Middle East situation/Palestine question - Final communiqué of OIC FMs extraordinary meeting - Letter from Mali (excerpts)

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Letter dated 25 July 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Mali

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour, in my capacity as Chairman of the Islamic Group at the United Nations, to transmit herewith the text of the final communiqué (annex I) and resolutions (annexes II-IV) adopted at the twenty-eighth session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace and Development — Al-Aqsa Intifada), held at Bamako, Mali, from 25 to 27 June 2001.

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 items 10, 20, 24, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 50, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 64, 68, 69, 70, 73, 76, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 94, 95, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 154, 155 and 164, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Moctar Ouane

Ambassador

Permanent Representative of Mali

Chairman of the Islamic Group

_______________

* The annexes are being circulated in the languages of submission only.

Annexes to the letter dated 25 July 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Mali

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Annex I

[Original: Arabic, English

and French]

FINAL COMMUNIQUÉ

of the

TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE

ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS

(SESSION OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT – INTIFADA AL AQSA)

BAMAKO, REPUBLIC OF MALI

04-06 RABIUL THANI, 1422H

(25-27 June 2001)

1. In response to the kind invitation by the Government of the Republic of Mali, the Twenty-eighth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace and Development – Intifada Al Aqsa), was convened in Bamako, capital of Mali, on 04-06 Rabiul Thani 1422H (25-27 June 2001).

2. His Excellency, Mr. Mande Sidibe, Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Republic of Mali, opened the 28th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers and delivered the speech of His Excellency Alpha Oumar Konare, President of the Republic of Mali, before the 28th Session of the ICFM. In his speech, President Konare thanked the participants who travelled to Mali and welcomed the delegations.

…

The President noted with concern the situation of the Palestinian people and called for greater support to the "Al-Aqsa Intifada" in order to achieve the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people with the objectives of establishing their own State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. He further deplored the conflicts and economic crises that continue to hinder the participation of our Ummah in the current process of globalization.

…

7. In his introductory statement, the OIC Secretary General, H.E. Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz raised the issue of the reform and restructuring of the General Secretariat and expressed satisfaction at the determination of the leaders of the Islamic Ummah to support the project and provide the Organization with the necessary means to discharge its mission. He raised the issue for the necessity of Islamic solidarity in the face of rampant globalization and reviewed the state of dissolution lived by the Islamic world, the political and economic situation of the Islamic Ummah, focusing on the dramatic situation in Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif after the auspicious Intifada and on the inability of the Islamic Ummah to protect the Palestinian people from the Israeli aggression.

…

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Question of Palestine, Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

16. The Conference hailed the uprising of the Palestinian people, the "Intifada of the blessed Al-Aqsa" in defense of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and all the holy places and to put an end to the Israeli occupation and to achieve the freedom, sovereignty and independence of the steadfast Palestinian people.

17. The Conference invited OIC Member States to keep on fostering their solidarity with the Palestinian people in their blessed Intifada of Al-Aqsa and supporting their just and legitimate struggle. It called on the Islamic Ummah to mobilize all its resources to help them achieve their national goals in full. It further invited the Member States to back the Palestinian National Authority given the difficult financial and economic circumstances currently undergone by the Palestinian people, so as to invigorate the blessed Palestinian Intifada.

18. The Conference stressed the need to implement the resolutions and decisions contained in the Final Declaration of the Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Doha on May 26, 2001 on the grave situation prevailing in the Palestinian Territories.

19. The Conference called upon the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in ensuring necessary international protection of the Palestinian people in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories to enable them to regain their inalienable national rights, concretize their national sovereignty over their national soil and set up their own independent State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital. It further deplored the United States' use of the veto against the draft resolution on the protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories and the establishment of a UN monitoring task force in those territories, such a stand being totally in conflict with the USA's responsibility as a sponsor of the peace process and a permanent member of the Security Council, with a special responsibility regarding the safeguarding of international peace and security.

20. The Conference affirmed the necessity to intensify the good offices and efforts being exerted for the holding of a meeting of the High Contracting Parties of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, with a view to taking the necessary binding measures designed to guarantee the implementation of the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

21. The Conference condemned Israel' s expansionist settlement policy and reiterated the need to stop all settlement activities and Israeli measures and practices which are contrary to the resolutions and decisions of the international legitimacy and which are also counter to the accords signed in this context by the Palestinian and Israeli sides. The Conference urged the U.N. Security Council to prevent and ban such measures and see to it that the Israeli settlements are removed in accordance with Security Council resolution 465 (1980) and to revive the International Commission established to examine the situation relating to Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem (Al-Quds) in accordance with Security Council resolution 446 (1979).

22. The Conference commended the continuous efforts of the Al-Quds Committee, under the Chairmanship of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, King of Morocco.

It also paid tribute to the late His Majesty King Hassan II for his efforts to set up the Agency of Beit Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif and define its objectives in the protection of the holy city and its Palestinian population. It expressed its thanks to his successor His Majesty King Mohamed VI who placed this institution under his patronage and provided it with full necessary means thus enabling it to begin work under the best auspices.

