Mideast situation/Palestine question – Final documents of meeting of FMs/Heads of Delegation – Letter from South Africa (excerpts)

Letter dated 23 October 2000 from the Permanent Representative

of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour, in my capacity as Chairman of the Coordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, to enclose herewith the final documents of the meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries held in New York on 14 September 2000, during the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly (see annexes).

I should be grateful if the present letter and its annexes could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 10, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Dumisani S. Kumalo

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Permanent Representative

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Annex II to the letter dated 23 October 2000 from the

Permanent Representative of South Africa to the

United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Declaration of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Heads of

Delegation of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries

1. We, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the Non-Aligned Movement attending the General Debate of the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations, met in New York on 14 September 2000, to exchange views on the items of the Agenda of the Millennium Assembly that are of significant importance to the Movement, and to discuss the role of and collective challenges before the Non-Aligned Movement in the 21st Century. We view the Millennium Summit outcome as an important contribution towards renewing and strengthening the mandate of the United Nations to meet the challenges of the new Century. We welcome the renewed commitment of the Heads of State or Government, at the Millennium Summit, to peace, stability and disarmament, and the eradication of poverty, including-achieving sustainable development for all our peoples.

2. We reiterate our commitment to the principles and decisions of the Movement, as reaffirmed at the XIII NAM Ministerial Conference in Cartagena, which would guide the Movement's participation during this session. We reiterate further the need to continue to strengthen the coordination, unity and solidarity of the Movement, in order to promote and defend, on the basis of common positions agreed to by the Members, the interests of developing countries in global affairs. We thank the Government and People of Colombia for hosting the XIII NAM Ministerial Conference of in Cartagena from 7-9 April 2000, and for their role in contributing to the successful outcome of the Meeting.

3. We welcome the decisions and outcomes of the G-77 South Summit, and note the importance of the Summit Declaration and the Summit Programme of Action which prioritise the development agenda of developing countries. We stress the need to continue to enhance cooperation and coordination between the NAM and the G-77 through the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) in New York. We thank the Government and People of Cuba for hosting the historic inaugural Summit of the South in Havana, from 10-14 April 2000, and for their contribution to its successful outcome.

4. We reaffirm our determination to actively strive towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the principle of land for peace. In this context, we stress the need for the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June, 1967 and demand the immediate demarcation of this line. We reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. Furthermore, we reaffirm that a just and comprehensive peace can only be achieved by upholding international legitimacy and relevant United Nations resolutions. In this regard, we consider the attempts by the Israeli government to undermine the terms of reference of the Middle East peace process which started in Madrid as a serious obstacle to the realization of peace. We welcome the liberation of the Lebanese territories from the Israeli occupation and call for an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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