Palestine question/Jerusalem – OIC communique – Letter from Morocco(excerpts)

Letter dated 16 October 1995 from the Permanent

Representative of Morocco to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit herewith the final communiqué and reports adopted at the annual coordination meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, held at New York on 2 October 1995 (see annexes*), and to request that they be circulated as a document of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, under agenda items 10, 28, 29, 32, 42, 44, 54, 56 and 96 (b), and of the Security Council.

                                             (Signed)  Ahmed SNOUSSI

                                                          Ambassador

                                                        Permanent Representative

________________________

* The attached annexes are being issued as received in the languages of submission only.

96-00508 (E)   230196 /…

ANNEX I

OIC/NY-95/ACM/FC-FINAL

FINAL COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE

OIC ANNUAL COORDINATION MEETING

OF THE MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

HELD AT THE UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

ON 8 JUMADA-I, 1416H

(2 OCTOBER 1995)

The OIC Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held on 8 Jumada-I, 1416H corresponding to 2 October 1995 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Snoussi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations, representing the Chairman of the Twenty-second Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

2. The Meeting noted with appreciation the Reports of the Secretary-General on the items of the Agenda and approved the recommendations contained therein.  The Agenda of the Meeting is given as annex.

3. The Meeting granted observer status in the OIC to the Republics of Uzbekistan and Guyana.

4. The Meeting endorsed the recommendations contained in the report of the six-member Committee on Palestine.

CAUSE OF PALESTINE AND AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF

5. The Meeting reaffirmed the OIC support to the peace process in the Middle East.  It welcomed the signature in Washington on 28 September, 1995, of the Agreement on the extension of the autonomy and called for the respect of the timeframe for the implementation of the agreements.

6. The Meeting called for the continuation of support to the PLO and its National Authority in the ongoing negotiations in order to affirm the transfer of all powers and responsibilities, in all fields in the occupied Palestinian territories, to the Palestinian National Authority to establish its authority over all the occupied Palestinian territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif.  It also reaffirmed support for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return, to self-determination, to establish their independent State on their national soil, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital; as well as support for the international programme for economic, social and cultural development in the occupied territories.

7. The Meeting called for supporting the efforts aimed at implementing UN resolutions, particularly Security Council resolution 242, 338 and 425 which stipulate Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan, and the occupied Lebanese territories.

8. The Meeting reaffirmed its support to the Middle East peace process aimed at finding a just and comprehensive solution to the issue of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict based on resolutions of the international legality, in particular the formula of land for peace.

9. The Meeting also reaffirmed the necessity of the restoration of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Palestinian sovereignty as the capital of the State of Palestine.  It also reaffirmed that Al-Quds Al-Sharif is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and that whatever applies to other occupied territories shall also be applicable to it in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

10. The Meeting called on the international community, particularly the co-chairmen of the Peace Conference, to persuade Israel not to carry out any geographic or demographic change in Al-Quds Al-Sharif during the interim phase which may jeopardize the outcome of negotiations on the final status of the city.  Israel must also be forced to stop Jewish settlement in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the occupied Syrian Golan, as this is illegal according to international resolutions, including UN Security Council resolution no. 465, and the necessity of providing international guarantees to ensure it, and to request the Security Council to constitute an international committee for supervision and control so as to prevent settlement in the occupied Arab Palestinian territories.

11. The Meeting emphasized the need to exert efforts at all international fora in order to compel Israel to release the detainees and bring back the deportees and halt mass punishments, and to oblige it to desist from any action that may endanger life and environment in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

12. The Meeting requested the international community and the Security Council to persuade Israel to comply with UN resolutions, in particular Security Council resolution no. 487 of 1981, join the Nuclear Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty, implement the resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which call for subjecting all Israeli nuclear facilities to the IAEA system of comprehensive guarantees.  Israel must also declare its renunciation of nuclear armament, submit a complete inventory of its nuclear arms and material to the Security Council and the IAEA.  These may be deemed necessary steps for establishing an area free of weapons of mass destruction, namely nuclear arms in the Middle East, which is an essential requirement for establishing a comprehensive and just peace in the region.

