CEIRPP meeting – Summary record

COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS

OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 149th MEETING

Held at Headquarters, New York,

on Thursday, 14 January 1988, at 10 a.m.

Temporary Chairman:  Mr. PEREZ DE CUELLAR (Secretary-General of

                                          the United Nations)

                           Chairman:  Mr. SARRE (Senegal)

                              later:  Mr. ORAMAS-OLIVA (Cuba)

                                            CONTENTS

Adoption of the agenda

Election of officers

Organization of work

Report of the Eighteenth United Nations Seminar on the Question of Palestine, held at Havana (Cuba) on 15-17 December 1987

     This record is subject to correction.

     Corrections  should  be  submitted  in  one  of  the  working  languages.   They  should be  set  forth  in  a  memorandum  and  also  incorporated  in a copy of  the  record.  They should  be  sent  within  one  week  of  the  date  of  this  document to the Chief, Official Records  Editing  Section,  Department  of  Conference   Services,  room  DC2-750,  2  United Nations Plaza.

     Any  corrections  to  the  record  of  this  meeting  and  of  other  meetings will be issued in a corrigendum.

                   The meeting was called to order at 10.25 a.m.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (A/AC.183/1988/L.1)

1.   The agenda was adopted.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

2.   Mr. PEJIC (Yugoslavia) said that, despite two recent Security Council resolutions, repression in the West Bank and Gaza, and the toll in human lives and destruction had been mounting steadily.  Moreover, Israel was intensifying its attacks on Lebanon.  In such a situation, the unique role of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in the promotion of a comprehensive, just and peaceful solution of the question of Palestine was acquiring greater importance.

3.   No doubt 1988 would be a very difficult and politically delicate year.  For that reason, his delegation proposed that the composition of the Bureau should remain the same as in 1987.  Mr. Sarré (Senegal) should be re-elected Chairman, Mr. Oramas-Oliva (Cuba) and Mr. Dost (Afghanistan) should be re-elected Vice-Chairmen, and Mr. Borg-Olivier (Malta) should be re-elected Rapporteur.

4.   Mr. DASGUPTA (India) and Mr. IHEME (Nigeria) supported the statement made by the representative of Yugoslavia concerning the composition of the Bureau.

5.   The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN said that, if he heard no objection, he would take it that the Committee wished to re-elect the officers named by the representative of Yugoslavia.

6.   It was so decided.

7.   Mr. Sarré (Senegal) took the Chair.

8.   The SECRETARY-GENERAL congratulated the Chairman and the other members of the Bureau on their re-election.

9.   With a renewed mandate from the General Assembly, the Committee was resuming its important work in 1988 against the background of recent tragic events in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.  In its resolution 605 (1987), the Security Council had strongly deplored the current policies and practices of Israel in the occupied territories and had requested him to examine the current situation in the occupied territories and to submit a report no later than 20 January 1988 containing his recommendations on ways and means for ensuring the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation.  In that connection, he had sent an Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs to Israel and the occupied territories in order to study the situation at first hand.  The Under-Secretary-General had met with the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs earlier in the day.

10.  On 5 January 1988, the Security Council had unanimously adopted its resolution 607 (1988), which called upon Israel to refrain from deporting any Palestinian civilians from the occupied territories.  He therefore regretted Israel's expulsion of four Palestinians to Lebanon in defiance of that resolution and its obligations under the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.  He hoped that the Israeli authorities would reconsider their decision and allow those four Palestinians to return home immediately.

11.  For over four decades, the United Nations had sought to find a solution to the Middle East conflict, the core of which was the question of Palestine.  Despite numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and persistent international efforts, the people of the area had experienced constant suffering and five major wars.  It was encouraging that a wide measure of agreement on the elements to be included in a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict had emerged.  Those elements were:  the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied since 1967; respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States in the region and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries; and a satisfactory solution of the Palestinian problem, based on the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination.  In that context, the question of Jerusalem remained of primary importance.

