Mideast situation/Palestine question – OAU action – Letter from Guinea (excerpts)

CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE

ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY

Letter dated 11 May 1987 from the Permanent Representative

of Guinea to the United Nations addressed to the

Secretary-General

I have the honour to request that you arrange for the distribution as an official document of the General Assembly, under item 25 of the preliminary list, of the statement and resolutions adopted by the council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity at its forty-fifth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 to 28 February 1987 (see annex)

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CM/Res.1085 (XLV)*

Resolution on the situation in the Middle East

The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting at its forty-fifth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 to 28 February 1987,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity on the Middle East as contained in document CM/1419 (XLV),

Guided by the principles and purposes of the Charters of the Organization of African Unity and of the United Nations and by the common determination of the African and Arab peoples to fight jointly to safeguard their freedom,

Recalling the successive resolutions adopted by previous sessions of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, and the Council of Ministers of the OAU on the situation in the Middle East,

Recalling further the numerous recommendations and resolutions adopted by the various conferences of the Non-Aligned Movement on the situation in the Middle East,

Noting with deep concern that, in spite of the many resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council and the Organization of African Unity urging Israel to withdraw from Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, not only has Israel persistently refused to comply with these resolutions but continues to pursue its expansionist and occupation policy,

Deploring the systematic obstruction by Israel of all efforts made towards reaching a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem,

Fully conscious of the fact that the support given to Israel by some Powers, the United States of America in particular, enables it to pursue its acts of aggression and encourages it to perpetrate acts of terrorism and illegal occupation of part of the territories in the region,

Noting with concern that the alliance between the Zionist regime of Israel and the apartheid régime of South Africa is aimed at pursuing the policy of terrorism and liquidation of the Palestinians and Arabs in the occupied territories, on the one hand, and of the majority black population of South Africa and Namibia on the other,

1. Reaffirms all previous resolutions adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and the Council of Ministers of the OAU and its total and effective support for the Palestinian people under the dynamic leadership of its sole and legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization;

2. Further reaffirms its total support for the Arab countries, victims of Israeli aggression, and its support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle to recover their usurped rights and their occupied territories;

3. Condemns vigorously the establishment of settlements by Israel in Palestine and in the other occupied territories, Judaization of the city of Jerusalem and its proclamation as its capital;

4. Strongly commends the courageous effort of the Lebanese people in confronting the Zionist Israeli aggression and vehemently condemns the aggressions perpetrated against Lebanon and the Palestinian camps;

5. Recommends that member States renew their firm determination not to establish or re-establish diplomatic ties with Israel, a natural and unconditional accomplice of racist South Africa;*

6. Strongly condemns all agreements concluded separately and all commitments made individually which constitute a flagrant violation of the rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland, exercise their right to self-determination and their full sovereignty over their territory;*

7. Strongly condemns the establishment of nuclear missiles by Israel in the Golan Heights and the Negev Desert which not only represents a direct threat to the Arab region but also to peace and security in the African continent;

8. Strongly condemns Israel, the, occupying force, for not complying with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, on the protection of civilians in times of war;

9. Urges Israel to put an immediate end to the illegal occupation of southern Lebanon and considers null and void any measures taken by Israel in the occupied Arab territories aimed at exploiting their resources and requests all States, international organizations and investment agencies not to recognize Israel's authority over these territories and not to co-operate with it in any form whatsoever in its exploitation of these resources and sources of energy;

10. Makes an urgent appeal to the international community to exert an effective pressure on Israel in all fields so as to force it to comply with the decisions of the international community;

11. Reiterates its request to the Security Council to take the necessary measures to compel Israel to end its occupation of the Arab and Palestinian territories and to help the Palestinian people to exercise their national rights in accordance with the recommendations adopted by the United Nations Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to monitor the developments in the Middle East question and to report to the next ordinary session of the Council of ministers of the Organization of African Unity.

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* Reservations by Cote d'Ivoire on the resolution, by Cameroon on paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 and by Zaire on paragraph 5.

CM/Res.1086 (XLV)

Resolution on the Palestinian question

The Council of Ministers of the organization of African Unity, meeting at its forty-fifth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 to 28 February 1987,

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General on the Question of Palestine contained in document CM/1419 (XLV),

Recalling the resolutions adopted at the previous sessions of the Council of Ministers and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government on the problem of the Middle East and the Palestinian question,

Guided by the Principles and purposes of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity and of the United Nations Organization and by the common struggle against Zionism and racism, and for freedom, independence and peace,

Recalling that the Palestinian question constitutes the core of the Middle East conflict, and that PLO is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,

Reiterating the relevant decisions of the OAU making the Palestinian question an Arab and African issue,

Conscious of the seriousness of the present situation resulting from the continued occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories by Israel, its refusal to respect the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations, its firm determination to establish settlements in the occupied Arab territories, especially in Jerusalem, thus altering the geographical, demographic, cultural and social characteristics of Palestine,

Deeply concerned about the serious intensification of Israeli activities in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, whether through the continued establishment of new settlements, or, by increasing its oppressive measures against the Arab citizens, threatening their livelihood and security, and its flagrant desecration of holy places and continued pressures on Arab educational and academic institutions, universities in the occupied territories,

Reaffirming that a just and lasting peace can only be achieved when the people of Palestine exercise their inalienable rights, particularly their right to return to their homeland, to the recovery of national sovereignty, their right to self-determination and their right to establish an independent State on their territory,