13. The Meeting reaffirmed the necessity of continuing the UNRWA mission for the Palestinian people wherever it may be and submit a request from the Member States to the UN Secretary-General so that the Reconciliation Committee, in cooperation with UNRWA and the States concerned, may prepare a comprehensive census of Palestinian refugees and their properties, as well as formulate a comprehensive conception for solving their problem in accordance with the UN resolution 194.

/…

ANNEX II

OIC/NY-95/PAL/D.1

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

ON AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF AND PALESTINE

SUBMITTED TO THE ANNUAL COORDINATION MEETING OF THE

MEETING OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS'

AT THE U.N. HEADQUARTERS – NEW YORK

8 JUMADA AL AWAL 1416H

(2 OCTOBER 1995)

1. Two years after the signing of the historic transitional self-rule agreement in the occupied Palestinian territories between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, the peace process in the Middle East and particularly the negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian track have made good strides ahead involving the establishment of a national Palestinian authority on the soil of Palestine in the Gaza Strip and Jericho, and the initiation of the transfer of power in the occupied Palestinian territories to the National Palestinian Authority.  The Palestinian people have managed over this period to achieve several constructive steps on the way to the construction of their independent State.  They have likewise set in motion the process of development and reconstruction of their infrastructure and national institutions.  similarly, the Palestinian National Authority has started exercising its duties in the Palestinian self-rule areas.

2. The Palestinian and Israeli sides have made important steps to implement the second phase of the Declaration of Principles and the extension of the autonomy to include Palestinian territories and cities in the West Bank.  This phase has been marked by the recent signature of the agreements between the two parties on the extension of internal autonomy.  The Secretary-General lauds this agreement which constitutes another positive step towards the road to global peace.

3. The path of the peace process remains long and requires tremendous efforts to solve all other fundamental issues.

4. The Israeli occupation authorities continue to implement its plans to expand its colonies in the city of Al-Quds.  Likewise, the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif is still being blockaded and sealed off, the Palestinian citizens being denied access to it, with continued desecration of the Islamic sanctities there, with the purpose of creating a new fait accompli.  Moreover, the Israeli occupation authorities are impeding the functioning of the national Palestinian institutions in the city thus dishonouring the agreement reached between the Palestinian and Israeli parties.

5. It is also imperative to exert efforts in order to release the Palestinian detainees and to discontinue the policy of establishing settlements and expanding ones already in existence in the occupied Palestinian territories and in particular around the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

6. It is unfortunate that there has been no significant progress regarding the other aspects of the peace process since the signing of the peace agreement between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Israel.  On the Israeli-Syrian track, and despite the intensive diplomatic moves made with the objective of promoting the negotiations, no tangible progress has thus far been achieved, due to Israel's obstinacy and its refusal to fully withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan.  On the Israeli-Lebanese track, Israel continues to refuse to withdraw from the territories it occupies in Lebanon, as called upon by Security Council resolution no. 425.

7. Over the period from 13 to 15 December 1994 the Seventh Islamic Summit Conference was held in the city of Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco under the chairmanship of His Majesty King Hassan II, Sovereign of the Kingdom of Morocco and Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee.  The Conference discussed the issue of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Palestine and issue resolutions in which it expressed its solidarity with the PLO in its just struggle for the removal of the Israeli occupation forces and the construction of the Palestinian national institutions.  It called upon the Member States to support the PLO in its negotiations for the transfer of all authorities and responsibilities to the Palestinian National Authority.  The Conference also stressed that a comprehensive and just peace cannot be achieved without full unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese territories.  The Conference expressed its support for the peace process and welcomed the agreements reached within its framework.  It noted that the success of the peace process hinges on its resting on the international legitimate resolutions, including Security Council resolution 242, 338 and 425, and enabling the Palestinian people to achieve their national and political rights.  The Conference reiterated that Al-Quds Al-Sharif forms an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and the need for it to return to the Palestinian Authority as the capital of the State of Palestine.  The Conference called for the discontinuation of the establishment of Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories and the dismantling of the existing settlements as they are illegal.