23. The Conference asserted its support to the stand of the State of Palestine resting on holding fast to sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif, including the Holy Haram in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and all the Christian and Muslim holy places which are part of the Palestinian territories occupied since June, 1967. It also affirmed that Al-Quds Al-Sharif is the capital of the independent State of Palestine. In this connection, it underlined its rejection of any attempt to diminish Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

24. The Conference strongly condemned Israel for not implementing the resolutions of the international legitimacy on Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Israel's rejection of regional and international initiatives aimed at cessation of its criminal aggressions against the Palestinian people, and the immediate and unconditional halting of all its colonialist expansionist settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

25. The Conference considered as null and void all the occupation-related settlement measures and practices in Al-Quds and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories in line with the resolutions and decisions of international legitimacy as well as international conventions which consider all Israeli arrangements, legislative, administrative and settlement measures aiming at altering the legal, demographic, architectural, cultural and heritage-related status of the Holy City as null and void and contrary to the resolutions and decisions of the international legitimacy, international covenants and conventions and diametrically opposed to agreements signed between the Palestinian and Israeli parties. It called on the Security Council to revive the International Commission established to examine the situation relating to Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem (Al-Quds) in accordance with Security Council resolution 446 (1979).

26. The Conference decided to stop all political contacts with the Israeli Government as long as the aggression and blockade against the Palestinian people and its National Authority continue, and as long as Israel persists in refusing to implement the relevant UN resolutions and called on Member States which have established, and which had started to take steps to establish, relations with Israel within the context of the peace process to break these relations, to close down any missions or offices, sever all economic relations, and end all forms of normalization with Israel until it meticulously and sincerely implements the UN resolutions on Palestine, Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict and until the restoration of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

27. The Conference called on the Member States to implement the provision of the Islamic boycott of Israel, and for considering the legislations, rules and status governing the boycott action, the general principles of the boycott, the Islamic law and the by-laws of the regional offices and their periodical meetings as part of the national legislations in force, and for the creation of the necessary offices and mechanisms for so doing and coordination between the Islamic Boycott Office and the Arab Boycott Office.

28. The Conference hailed the steadfastness of Lebanon – its Government, People and Resistance – and what it has achieved in terms of the liberation of the Lebanese territories and the repelling of the Israeli occupation. It supported Lebanon in its efforts to complete the liberation of its entire territories to the internationally recognized borders, including the Shebaa Farms. It urged the United Nations to force Israel to pay compensation for all the losses it inflicted or caused as a result of its continuous aggressions against Lebanon. It further supported Lebanon in its demands for the removal of the mines left behind by the Israeli occupation. Israel is responsible for planting the mines and has the obligation to provide their maps. It also supported the inalienable rights of Lebanon to utilize its waters in accordance with the international law. It condemned Israel's claim to these waters. It held Israel responsible for any action of a nature as to infringe upon Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence and safety of its people and integrity of its territories. It demanded the release of all Lebanese prisoners and detainees from Israeli prisons.

29. The Conference paid tribute to the steadfastness of the Syrian Arab citizens in the Syrian Golan against occupation and their valiant opposition to Israel's repressive measures and continuous attempts to undermine their adherence to their land and their Syrian Arab identity and declared its support for this steadfastness.

30. The Conference strongly condemned Israel's policy of refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 497 of 1981 and of imposing its mandate, laws and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan as well as its policies of annexation, building of settlements, confiscation of land, diversion of water sources and imposition of Israeli citizenship upon Syrian citizens. It considered all such measures as null and void and constituting a violation of those provisions and principles of International Law and Humanitarian International Law, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949. It urged Israel to completely evacuate the entire occupied Syrian Golan and pull back to the June 4th 1967 lines.

31. The Conference condemned Israel's repeated threats against Syria, which are aimed at destroying the peace process and escalating tension in the region.

32. The Conference emphasized that there can be no just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East area as long as Israel has not withdrawn from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied in 1967, foremost among which is the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967), and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes and their properties and their compensation in accordance with General Assembly resolution No. 194 of 1948.

…

Annex II

(Original: Arabic, English and French)

Resolutions on political affairs, Muslim minorities and communities,

legal affairs and information affairs adopted by the Islamic Conference

of Foreign Ministers at its twenty-eighth session

(Session of Peace and Development — Intifada Al-Aqsa)

RESOLUTION NO. 1/28-P

ON THE

CAUSE OF PALESTINE AND THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

(The Twenty-eighth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace and Development – Intifadah Al-Aqsa) held in Bamako, Republic of Mali, from 4 to 6 Rabi-ul-Thani, 1422H (25-27 June, 2001),

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General on the cause of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict (Document No. ICFM/28-2001/PAL/D.1);

Proceeding from the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC);

Based on the Islamic resolutions and decisions on the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict;

Recalling the resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council, particularly resolutions 242 (1967); 338 (1973); 465 (1980); 476 (1980); 478 (1980); 1322 (2000) and General Assembly resolution 194 on refugees as well as resolution no. ES-10/17 adopted by the extraordinary session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 19 October 2000, and the resolutions of the 57th Session of the Human Rights Commission relating to human rights violations in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, adopted on 11 April 2001, as well as the resolutions adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the League of Arab States concerning the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the other occupied Arab territories;

Expressing its strong condemnation of Israel's persistence in its crimes as well as repressive and terrorist practices while continuing to implement its policy of colonialist settlements and the expansion of the existing ones along with the confiscation of land and property and the perpetuation of the policy of collective sanctions against Palestinian and other Arab citizens in all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories as well as the siege of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, violating the sanctity of holy places and desecrating both Muslim and Christian shrines;

Condemning the continuous Israeli aggressions against the Lebanese territories and their civilian population;

Affirming the Islamic states' commitment to achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the area;