Reaffirming the legitimacy of the struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for the recovery of their territories and the full exercise of their national rights,

Considering the recommendations adopted by the United Nations Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and noting with grave concern that the alliance between the Zionist régime of Israel and the racist régime of South Africa aims at intensifying acts of terrorism and genocide against the peoples of Palestine and South Africa,

1. Reaffirms all previous resolutions on the Palestinian question and reiterates its unwavering support for the people of Palestine led by PLO, the sole legitimate representative, and reaffirms the right of the people of Palestine to continue their struggle in all political and military forms, as well as the use of all means to liberate their occupied territory and to recover their inalienable national rights, in particular, their right to return to their homeland, the exercise of their right to self-determination and to establish an independent State in their territory;

2. Condemns:

(a) All maneuvers and formulae aimed at preventing the people of Palestine from exercising their right to self-determination, from achieving their national aspirations to return to their homeland and from exercising their freedom and complete sovereignty;

(b) Any initiatives, measures or agreements that do not take into account the aspirations of the people of Palestine and of their sole legitimate representative the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO); considers null and void any agreement on the Palestinian question which excludes the Palestine Liberation Organization;

(c) The expansionist policies pursued by Israel and aimed at imposing a fait accompli in the occupied territories and further condemns the Israeli policy of expansionism, establishment of settlements, expropriation of lands and the forced emigration of the indigenous population, as well as the massive or individual extermination of people, all aimed at modifying the demographical characteristics of the territory;

(d) Israel's policy of expelling the leaders of the people of Palestine and intellectuals, as well as other Arab peoples, especially the Lebanese people;

(e) Israel's expansionist, colonialist, racist and terrorist actions against the Palestinian and the Lebanese peoples;

(f) The collusion between the Zionist régime of Israel and the racist regime of south Africa;

3. Calls upon all member States to intensify their efforts to face the danger and to strengthen the struggle against Zionism, apartheid and imperialism and to this end, further calls upon the member States of the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States to place on the agenda of all their sessions, the item "Collusion between South Africa and Israel";

4. Calls upon the international community to exercise increased pressure on Israel in all fields so as to compel it to conform to the Charter of the United Nations and the resolution adopted on the Palestinian question, emphasizes the efforts deployed by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and calls upon the Security Council to implement the recommendations of this Committee adopted by the General Assembly;

5. Calls-upon the Security Council to take effective measures to guarantee the exercise by the people of Palestine of their national and imprescriptible rights recognized by the United Nations General Assembly and considers that Security Council resolution 242 of 22 November 1967 does not guarantee the future of the Palestinian people and their imprescriptible rights nor does it provide a basis for a just solution to the Palestinian question;

6. Firmly supports the Arab Peace Plan adopted at the twelfth Arab Summit held in Fez on 9 December 1982 as an important contribution to the search for a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict; and calls for the implementation of General Assembly resolution 39/49 of 11 December 1984, on the holding of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East and calls upon all the member States to ensure the implementation of the aforesaid resolution;*

7. Commends the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts aimed at restoring the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine;

9. Requests the OAU Secretary-General to monitor the developments in the Palestinian question and to report to the next ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity.

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* Reservation by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on para. 6.

CM/Res.1087 (XLV)

Resolution on the situation of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon

The Council of ministers of the organization of African Unity, meeting at its forty-fifth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 to 28 February 1987,

Inspired by the principles of the OAU Charter,

Reaffirming its consistent support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to assist them in restoring their national inalienable rights,

Expressing its deep concern over the tragic events directed against the Palestinian camps with the aim of destroying and eliminating them, dispersing their inhabitants by force in implementation of the plan of implanting them in a "substitute country" in accordance with the plot directed against the Palestinian people and their just cause, as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and authentic representative of the Palestinian people,

Expressing its strong indignation at the continuation of the siege imposed upon the Palestinian camps; the continuous bombardment of these camps by different kinds of armaments, the killing and injuring of thousands of its inhabitants, including children, women and elders, and denying them access to medication and basic food supplies, water and electricity, in addition to the acts of kidnapping, detaining and killing at a time when the Israeli forces are continuously raiding these camps, bombarding them from sea, land and air, in a continuous horrible massacre, in implementation of a preconceived plan being concocted for many years without regard to international conscience,

Inspired by the resolutions of the United Nations concerning the protection of Palestinian refugees in the host Arab countries, and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the Geneva Conventions of 1949,

1. Strongly condemns the siege of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon and the inhuman massacres committed against its innocent civilian population;

2. Demands:

(a) An immediate cease-fire and the cessation of all acts of aggression against the Palestinian camps;

(b) The total lifting of the siege imposed upon the Palestinian camps, and the ensuring of access to medical aid and basic food supplies for their inhabitant

(c) The return of all the displaced and kidnapped Palestinians to the camps and the reconstruction of these camps;

3. Appeals to the United Nations to adopt all necessary measures for the protection of the Palestinian camps, taking due account of the sovereignty of Lebanon;

4. Requests the Chairman of the Council and the Secretary-General of the OAU to deploy every effort, in co-operation with other international organizations and institutions, in particular the Arab League, to ensure the implementation of this resolution;

5. Requests the Secretary-General of the OAU to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the forty-sixth ordinary session of the OAU Council of Ministers.

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