8. Over the period, the Secretary-General continued to do his utmost in support of the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Palestine.  In this connection, he undertook several moves and held a number of meetings at the Islamic and international levels.  He also met with H.E. President Yasser Arafat, Head of the Palestinian State and underlined that the issue of Al-Quds and Palestine continues to be the foremost cause of the Islamic Ummah and that any just and comprehensive solution to the conflict in the area needs to include the return of the Holy City of Al-Quds to the Arab-Islamic sovereignty, as the capital for the State of Palestine.  The Secretary-General also called for the extension of assistance in all fields to the Palestinian people under the leadership of their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, so that may remove the sequels of occupation and build up Palestinian national institutions on the Palestinian soil, and for its support in the undergoing negotiations for ensuring the transfer of all authorities and responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, to the Palestinian National Authority.

9. Against this background, the Islamic community is called upon to step up its efforts at the level of the United Nations, the Security Council and the other organs and specialized agencies for the benefit of:

(a) Continuing to extend support to the Palestine Liberation Organization and to its national authority and bolstering its stand in the current negotiations for the concretization of the transfer of all authorities and responsibilities in all fields in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Palestinian National Authority, and to effect its authority on all occupied Palestinian territories, to remove the sequels of Israeli occupation, build up the Palestinian national institutions, achieve the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return, to self-determination and to establish their independent State on their national soil with Al-Quds as its capital, as well as for the promotion of the special international programme for economic, social and cultural development in the occupied territories.

(b) Extending support to the peace process in the Middle East and the efforts made for the implementation of the UN resolutions and particularly Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425 which call for Israel's withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese territories, and for the achievement of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people.

(c) Reiterating that Al-Quds Al-Sharif forms an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, subject to whatever is applicable to the rest of the occupied territories pursuant to the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and reaffirming its imperative return to the Palestinian Authority as capital of the State of Palestine, if peace and security are to be ensured in the region.

(d) Inviting the international community and particularly the peace process co-sponsors to compel Israel to desist from effecting any demographic or administrative change in the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif during the transition period, such as might affect the outcome of the negotiations concerning the final decision regarding the city, and to force it to discontinue the establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the occupied Syrian Golan, such settlements being illegitimate according to international resolutions including Security Council resolution no. 465, in addition to the need to ensure international guarantees for the above and requesting the Security Council to set up an international monitoring and supervising committee to prevent settlements in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

(e) Acting at the level of international institutions and fora to force Israel to release the detainees, reintegrate the deportees, renounce mass sanctions and desist from any actions that may pose a threat to life and the environment in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

(f) Calling upon the international community and the Security Council to compel Israel to comply with the UN resolutions, particularly Security Council resolution no. 487 of 1981, calling upon it to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to implement the resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to declare its renouncement of nuclear armament and to submit a full report on its nuclear armament and ammunition stocks to the Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency.  These being necessary steps towards the establishment in the Middle East of a zone free from massive destruction weapons foremost of which are nuclear weapons, which is a vital requisite for the establishment of a comprehensive and just peace in the region.

(g) Requesting the UN Secretary-General to see to it that the reconciliation committee should, in collaboration with the Relief Agency and the concerned States prepare a comprehensive count of Palestinian refugees and their property, and come out with a general conception for settling their problems on the basis of UN resolution no. 194.

(h) Calling for a more acting UN participation in ensuring the success of the peace process in the Middle East, and reiterating the need for the maintenance of the full UN responsibility vis-à-vis the Palestinian issue until a just and comprehensive peace is achieved in all its aspects in such a manner as to put an end to the occupation and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their national inalienable rights.

(i) Coordinating the Member States' positions so as to uphold the PLO's principled stand regarding all the resolutions pertaining to the issue of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict tabled for discussions at the Fiftieth Session of the UN General Assembly.

10. The Secretary-General submits the present report to the Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister Coordinating Meeting for appropriate decision.