Emphasizing that the Israeli policies, practices and expansionist designs threaten not only Arab states and the peace process, but also the Islamic countries, at large and jeopardize also international peace and security;

Holding Israel fully responsible for the undermining of the Middle East peace process on all tracks as a result of the Israeli government's intransigence, its reneging on the foundations of the peace process, especially UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the "land for peace" principle, and its failure to comply with all the agreements concluded in its context;

Hailing the resolutions of the First Ordinary Summit of the League of Arab States held in Amman from 27-29 March 2001 and the Final Communiqué of the Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States held in Doha, State of Qatar, on 26 May 2001 and reaffirming its determination to implement the contents of this Communiqué;

Hailing the just struggle and the valiant "Intifada" (uprising) of the Palestinian people to recover their inalienable national rights;

Determined to back such efforts by all possible ways and means:

1 – Reiterates all the resolutions and decisions adopted by the Islamic conferences and Al-Quds Committee, particularly those of the latter's 18th session in connection with the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

2 – Stresses the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital and the imperative implementation of all the international resolutions pertaining to the Palestinian cause, in particular UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and those relating to the issue of Al-Quds, especially Security Council resolutions 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 465 (1980), 476 (1980), 478 (1980) and 1073 (1996) as well as U.N. General Assembly resolution 223/51 of 1997 and no. 194 adopted by the same body on the refugee issue, considered as the main guarantee for peace to take hold in the region.

3 – Backs the stand of the Palestinian State based on holding fast to the sovereignty of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, including the Holy Haram in that City and that of all the Christian and Muslim holy places and shrines which are part and parcel of the Palestinian territories occupied since June, 1967. The Conference also emphasizes that Al-Quds Al-Sharif is the capital of the independent State of Palestine and vehemently rejects any attempt to diminish Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

4 – Hails the Palestinian people's uprising, the "Intifada" of the blessed Al-Aqsa in defense of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif all the holy places and to put an end to the Israeli occupation and achieve the aspired freedom, sovereignty and independence of the freedom-fighting Palestinian people.

5 – Invites OIC Member States to keep on fostering their solidarity with the Palestinian people and supporting their just and legitimate struggle and to muster all the potentialities of the Islamic Ummah (worldwide Muslim community) to help them achieve their national goals in full. It further invites the Supreme Councils of both the Al-Aqsa Fund and the Al-Quds Intifada to back the Palestinian National Authority given the difficult financial and economic circumstances currently undergone by the Palestinian people, so as to sturdy the blessed Palestinian Intifada.

6 – Welcomes the Iraqi Republic's decision to allocate one billion Euros out of the resources from its oil exports under the memorandum of understanding, to ensure the Palestinian people's requirements in terms of food and medical supplies and other basic needs, and to assist the families of the martyrs of the Intifada, as an Islamic duty in support of the Palestinian blessed Intifada.

7 – Condemns Israel's expansionist colonialists settlement policy and reiterates the need to stop all colonialist settlement activities and Israeli measures and practices which are contrary to the resolutions and decisions of the "international legality" and which are also counter to the accords signed by the Palestinian and Israeli sides. The Conference urges the U.N. Security Council to prevent and ban such measures and see to it that the Israeli colonial settlements are removed in accordance with Security Council resolution 465 and to revive the International Supervision and Monitoring Committee to prevent and prohibit settlement in Al-Quds and the rest of the occupied Arab territories, in line with Security Council resolution 446.

8 – Urges the Security Council to establish a special international criminal court. in conformity with International Law to try those Israeli war criminals who carried out or were behind the savage slaughters which were perpetrated by Israel and which led to the fall of hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded and maimed people among Palestinians.

9 – Strongly condemns Israel for its use of internationally banned weapons, particularly depleted uranium and toxic gases, against the Palestinian people, given their fatal and seriously damaging effects on humans, the land and crops in the Palestinian areas.

10 – Calls upon the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in ensuring necessary international protection of the Palestinian people nationals in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories to enable them to regain their inalienable national rights, concretize their national sovereignty over their national soil and set up their own independent State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital. The Conference further expresses its disillusion at the United State's use of the veto against the draft resolution on the protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories and the establishment of a UN monitoring task force in those territories, such a stand being totally in conflict with the USA's responsibility as a sponsor of the peace process and a permanent member of the Security Council, with a special responsibility regarding the safeguarding of international peace and security.

11- Insists on the necessity of implementing Security Council resolution 237 on the return of the Palestinian displaced persons and the General Assembly resolution 194 on the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes and property and on compensating them, as a cornerstone of the final, just and comprehensive settlement.

12 – Affirms its support of the Middle East peace process along the foundations it proceeded from at the Madrid Peace Conference, in accordance with the United Nations Charter resolutions and decisions, particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978) and the "land for peace" principle which call for Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the establishment of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and the complete pullout from the occupied Syrian Golan to the 4th of June, 1967 line and from the occupied Lebanese territories to the internationally-recognized borders, and the call for the genuine and accurate implementation of all the international agreements signed in this framework between the parties concerned.

13 – Underlines that Israel's flouting of the principles and foundations on which the peace process was based and its reneging on the commitments, pledges and agreements reached in the context of the said process, along with its procrastination, prevarication and dodging insofar as implementation was concerned and the brutal massacres perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people have destroyed the peace process. The Conference blames the Israeli Government and holds it fully responsible for such a deadlock.

