Mideast situation/Palestine question – Final communique/resolutions of OIC Conf. of FMs – Letter from Pakistan (excerpts)

Letter dated 28 September 1994 from the Permanent

Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit herewith the text of the following documents, in the English, French and Arabic languages, adopted by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, at its seventh extraordinary session, held at Islamabad from 7 to 9 September 1994:

(a) Final communiqué (annex I);

(b) Resolutions adopted (annex II).

I should be grateful if you would have the text of the present letter and its annexes circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda items 11, 27, 31, 38, 39, 40, 46, 50, 58, 65, 77, 78, 101, 118, 150 and 151.

(Signed)  Jamsheed K. A. MARKER

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

ANNEX I

FINAL COMMUNIQUE OF THE SEVENTH EXTRAORDINARY SESSION

OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS

HELD IN ISLAMABAD – ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

2-4 RABIUL THANI 1415H, CORRESPONDING TO 7-9 SEPTEMBER 1994

1. On the request of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and in accordance with the Rules of Procedures of Meetings of the OIC, the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers was held in Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 2 to 4 Rabi Ul Thani, 1415H, corresponding to 7 to 9 September, 1994.

2. The Conference was held under the high patronage of Her excellency Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

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4. The Conference was opened by Her Excellency Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. She welcomed the participating delegations. In her truly inspiring inaugural address, the Prime Minister presented the vision of a politically enlightened, economically vibrant and socially advanced Muslim Ummah, at harmony with itself, playing a vital role in the maintenance of international peace and progress as the world moves into the new millennium.

5. While forcefully espousing the need for strengthening of Islamic unity and solidarity, she stated that to-day Muslims are the main victims of aggression all over the world. She drew the attention to the question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Bosnia-Herzegovina. Afghanistan and Jammu and Kashmir.

6. She asserted that Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds Al-Sharif must remain a central focus of the Islamic World and called for the restoration of the Holy Places to Muslim sovereignty and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the occupied territories. She expressed Pakistan's support for the Middle East Peace Process.

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16. His Excellency Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali, Foreign Minister of Pakistan was unanimously elected as Chairman.  The Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Tunisia and the State of Palestine were elected as Vice-Chairmen. The Republic of Turkey was elected as Rapporteur-General.

17. The Chairman. His Excellency Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali, delivered a statement in which he welcomed all participants and paid a warm tribute to H.E. Dr, Hamid Algabid, the OIC Secretary General for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Islamic Ummah. He stated that the convening of this meeting at a two weeks notice underscored the dynamic character of the Organization and its ability to respond urgently to emerging challenges. He stated that the four themes of this meeting needed immediate attention. The development on Bosnia-Herzegovina had reached a critical stage. The conflict in Afghanistan continued to take its enormous human and material toll.  The people of Palestine remained in urgent need of support and solidarity. Jammu and Kashmir remained in the grip of a most inhuman oppression.

18. In his address at the inaugural session of the Ministerial Conference, His Excellency Dr. Hamid Algabid, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference paid a warm tribute to Their Excellencies President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari and Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for their constant attention and steadfast support to all joint Islamic causes.

19. The Secretary General also expressed his profound gratitude to the Government and people of Pakistan for their warm and generous welcome and for the arrangements made to ensure the full success of the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

20. The Secretary General stated that the cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif has remained the central focus of the endeavours of the OIC. The situation in the Middle East had lately witnessed important developments. The peace process has gained momentum. He emphasized that the issue of Al-Quds Al-Sharif must be resolved in a manner acceptable to the Islamic world.

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26. The Conference noted with appreciation the Reports submitted by the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on various items of the agenda.

27. During the general debate, the Foreign Ministers and heads of delegations analyzed the situation in the Islamic world particularly the challenges confronting the people of Palestine. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jammu and Kashmir and Afghanistan. They emphasized the need for intensifying collective efforts to promoting just and equitable solutions to these problems as well as for the realization of the noble objectives of the Charter of the OIC.

PALESTINE AND AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF

28. The Conference reaffirmed that the Palestine Question is the prime cause of all Muslims, and expressed its pride in, and solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization in its just struggle for removing the effects of Israeli occupation and building the Palestinian national institutions on the land of Palestine with a view to fulfilling the inalienable Palestinian national rights, including the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland, to determine their own future, and to establish their own independent state on their national soil with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

29. It expressed its support for the peace process in the Middle East, based on the resolutions of international legality, in particular Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, which guarantee full Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al Quds Al Sharif as well as from the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese and Jordanian territories. It welcomed the agreements concluded within this framework and expressed the hope that progress would be achieved on the other issues.

30. It further affirmed that Al Quds Al Sharif is the core of the Palestine Question which in turn, is at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, that it is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and all the provisions applicable to the other occupied territories under the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly also apply to it. It emphasized the necessity of its restoration to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine for the sake of peace and security in the region.