12.  The International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva in 1983, had called for the convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East; it had spelt out the guidelines for the peace Conference and decided that the participants should include the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). That proposal had been endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 38/58 C of 13 December 1983, and at each Assembly since then.  The debate at the forty-second session had confirmed the overwhelming support for a just solution of the conflict.  The United Nations retained an essential responsibility to find a solution, and he would persevere in his search for a negotiated peace in the Middle East which would ensure justice for all the peoples of the region.

13.  The Committee had a vital role to play in disseminating information and mobilizing official and public support for efforts to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people and enable them to exercise their inalienable rights.

14.  He would continue to provide the Committee with all assistance in the fulfilment of the mandate which had been entrusted to it by the General Assembly.

15.  The CHAIRMAN said that he viewed his re-election as a tribute to his country, which hole-heartedly supported the purposes and principles of the Charter and the promotion of international relations based on justice and peace.  Senegal was committed to the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, in particular their right to self-determination and to the creation of an independent State on their native soil.  In the same spirit, his country recognized the right of all States and peoples in the region to exist and enjoy peace.

(The Chairman)

16.  He thanked the Secretary-General for personally opening the Committee's 1st meeting of 1988.  The members of the Committee still remembered the Secretary-General's first statement upon taking office, in which he had accorded priority to the Middle East problem.  Since that time, his tireless efforts to bring about a just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine had testified to his special interest in the Palestinian people's recovery of their inalienable rights to self-determination and independence.

17.  In 1987, the Committee's activities had centred on the convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East.  The Committee had sought to make concrete proposals to that end based on the reports of the Secretary-General and the realities of the situation.  The proposal for the establishment of a preparatory committee of the Security Council, with the participation of the Council's permanent members, had been a positive step.  Another encouraging sign had been the adoption of resolutions on Palestine by an overwhelming majority at the forty-second session of the General Assembly.  That had been proof of the international community's increasing awareness of the need to find a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.  Moreover, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council had recognized the urgency of initiating a negotiation process, within the framework of the Organization, with a view to seeking a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in the interest of all parties concerned, including the Palestinian people.

18.  At the forty-second session of the General Assembly, all delegations had underscored the role of the United Nations in the solution of the Middle East question, and the importance of convening an International Peace Conference on the Middle East.  In 1987, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries through its Committee of Nine on Palestine, the Arab leaders gathered at Amman in October 1987, and non-governmental organizations, had sought to facilitate the convening of the Conference.  If greater political will and realism were displayed and misunderstanding and mistrust among the parties overcome, it would be possible to create, in 1988, all the conditions required for convening the Conference.

19.  Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) said that major events were occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories, which would influence efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.  After 40 years of "statelessness" and more than 20 years of foreign occupation, repression and exploitation, the Palestinians in the occupied territories had risen up in revolt.  Israel's military measures had failed because of the determination of the Palestinians to achieve their inalienable rights.

 20.  The Security Council was unable to act because of the position taken by a permanent member, the United States of America.  The PLO hoped that, after the shedding of so much innocent blood, the United States Government would respond positively to the call for the International Peace Conference on the Middle East. The atrocities committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories and the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people should prove to the United States Government that Israel's "iron fist" policy had failed and that peace could be achieved only through negotiations.

21.  Israel's political and military opposition to that peace process must be overcome.  The PLO called upon the States Members of the United Nations, in particular the permanent members of the Security Council, to facilitate the search for peace.  Among the difficulties facing the United Nations was the recent adoption by the host country of legislation detrimental to the smooth functioning of the Organization.  The United States was thus violating its obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations (Headquarters Agreement), and attempting to impose its domestic legislation on the Organization.  He was certain that the Secretary-General would not permit any such interference and would resolve that matter in accordance with the Agreement.  The PLO was confident that the Committee would keep under constant review the developments affecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and continue its efforts to bring about the long-overdue settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict through a just solution to the question of Palestine, the core of the conflict.

22.  Mr. DOST (Afghanistan) said that in view of the violence and the bloodshed occurring in the occupied territories, the Committee must redouble its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the question of Palestine.  He hoped that an International Peace Conference on the Middle East would be convened in the near future in order to bring about such a solution.  His Government continued to support the valiant struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve their inalienable rights.