14 – Reaffirms the continuous nature of the United Nations immutable responsibility towards the Palestinian issue until a just and comprehensive settlement has been reached for all its facets that would bring about the end of the occupation and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable national rights, including the right to return, to self-determination and to independent statehood on their national soil with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital.

15 – Urges the countries of the world to recognize the State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital, as soon as it is proclaimed on Palestinian soil, and extend to it all kinds of support and assistance to consolidate its sovereignty over the Palestinian land, within the June 4th, 1967 borders, in accordance with the resolutions and decisions of the "international legitimacy," and exhorts the countries of the world also to back the State of Palestine in obtaining full-fledged United Nations membership.

16 – Calls for action at the United Nations and other international institutions and forums to compel Israel to free the Arab and Palestinian detainees and captives in Israeli jails, return the deportees., end the practice of collective sanctions and the confiscation operations of land and property and lifting the siege imposed on Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps, as well as stopping the demolition of homes and abstain forthwith from undertaking any action that imperils life and the Environment in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

17 – Urges all states, competent authorities and other concerned quarters to foster the international program for economic, social and cultural in the Palestinian territories, extend the prescribed assistance to the Palestinian people to help them build their national economy and take concrete action to consolidate their national institutions and enable them to set up their independent state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital.

18 – Affirms the necessity to intensify the good offices and efforts being exerted for the holding of a meeting of the high signatories of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilians in times of war, with a view to taking the necessary radical measures designed to guarantee the implementation of the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

19 – Urges the international community and all the states that extend economic and financial assistance to Israel, especially the United States of America (USA) and others as well as the international donor institutions and funds to halt the assistance which Israel uses to carry out its colonial settlement designs in the occupied Arab territories in Palestine and the occupied Syrian Golan.

20 – Decides to stop all political contacts with the Israeli government as long as the aggression and blockade against the Palestinian people and its National Authority continue, and as long as Israel persists in refusing to implement the relevant UN resolutions and calls on Member States which have established, and which had started to take steps to establish, relations with Israel within the context of the peace process to break these relations, to close down any missions or offices, sever all economic relations, and end all forms of normalization with Israel until it meticulously and sincerely implements the UN resolutions on Palestine, Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the Arab-Israeli conflict and until the restoration of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

21 – Calls for commitment to implement the provisions of the Islamic boycott of Israel, for considering the legislations, rules and status governing the boycott action, the general principles of the boycott, the Islamic law and the by-laws of the regional offices and their periodical meetings as part of the national legislations in force, and for the creation of the necessary offices and mechanisms for so doing and coordination between the Islamic Boycott Office and the Arab Boycott Office.

22 – Hails the steadfastness of Lebanon – Government, People and Resistance – and what it has achieved in terms of the liberation of the Lebanese territories and the repelling of the Israeli occupation. The Conference supports Lebanon in its efforts to liberate its entire territories to the internationally recognized borders. It urges the United Nations to force Israel to pay damage for all the losses it inflicted or caused as a result of its continuous aggressions against Lebanon. The Conference further supports Lebanon in its demands for the removal of the mines left behind by the Israeli occupation, which removal is the responsibility of Israel, the party that had planted these mines in the first place. The Conference supports the inalienable right of Lebanon to utilize its waters in accordance with the international law and condemns Israel's ambitions in these waters. The Conference holds Israel responsible for any action of a nature as to infringe upon Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence and safety of its people and integrity of its territories.

23 – Strongly condemns Israel's policy of refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 497 of 1981 and of imposing its mandate, laws and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan as well as its policies of annexation, building of colonial settlements, confiscation of land, diversion of water sources and imposition of Israeli citizenship upon Syrian citizens. The Conference considers all such measures as null and void and constituting a violation of those provisions and principles of International Law and the international and humanitarian law pertaining to occupation and war, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949. It URGES Israel to completely evacuate the entire occupied Syrian Golan and pull back to the June 4th, 1967 lines.

24 – Urges the international community and the Security Council to compel Israel to comply with U.N. decisions, especially Security Council resolution 487 of 1981, to join the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty, implement the decisions of the General Assembly and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calling for an Israeli nuclear installations to submit to the Agency's comprehensive guarantee system, imperatively declare its renunciation of nuclear armament and present to both the Security Council and the IAEA a factual statement on its capabilities and stockpile of nuclear weapons and substances, given the fact that those are imperative steps for the creation, in the Middle East, of an area free of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons – which is essential to the establishment of a comprehensive and just peace in the area.

25 – Insists on the constant responsibility of UNRWA in fulfilling its duties towards the Palestinian people wherever they may be in accordance with the UNGA resolution on the matter. It calls on Member States to request of the UN Secretary-General that the Conciliation Committee, in collaboration with UNRWA and relevant states, carry out a comprehensive census of Palestinian refugees and their property and develop a global vision to solve their problems based on their right to return to their homeland, Palestine, in accordance with UN resolution 194. It calls on states to extend further support to cover the budget of UNRWA and enable it to continue providing its services.

26 – Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures for the pursuance and enhancing of contacts and coordination on the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict between the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), on the one hand, and the League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Organization (UNO) and its specialized agencies, on the other. The Conference EXPRESSES its appreciation for their show of solidarity and support to the Palestinian people's just struggle.