31. It strongly condemned the aggressive Israeli scheme to partition the Ibrahimi Mosque Enclosure in the occupied city of Al Khalil, which aims at seizing and judaizing most of it and building a Jewish temple on its site. It requested Member States to coordinate and step up their efforts in the various international fora with a view to thwarting this scheme and maintaining the Ibrahimi Mosque enclosure as a sacred shrine for Muslims as it has always been through the ages.

32. It called on the international community to work for the return of the international observers to the city of Al Khalil in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 904, and to persuade Israel to allow them to carry out their tasks there as well as in all occupied Palestinian territories.

33. It demanded full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan to the borders existing on 4 June 1967.

34. It strongly condemned Israel for refusing to comply with Security Council Resolution 491 (1981) and imposing its jurisdiction, its laws and its administration on the occupied Syrian Golan, as well as Israel's policies of annexation, establishment of settlements, expropriation of lands, diversion of water resources and imposition of Israeli nationality on Syrian Citizen. It considered that all these measures are null and void and a violation of the rules and principles of international law relative to the protection of civilians in times of war and occupation particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

35. It strongly condemned Israel's continuing occupation of Southern Lebanon and the Western Bekaa and demanded the immediate complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese territory in accordance with Security Council Resolution No.425 of 1978.

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ANNEX II

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE

SEVENTH EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE

ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS

ISLAMABAD – ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

7 – 9 SEPTEMBER (2 – 4 RABIUL THANI, 1415 H)

RESOLUTION NO. 1/7 ON THE QUESTION OF AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF,

PALESTINE AND THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

The Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 2 to 4 Rabi'II 1415H (7-9 September 1994) ,

Having considered the Report of the Secretary General on the Question of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict contained in Document No. EX-ICFM/7-94/QP-D.1;

Proceeding from the principles and objectives of the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference;

Pursuant to the resolutions of the Islamic Summit and Ministerial Conferences on the Question of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict;

Recalling the resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and in the other occupied Arab territories;

Recalling resolutions 465, 476 and 478 of the Security Council on the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Islamic resolutions emphasizing that the Question of Al-Quds Al-Sharif constitutes the heart of the Palestine Question which is the prime cause of all Muslims and the core of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and that a just and comprehensive peace will only be achieved with the return of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine;

Reaffirming the U.N. Security Council resolution No. 681 which states that all the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in time of War, concluded on 12 August 1949, apply to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Recalling resolution 904 (1994) of the Security Council on the massacre of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Al-Khalil which calls for the provision of international protection to the Palestinians in the city of Al-Khalil;

Expressing deep concern at Israel's continuing repressive measures and practiceS against Palestinian citizens, its siege of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the continuing Israeli attacks on Southern Lebanon and Western Al-Bekaa;

Proceeding from Islamic and international resolutions which reaffirm the legitimacy of the struggle waged by the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole legitimate representative, for the re-establishment of their sovereignty over their land, and the exercise of their inalienable national rights;

Noting with interest the continuation of. peace efforts aiming at the realization of a just and comprehensive solution of the Palestinian question and the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of Security Council Resolution 242 and 338, the principle of "land for peace"' and the national and legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people;

Emphasizing the role of the United Nations in the efforts to secure a just and comprehensive settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict;

1. Reaffirms all the resolutions of the Islamic Conferences, relating to the Question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

2. Reaffirms that the Palestine Question is the prime cause of all Muslims, and expresses its pride in, and solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization in its just struggle for removing the effects of Israeli occupation and building the Palestinian national institutions on the land of Palestine with a view to fulfilling the inalienable Palestinian national rights including the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to establish their own independent State on national soil with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

3. Calls on Member States to further strengthen their solidarity with the Palestinian people, and support their just and legitimate struggle for ending Israeli occupation and achieving all their goals of freedom and independence.

4. Affirms that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region can only be achieved through complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and from the other occupied Arab territories.

5. Expresses its support: and backing for the peace process in the Middle East, which is aimed at bringing about a just and comprehensive solution to the Question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict and welcomes the agreements concluded within the framework of the peace process. It believes that the success of the peace process in the Middle East hinges on the fulfillment of the following principles and basic factors:

First

It being based on the resolutions of international legality, including resolutions 242 and 338 of the Security Council, and the obligation to implement them in accordance with the Arab and international understanding of the two resolutions, which guarantees full, Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif as well as from the occupied Syrian Golan and Jordanian territories, and on the basis of the formula "land for peace"; of the legitimate national and political rights of the Palestinian people, and of the need to enable them to exercise their right of return in conformity with resolution 194.

Second

Applicability of Security Council resolution 242 to all Arab occupied territories including the Palestinian territories.

Third

The fact that Al-Quds is the heart of the Palestine Question which, in turn, is the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Al-Quds is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and to it apply all the provisions applicable to the other occupied territories under the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly and the necessity of its return to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine, for the sake of peace and security in the region.

Fourth

Dismantling the settlements already established since they are unlawful under the resolutions of international legality including resolution 465 of the Security Council, and cessation of the settling of Jews in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Syrian Golan, combined with the necessity of providing international guarantees to that effect.