23.  The Secretary-General withdrew.

ORGANIZATION OF WORK (A/AC.183/1988/CRP.1)

24.  Mr. BORG-OLIVIER (Malta), Rapporteur, said that the draft programme of work for 1988 (A/AC.183/1988/CRP.1) had been prepared as a preliminary paper containing suggestions based on past practice, decisions taken by the Committee and resolutions adopted at the forty-second session of the General Assembly.  The adoption by the General Assembly of the resolutions on the question of Palestine by an even larger majority than at previous sessions was strong encouragement for the Committee to continue its work.  The draft programme of work for 1988 had given priority to efforts to promote the early convening of the proposed International Peace Conference on the Middle East.  In previous years, the draft programme of work had been considered first by the Working Group of the Committee.  Accordingly, he suggested that the Working Group should be re-established in order to consider the draft and make appropriate recommendations to the Committee.

25.  Mr. Oramas-Oliva (Cuba) took the Chair.

26.  The CHAIRMAN said that, if he heard no objection, he would take it that the Committee wished to re-establish the Working Group and to elect Mr. Borg-Olivier (Malta) as Chairman and Mr. Rath (India) as Vice-Chairman.

27.  It was so decided.

REPORT ON THE EIGHTEENTH UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE, HELD AT HAVANA (CUBA) ON 15-17 DECEMBER 1987

28.  Mr. RATH (India), introducing the report on the Eighteenth United Nations Seminar on the Question of Palestine, said that in addition to the panelists and representatives of 23 Governments, the Seminar had been attended by representatives of the PLO, 2 United Nations bodies, 4 United Nations programmes and specialized agencies, 2 national liberation organizations and 17 non-governmental organizations.  The Committee had been represented by a delegation composed of H.E. Mr. Massamba Sarré, Chairman; H.E. Mr. Alberto Velasco-San José (Cuba); Mr. Zehdi Terzi (PLO); and himself as Rapporteur.  Four meetings had been held, and papers had been presented by 17 panelists.  Three panels had been established to discuss the following topics:  the question of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East; the question of Palestine and Latin American/Caribbean public opinion; and the role of the PLO.  The report of the Seminar, which had been adopted unanimously, contained summaries of the discussions of the three panels, as

well as their conclusions and recommendations.

29.  As the Rapporteur for the Seminar, he was satisfied with the work accomplished, the well-researched papers submitted, and the lively discussions which had taken place.  He was grateful for the gracious assistance provided by the government of Cuba.

30.  The Seminar had reaffirmed that the denial of the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people remained the core of the conflict in the Middle East, that a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region could not be achieved without the full exercise of those rights, and that the PLO was the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.  It had been unanimously concluded that the way to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East was through the convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations, and with the participation of all parties to the conflict, including the PLO, on an equal footing, as well as the United States, the Soviet Union and other concerned States, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 38/58 C.

31.  The Seminar had taken the view that the current situation demanded a renewal and intensification of collective international efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive, just and lasting solution.  It had noted with appreciation the efforts of the Committee to secure universal recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and had expressed its gratitude for the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General to convene an International Peace Conference on the Middle East.  In that regard, the Seminar had taken note of the report of the Secretary-General in document A/42/714-S/19249, and had expressed full support for his intention to maintain his special effort and continue to explore with the parties ways of advancing the process.

32.  The Seminar had also taken the view that the recent adoption of an amendment by the United States Senate aimed at prohibiting the establishment and maintenance of offices of the PLO in the United States ignored the fact that the PLO Observer Mission to the United Nations had been established in accordance with General Assembly resolution 3237 (XXIX), and that such legislation was contrary to the Headquarters Agreement.  Lastly, the Seminar had recalled with appreciation the support extended by the Governments and peoples of Latin America to the Palestinian cause in the effort to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.  He suggested that, as in the past, the conclusions and recommendations of the Seminar should be annexed to the annual report of the Committee to the General Assembly, and that the full report should be published as a special bulletin of the Division

for Palestinian Rights and given the widest possible distribution.

                          The meeting rose at 11.35 a.m.