Mideast situation – SecGen report under A/RES/49/87 A and B

Fiftieth session

Agenda item 44

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Report of the Secretary-General

I.  INTRODUCTION

1. The present report is submitted in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions 49/87 A and B of 16 December 1994.  The General Assembly, in its resolution 49/87 A, which deals with the transfer by some States of their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem in violation of Security Council resolution 478 (1980) of 20 August 1980, called once more upon those States to abide by the provisions of the relevant United Nations resolutions.  In resolution 49/87 B, which deals with Israeli policies in the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, the General Assembly demanded once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

2. The Secretary-General, in order to fulfil his reporting responsibility under the above-mentioned resolutions, on 31 August 1995 addressed notes verbales to the Permanent Representatives of Israel and 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 of 10 October 1995, four replies had been received, from Austria, Cape Verde, Japan and Mexico.  Those replies are reproduced in section II of the present report.

II.  REPLIES FROM MEMBER STATES

Austria

[Original:  English]

With regard to resolution 49/87 A, on Jerusalem, Austria is encouraged by the recent agreement reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization on the second phase of Palestinian autonomy.  The mutual respect displayed by both sides augurs well for the 1996 final status negotiations on pending issues, including the question of Jerusalem.  In this regard, Austria has frequently stated its support for negotiations to solve the question of the status of Jerusalem based upon respective United Nations resolutions and its rejection of any changes in the status quo in the meantime by either side.

In the light of the unresolved status of Jerusalem and the continuous occupation of East Jerusalem, Austria is maintaining the location of its embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv.

With regard to resolution 49/87 B, on the Syrian Golan, Austria expresses the hope that the question of the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights will be resolved by negotiations between the Syrian Arab Republic and Israel in the near future and has frequently expressed its support for the intensification of negotiations and their early conclusions based upon respective United Nations resolutions.

Cape Verde

[Original:  French]

The Government of Cape Verde has not taken any action contrary to the relevant provisions of resolutions 49/87 A and B adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 1994.

Japan

[Original:  English]

Resolution 49/87 A

Consonant with its adherence to previous resolutions, the Government of Japan supports resolution General Assembly 49/87 A.  It has not taken any additional measures since the adoption of the resolution.

Resolution 49/87 B

The Government of Japan does not recognize the occupation of the Syrian Golan by Israel as legitimate.  The Government of Japan hopes to see a peaceful resolution of this problem, and, in this connection, Prime Minister Murayama encouraged direct negotiation between both parties when he visited Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic in September 1995.  The Government of Japan supports the efforts of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) towards a peaceful settlement, and is preparing to dispatch members of its self-defence forces for participation in UNDOF in February 1996.

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 49/87 A, Mexico maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv.

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