27 – Requests the Secretary-General to follow-up the implementation of the present resolution and report thereon to the Twenty-ninth session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 2/28-P

ON THE

CITY OF AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF

The Twenty-eighth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace and Development – Intifada Al-Aqsa), held in Bamako, Republic of Mali, from 4 to 6 Rabi-ul-Thani, 1422H (25-27 June, 2001),

After considering the report of the Secretary-General on the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Document no. ICFM/ .28-2001/PAL/D.2);

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

Based on the Islamic resolutions and decisions affirming that the issue of Al-Quds Al-Sharif is the core of the Palestinian cause which, itself, is the essence of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that there can be no comprehensive and just peace without the return of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Palestinian sovereignty, as it is the capital of the State of Palestine;

Recalling the relevant United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly and International Security Council decisions, particularly resolutions 242 (1967); 252 (1968); 338 (1973); 465, 476 and 478 (1980) and 1073 (1996) pertaining to the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Re-endorsing resolutions A/RES/ES-10/2 of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) extraordinary emergency session dated April 25, 1997 A/RES/ES-10/3 dated July 15,1997 on the illegal actions carried out by Israel in the occupied Eastern part of Al-Quds Al-Sharif (East Jerusalem) and the rest of the Palestinian territories under its occupation;

Condemning in the strongest terms the continuing and escalating Israeli aggressions on the holy places in the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and other Palestinian cities and its desecration of shrines and sanctuaries;

Reaffirming the terms of all the International Security Council resolutions on Al-Quds including resolution 681 dated 20/12/1990 stipulating that all the provisions of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilians in times of war apply to the Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Equally denouncing in the strongest terms all the illegal measures and practices running counter to all international resolutions, decisions and laws undertaken by the Israeli occupation authorities in the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and designed to judaize the Holy City and obliterate its Arabo-Islamic features;

Hailing the consistent efforts deployed by Al-Quds Committee under the chairmanship of His Majesty King Mohamed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco;

Condemning the sustained efforts by all OIC Member States in defending the inviolability of Muslim holy shrines and sanctuaries in the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, safeguarding the Holy City's Arab identity and Islamic character and protecting it from Zionist tampering and judaization schemes;

Paying tribute as well to the contribution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in rehabilitating Al-Aqsa Mosque and the blessed Dome of the Rock at the behest of and under the guidance of the late King Hussein ibn Talal, the late King Hassan II and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz;

1 – Reaffirms its endorsement of all the relevant resolutions and decisions by the Islamic Conference, including those of previous sessions of Al-Quds Committee particularly the 18th Session.

2 – Emphasizes that there can be no just and lasting peace in the Middle East area as long as Israel has not withdrawn from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied from 1961, foremost among which is the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967).

3 – Asserts its support to the stand of the State of Palestine resting on holding fast to sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif, including the Holy Hatam in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and all the Christian and Muslim holy places which are part of the Palestinian territories occupied since June, 1967. The Conference also affirms that Al-Quds Al-Sharif is the capital of the independent State of Palestine. In this connection, it underlines its rejection of any attempt to diminish Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

4 – Considers definitely as null and void all the occupation-related settlement measures and practices in Al-Quds and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories in line with the resolutions and decisions of the "International Legitimacy" as well as international covenants and conventions which consider all Israeli arrangements, legislative, administrative and colonial settlement measures aiming at altering the legal, demographic, architectural, cultural and heritage-related status of the Holy City as null and void and contrary to the resolutions and decisions of the "International Legitimacy," world covenants and conventions and diametrically opposed to agreements signed between the Palestinian and Israeli parties — decisions that call for the revival of the International Supervision and Monitoring Committee to Prevent Colonial Settlement in Al-Quds and the Occupied Arab Territories, in particular resolution 446.

5 – Urges all countries of the world to abide by Security Council resolution 478 (1980) which exhorts them not to move their diplomatic missions to the City of Al-Quds. The resolution also invites them to avoid having any dealing with the Israeli occupation authorities, lest it may be construed as an implicit, a de facto recognition of the fait accompli imposed by Israel which claims that the City of Al-Quds is its capital. The states are also requested to declare their condemnation and rejection of the recommendation passed by the U.S. Congress and the American statements in favor of the recognition of Al-Quds as the capital of Israel and of moving the American Embassy therein. The Conference calls for severing relations with any State that would move its embassy to Al-Quds or recognize Al-Quds as Israel's capital.

6 – Calls for legal proceedings to challenge the validity of the law passed by the American Congress on recognizing Al-Quds as the capital of Israel and moving the American Embassy to it, on the ground that this law gives preference to a religious group over another, which is contrary to the Constitution of the United States of America based on equality among religious and ethnic groups. Moreover, the land on which the would-be embassy is to be built in the occupied City of Al-Quds is a stolen land originally belonging to an Islamic "waqf" [Muslim trust-fund].

7 – Urges all states, institutions and international bodies to abide by the international resolutions on the City of Al-Quds for its being part of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied in 1967 and not to take part in any meeting or activity made to serve Israel's designs to consecrate its occupation and annexing of the Holy City.

8 – Exhorts the international community, especially the Security Council to compel Israel to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy, to stop it effecting any geographic or demographic alteration in the Holy City of Al-Quds, to lift the siege of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, to ensure the liberty of worship therein along with the respect of the religious rites of all divine religions, to stop the demolition of homes and the withdrawal of the national identity cards of the Palestinian citizens as well as the emptying of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif of its Arab nationals.