Fifth

The need to secure international protection for the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories, to implement the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Hague Treaty of 1907, to halt all Israel's terrorist and repressive practices against the Palestinian people and, Palestinian detainees in the occupied Palestinian territories, to halt the expropriation and attempted transformation of Islamic and Christian properties and waqfs, to halt the continuing violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, and to halt the excavations which endanger these shrines.

6. Calls for continued support for the Palestine Liberation Organization so that it can face up to the next phase, and for its stands in the forthcoming negotiations, aimed at consolidating the transfer of power in the occupied Palestinian territories to the Palestinian National Authority, and firmly establishing its control over all occupied Palestinian territories including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif; and appeals to the various nations in the world to extend their support and assistance to the Palestinian National Authority.

7. Calls for a more effective participation of the United Nations in promoting the success of the peace process in the Middle East, and reaffirms the continued and constant responsibility of the United Nations vis-a-vis the Palestine Question until a just and comprehensive solution to all its aspects is achieved securing an end to occupation and the exercise, by the Palestinian people, of their inalienable national rights.

8. Warns the international opinion and the Security Council against the gravity of Israel's behaviour as though it were excepted from abiding by the: principles of international law and exempted from compliance with the norms of international legality, and urges the international community to compel Israel to desist from violating the principles of international legality and to implement the resolutions of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council without delay or procrastination.

9. Deplores the aggressive Israeli scheme to partition the Ibrahimi Mosque Enclosure in the occupied city of Al-Khalil, which aims at seizing and judaizing most of it and building a Jewish temple on its site. It calls on the Member States to continue their coordination and intensive efforts in the various international fora to prevent the implementation of this scheme and preserve the Ibrahimi Enclosure as a sacred mosque for Muslims as it has been through the ages. It warns that any slackness in these efforts, would encourage Israel to undermine the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic and Christian shrines, which would affect the peace process.

10. Calls on the international community to work for the return of the international observers to the city of Al-Khalil in accordance with the Security Council resolution No. 904, and to oblige Israel to allow them to carry out their tasks.

11. Invites Member States to work within the framework of the United Nations and at the international institutions and fora for compelling Israel to release the detainees, bring back the deportees, put an end to the method of collective punishment, and desist from any works that would endanger life and the environment in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

12. Strongly condemns Israel's continuing occupation of Southern Lebanon and Western Bekaa as well as its continuing aggressions and repressive and military practices against Lebanese citizens and against the Palestinian refugees in the camps in Lebanon. It calls on the U.N Security Council to take the necessary measures to halt these aggressions immediately and demands the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese territory.  It reiterates its attachment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon within its international recognized borders, as well as the need for implementing the Security Council resolutions on Lebanon, particularly resolution 425 (1978); it expresses its appreciation of the achievements of the High-Level Arab Committee of the Three, and calls on the international community to contribute to the International Fund for the Reconstruction of Lebanon.

13. Strongly condemns the policy of Israel in refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981) , and in imposing its jurisdiction, its laws and its administration on the occupied Syrian Golan, as well as Israel's policies of annexation, establishment of settlements, expropriation of lands, diversion of water resources and imposition of Israeli nationality on Syrian citizens. It considers that all those measures are null and void, and constitute a violation of the rules and principles of international law, relating to occupation and war and particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 It demands the complete withdrawal of Israel from the entire Syrian Golan to the lines held on 4 June 1967.

14. Calls on the international community and the Security Council to compel Israel to comply with U.N. Resolutions, particularly Security Council Resolution 487 (1981) to accede to the treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to implement the Resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calling for the subjection of all Israeli Atomic facilities to the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards System, to proclaim Israel's renunciation of nuclear armament, and to submit a full report on its stockpile of nuclear weapons and materials to the Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency as those steps are essential for the establishment of a zone free from weapons of mass destruction, and primarily nuclear weapons in the Middle East region, and fundamental factor tor the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

15. Commends the efforts deployed by Al-Quds Committee, under the Chairmanship Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco.

16. Stresses the importance of continued joint Islamic efforts to preserve holy shrines in the occupied Palestinian territories and counter Israeli measures aiming at the judaization of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and other holy places, within the framework of efforts to restore Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Arab-Islamic sovereignty.

17. Calls on Member States to honour their commitment to cover the approved budgets of the Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf set at one hundred million dollars each. It invites them to pay their contributions and appeals to them to continue the fund-raising campaign at official and popular levels in favour of the Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf.

18. Endorses the recommendations made by the thirteenth and fourteenth sessions of the Governing Board of the Al-Quds Fund.

19. Expresses its appreciation to the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of African Unity, the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and to all peoples and peace-loving forces for their support of the Palestinian Question in the international fora, and their backing of the struggle and blessed Intifada of the Palestinian people. It calls on them to continue that support and assistance by all available means.

20. Requests the Secretary General to take necessary measures for continuing and strengthening contacts and coordination on the Question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict between the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity, the Non-Aligned Movement, the European Union, and the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies.

21. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution and to submit a report thereon to the next Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

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