19881

1. The Ukrainian SSR shares the serious concern of the international community voiced in resolutions 42/209 A to D at continuing Israeli policies involving the escalation and expansion of the conflict in the Middle East, which further violate the principles of international law and endanger international peace and security.

2. As has been shown by recent events, in particular the popular uprising in the  Israeli-occupied territories, the continuance of an explosive situation in that region stands in contrast to the emerging signs of a turn for the better in international relations. It also conflicts with the interests of the peoples of the Middle East. The Arab-Israeli conflict has now entered a phase where finding a means of swiftly breaking the deadlock and reaching a political settlement is a pressing need.

3. The Ukrainian SSR believes the time has come, in seeking a Middle East settlement, to begin frankly and seriously to steer a direct-course towards preparing for and holding an international conference. Such an approach, whose support among the overwhelming majority of Member States was demonstrated again at the forty-second session of the General Assembly, is the only sure means of offering the Middle East peace and security that rest on the principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, the resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council and a balance of all parties' interests.

4. For this purpose it is necessary to bring about an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab lands and afford the Palestinians an opportunity freely to determine their fate and the shape of their state structure. All States and peoples in the region, Israel included, must be guaranteed unrestricted development and a secure existence.

5. There will be stable peace in the Middle East only when the principles of equality, equal security, non-interference in each others' internal affairs, respect for political independence and sovereignty, and the non-use of force gain the ascendant in relations between the parties embroiled in the conflict.

6. The most effective machinery for producing a Middle East settlement is an international conference held under United Nations auspices, attended by all the parties directly involved, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the permanent members of the Security Council. Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)and 338 (1973) should serve as the legal underpinning. The conference would require interaction between the participants in a wide variety of forms: plenary sessions, bilateral and multilateral committees.  Intermediate steps and stages towards an all-embracing settlement could also be negotiated during the conference in conjunction with its ultimate objectives.

7. Practical moves to enlist the potential and capabilities of the United Nations in order to dynamize preparations for an international conference on the Middle Bast will always enjoy the support of the Ukrainian SSR, which will continue to use its involvement in the work of the General Assembly, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and other United Nations bodies and specialized agencies to promote the restoration of justice and peace in the Middle Bast. Events this year in various parts of the world have plainly shown that political approaches can be effective, and that there is no substitute for the peace-making role of the United Nations in resolving international conflicts. Against this background, tho progression of events in the Middle East demonstrates the hopelessness and danger to the cause of peace of approaches that rely on force or pressure and of attempts to impose unilateral solutions that circumvent the United Nations and violate the generally recognized norms and principles of international law.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

[Original: Russian]

[6 July 1988]

1. The Soviet Union voted for General Assembly resolutions 42/209 A to D and fully supports its condemnation of Israel's aggression, policies and practices against the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories and outside these territories and the continuing occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab territories. The General Assembly rightly branded these acts of Israel as a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions.

2. The Soviet Union feels that the pace of developments in the Middle East since the adoption of that General Assembly resolution convincingly demonstrates the correctness of its central conclusion on the need to convene an international conference on the Middle East as the way to a peaceful, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Underlying the Soviet Union's approach to the substance of a settlement is the principle of strict guarantee of the balance of interests of all concerned parties. Hence the Arabs must be given back all the lands occupied by Israel. The Palestinian people must be guaranteed the right to self-determination in whatever form it chooses. Israel, like all other States of the region, must be guaranteed the right to a peaceful and secure existence.

3.  In the Soviet Union view, an international conference on the Middle East under United Nations auspices should be an effective forum for examining and settling, on a mutually acceptable basis, all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict.  All parties directly concerned, including the PLO, and the permanent members of the Security Council must participate in it.  Within the framework of such a conference, bilateral and multilateral talks, which must me organically linked to each other, may also be conducted.  When the work of the conference begins, the Soviet Union will be prepared to deal with the question of normalizing relations with Israel.

4. With a view to the preparation and convening of an international conference on the Middle East, the Soviet Union is ready, as-before, to engage in constructive co-operation with the other States members of the Security Council, with the -parties directly concerned and with all those who seek to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

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