9 – Strongly condemns the decisions of the Israeli "Supreme Court" on the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, especially the one issued on July 25, 1996, granting Jews the permission to pray in the praying area of the blessed Mosque of Al-Aqsa, and the one dated September 23, 1993, proclaiming Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of the area covered by the "State of Israel." The Conference considers such measures as deliberate provocative acts opening the way to extremist Jewish organizations to pursue their constant violations of the sanctity of the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa, establish a presence of theirs in its praying areas and continue the looting of religious, historic and cultural relics in the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.

10 – Strongly condemns Israel for giving orders to close the Palestinian institutions in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and preventing them from freely conducting their activities. It considers such arbitrary coercive measures as a continuous violation of the accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel within the framework of the peace process and a flagrant violation, as well, of international conventions and covenants, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, and an infraction of the very principles and foundations on which the peace process was built in Madrid.

11 – Strongly condemns the declarations made by Israeli officials on the partition of the blessed Mosque of Al-Aqsa, and seriously cautions against the foolhardiness of implementing the dangerous orders issued by the Israeli occupation authorities to their security forces to storm the Al-Aqsa mosque and stresses that such a step would form a blatant affront to the feelings of Muslims and an open invitation to push the situation towards an overall explosion and to further bloodshed.

12 – Urges the international community and the United Nations to intervene promptly and shoulder their responsibility as to the implementation of the UN resolutions concerning the protection of civilians and holy places, and to put an end to the Israeli aggressions which fuel tension in the area and jeopardize international peace and security.

13 – Pays a glowing tribute to the laudable efforts exerted by the late King Al-Hasan II to set up the Bait Maal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency and define its objectives as being the protection of the Holy City and its Palestinian owners. The Conference similarly expresses its gratitude to His late Majesty's successor His Majesty King Mohamed VI who, surrounding it with his sympathy and care, placed at its disposal generous means that made it possible for it to embark immediately on its activities under the best possible circumstances.

14 – Thanks the Member States of Al-Quds Committee who took the initiative of making donations in favor of the Agency, which was yet another reason why it managed to tackle without delay the execution of its housing, renovation and education projects. The Conference calls upon all Member States to support the Agency and facilitate its mission with a view to mustering all its potentialities and using all the financial capabilities to contribute towards the achievement of its projects in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

15 – Lays stress on pursuing the work and coordination with international and regional organizations for the implementation of the international resolutions and decisions adopted by the United Nations and its specialized agencies, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and coordination as well with the League of Arab States, as well as the holding of conferences aimed at acquainting people with the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and expounding the dangers besetting it.

16 – Invites the Vatican, the Eastern Churches and other churches and Christian religious orders to take action to resist the judaization of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, keen as they are to respect the spiritual dimension of all the religions, as a safeguard to peaceful coexistence amongst them, and in observance of Security Council resolution 242 of November 22, 1967, urging Israel to evacuate all the occupied territories it invaded in 1967, including the City of Al-Quds, along with the rest of the Security Council resolutions, especially:

– No. 465 of March 1, 1980, confirming the illegality of the building of Israeli colonialist settlements in this part and stressing that they ought to be dismantled and removed;

– No.476 dated June 30, 1980, emphasizing that all measures which altered the features of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and its geographic, demographic and historic status "are null and void" and must be reversed according to the relevant Security Council resolutions and decisions;

– No.478 dated August 20, 1980, deciding not to recognize the so-called "Fundamental Law" and other such Israeli acts designed to alter the features and status of Al-Quds. It urged the states which established diplomatic missions in Al-Quds to remove them from the Holy City. It also called for support to help the inhabitants of Al-Quds Al-Sharif resist the judaization measures and their uprooting from their own City.

17 – Reiterates the resolutions and decisions of the previous Islamic conferences affirming support for the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and fostering of the steadfastness of its people and calling for support as well to be extended to Bait Maal Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Al-Quds Fund.

18 – Requests the Secretary-General to follow-up the implementation of the present resolution and report thereon to the Twenty-ninth session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO.3/28-P

ON THE

OCCUPIED SYRIAN GOLAN

Having considered the item titled "The Occupied Syrian Golan" and Israel's decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Occupied Syrian Golan;

Having reviewed the repressive measures to which the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan are being subjected and Israel's continued attempts to force them to accept Israeli identity;

Recalling the relevant resolutions of previous Islamic Conferences, particularly Resolution 3/27-P of the Twenty-seventh Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Resolution 3/9-P (IS) of the 9th Islamic Summit held in Doha, State of Qatar;

Recalling also Security Council Resolution 497 (1981) dated 17.12.1981 and the relevant UN General Assembly Resolutions, latest of which was the one adopted by the Fifty-fifth Session;

Observing that Israel, in contravention of Article 25 of the United Nations Charter, has refused to accept and implement the numerous relevant resolutions adopted by the Security Council, in particular resolution 497 (1981); which considered null and void and with no legal consequence Israel's decision to annex the occupied Syrian Golan;

Deeply concerned at Israel's persistent attempts to defy the international community and its reaffirmation of the annexation decisions though they were considered null and void and illegitimate by the international community;

Affirming that the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War (dated 12 August 1949) applies to the occupied Syrian Golan and that setting up settlements and bringing settlers to this area constitutes a violation of this Convention and a demolition of the peace process;

Affirming the fundamental principle of the inadmissibility of acquisition of territories by force;

Condemns Israel' s non-compliance with the will of the international community by withdrawing from the occupied Syrian Golan which it occupies since 1967 contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the UN General Assembly as well as international law;

Expressing concern over Israel's destruction of the Peace Process which was launched by the Madrid Conference on the basis of the UN Security council resolutions 242 and 338, as well as the peace-for-land formula and over the risks resulting from Israel's reneging on the commitments and obligations reached,

1 – Lauds the steadfastness of the Syrian Arab citizens in the Syrian Golan against the occupation and their valiant resistance to Israel's repressive measures and against the continued attempts to weaken their attachment to their land and to their Arab identity, and declares its support for this resistance.

2 – Strongly condemns Israel for its non-compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981) and reaffirms that Israel's decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Occupied Syrian Golan is illegal, null and void and has no legal validity whatsoever and that it constitutes a blatant violation of the UN Charter and its relevant resolutions and of the OIC Charter and resolutions as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention on Protection of Civilians in Times of War dated 12 August 1949 and relevant provisions of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and the rules of international law, in particular the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force.

3 – Strongly condemns Israel for its persistence in changing the legal status, demographic composition and institutional structure of the Occupied Syrian Golan, and for its policy and practices of confiscating lands, appropriating water resources, establishing and expanding settlements and transferring settlers and immigrants thereto, exploiting their natural resources and establishing projects on them, and imposing an economic boycott of the agricultural products of the local population and prohibiting their exportation.

4 – Strongly condemns Israel's attempts to impose Israeli nationality and identity cards on the Syrian Arab citizens, as these measures constitute a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War of 1949 and the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and other international bodies.

5 – Condemns repeated Israeli threats against Syria aiming at wrecking the peace process and escalating tension in the region.

6 – Reaffirms that Israel's continued occupation of the Syrian Golan since 1967 and its annexation of it on 14 December 1981 constitute a permanent threat to peace and security in the region.

7 – Reaffirms also the right of the Syrian Arab Republic to recover its full sovereignty over the Occupied Golan.

8 – Demands Israel to fully withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of the 4th of June 1967 in implementation of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and to immediately begin demarcating that line.

9 – Demands Israel to fully comply with the fundamental principles of the peace process as initiated in Madrid consistent with Security Council resolutions Nos. 242 and 338 and the principle of "land for peace" and to abide by all the commitments and pledges reached so far.

10 – Demands anew all states to stop providing Israel with any military, economic, financial, technological or humanitarian assistance that may extend Israeli occupation of Syrian Golan and encourage Israel to pursue its expansionist settlement policy.

11 – Calls upon the co-sponsors of the peace process and the international community to assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to implement the resolutions of international legality calling for total Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 and from other occupied Arab lands, and to immediately start demarcating this line in order to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

12 – Declares its support for the firm position of Syria in its commitment to a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

13 – Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution, and to submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 4/28-P

ISRAEL'S CONTINUED OCCUPATION OF PARTS OF LEBANON

AND DETENTION OF LEBANESE CITIZENS

IN ITS JAILS AND DETENTION CAMPS

Commending anew the steadfastness of Lebanon and the valor of its national resistance in achieving victory over the Israeli occupation forces and liberating most of its territories in the south and Western Bekaa;

Recalling the resolutions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on solidarity with Lebanon to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories in the South and West Bekaa;

Noting Israel's continued occupation of parts of Lebanese territories, including the Shaba'a farms, its incomplete withdrawal from all Lebanese territories back to the internationally recognized borders in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 425 (1978) and its continued invasion of Lebanese airspace and plundering of its waters and land;

Deeply concerned at Israel's continued, arbitrary detention of Lebanese citizens in Israeli prisons and camps in flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War of 1949, and the Hague Convention of 1907;

Noting with extreme concern and astonishment the ruling issued by the Israeli High Court to allow the Israeli authorities to keep the Lebanese detainees in Israeli jails as "hostages and a card for compromise, and also to detain them without trial";

Recalling as well the resolutions of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on the suffering of Lebanese citizens in Israeli jails who are suffering difficult healthy and humanitarian conditions resulting in the death of a number of them;

Reaffirming Lebanon's right to compensation for the losses in human life, material damages and substantial economic losses it has suffered as a result of Israel's repeated aggressions against Lebanese citizens and infrastructure, and the ensuring damages and heavy loss of life and property;

1. Expresses anew its congratulations and appreciation to the Republic, President, Government and People of Lebanon and commends the valorous Lebanese resistance for the admirable Lebanese resistance which has repelled the Israeli forces from the South of Lebanon and the Western Bekaa.

2. Strongly condemns Israel for its continued aggression against the Lebanese territories, including its assault against Syrian forces positions in Lebanon.

3. Also strongly condemns Israel for its continued occupation of positions on the internationally recognized Lebanese borders, in addition to the Shaba'a farms, in contravention of the provisions of Security Council resolution No. 425, and for its daily violation of Lebanon's territory, airspace, and territorial waters.

4. Reaffirms its commitment to Lebanon's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and supports the position of the Lebanese government which insists on the necessity of ensuring the complete withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all Lebanese territories back to internationally recognized borders and of bringing them under Lebanese sovereignty. It reaffirms Lebanon's right to recover every inch of its occupied territories and to reserve the right to resist Israeli occupation by all legitimate means until the liberation of all its territories including the Shaba'a farms and supports Lebanon's right to its waters in accordance with the International Law against Israeli ambitions designs.

5. Supports the Lebanese position calling for maintaining the number of international forces working in Southern Lebanon without decreasing it or changing the nature of their task, especially in the light of the continuing Israeli threats, aggressions, and violations of the sovereignty of the Lebanese territories, air space, and territorial waters and entrusts the Islamic Group at the United Nations in New York to continue its efforts to mobilize support for the Lebanese position.

6. Condemns Israel for planting tens of thousands of mines in the Lebanese territories which it had occupied, and which caused, and continue to cause, injuries to tens of victims as well as substantial material losses. It requests the international community to bring pressure to bear on Israel to hand over maps of mines in Lebanon and commends the initiative of the State of the United Arab Emirates to undertake mine sweeping operations in cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese Government and the United Nations.

7. Requests the international community, judiciary and political bodies and Member States to condemn Israel and bring pressure to bear on it to give compensation to Lebanon for the damages caused by Israeli repeated aggressions against Lebanese territories since the establishment of the State of Israel.

8. Also requests the international community to take all necessary measures to compel Israel to promptly release all Lebanese prisoners and abductees detained as hostages in Israeli prisons and camps in violation of the provisions of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Hague Convention of 1907, and urges Member States and international organizations to bring pressure to bear on Israel to allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to visit Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons on a regular basis, report on their conditions, and provide them with health and humanitarian care. It requests the adoption of a decision by international organizations, especially the UN Human Rights Commission to conduct investigations, provided by the conventions, into the death of Lebanese detainees in Israeli jails and detention camps, and force Israel to pay compensations to those affected according to prevailing international laws.

9. Reaffirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and warns that settling these refugees in Lebanon and not settling their issues on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy jeopardizes the security and stability of the region and impedes the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace therein.

10. Considers that the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the appropriate way of achieving security and stability in the region. For this reason, it calls upon the international community, particularly the sponsors of the peace process — the United States and the Russia Federation — and the European Union (EU) to play a more effective role in ensuring the success of the settlement issue in accordance with the Madrid Terms of Reference and the decisions of international legality, particularly Resolution 242, 338 and 425. It considers also that the liberation of Lebanon from Israeli occupation is a victory for Lebanon that serves the Arab and Islamic interests which will only be complete when the prompt and complete withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan, back to the 4th of June 1967 line, is secured and when the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people including the right to return, and rejection of settlement outside their homeland, as well as their right to establish their independent state on their national territory with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

11. Requests the OIC Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution and to submit a report thereon to the 29th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers

RESOLUTION NO. 5/28-P

ON THE

CURRENT SITUATION OF THE PEACE PROCESS

IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Referring to the resolutions and decisions of Islamic Conferences and the recommendations of Al-Quds Committee;

Having examined the grave situation resulting from the continued policies of successive Israeli governments hostile to peace,

1. Reaffirms its continued solidarity with the Palestinian people for the recovery of its imprescriptible and inalienable national rights, including its right to return, to self-determination, and to the establishment of its independent state on its national territory with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

2. Reaffirms the total solidarity of the Islamic States with Syria and Lebanon to confront the continuous Israeli aggressions and threats against them, and invites to all the Islamic States to express this solidarity in a practical manner and by the use of all means, as well as to stand firm with Syria and Lebanon against any Israeli aggressions targeting them.

3. Reaffirms also its commitment to a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East based on Israel's implementation of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, particularly UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 425 guaranteeing Israel's withdrawal from all occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Syrian Golan, back to the 4th of June 1967 line and from the Lebanese territory still under occupation to the internationally recognized borders as well as securing the Palestinian people's imprescriptible, national rights including the right to return to its homes and properties in line with United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 194 and to establish its independent state on its national territory with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

4. Strongly denounces the Israeli government's policy and practices which are hostile to the peace process and are designed to undermine it through the continued colonization of Arab and Palestinian territories, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and also designed to invalidate the foundations and terms of reference of the Madrid Peace Conference, and evade the commitments, pledges and agreements reached in the past years of peace talks with the Palestinian and other Arab parties.

5. Expresses its strong condemnation and indignation at the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the threats made by Israeli officials against Syria and Lebanon. It also condemns the Israeli aggression against the positions of the Syrian forces deployed in Lebanon and holds Israel responsible for returning the region to the war atmosphere, which threatens international security and peace.

6. Calls on the OIC member states which have already established, or started to take steps to establish relations with Israel in the framework of the Peace Process to sever these relations, including the closing of missions and offices, cutting economic ties and stopping all forms of normalization until Israel meticulously and genuinely implements UN resolutions on the question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the Arab-IsraeIi conflict, and until a just and comprehensive peace is established in the region.

7. Requests the Secretary-General to follow-up the implementation of the present resolution and report thereon to the Twenty-ninth session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 6/28-P

AL-QUDS FUND AND ITS WAQF

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

Referring to all the Islamic Resolutions adopted on Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf;

Reaffirming the principle of consolidating Islamic solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just and legitimate struggle;

Paying tribute to those States, foremost among which is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that regularly fulfill their obligations and make donations to Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf;

Appreciating the significance of the vital role played by Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf to support the steadfastness and struggle of the Palestinian people within the occupied Palestinian territories, and particularly the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Noting with deep concern Israel's continued pursuit of its aggressive, expansionist and settlement policy;

Commending the positive role played by the Governing Board of Al-Quds Fund in quest of financial resources to promote the Fund and its Waqf,

1. Reaffirms all previous relevant resolutions adopted by successive Islamic Conferences.

2. Expresses its profound appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the continued support to Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf, which falls within the framework of their consistent solicitude towards the foremost cause of the Islamic Ummah, namely the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Palestine.

3. Urges Member States to initiate donation campaigns in favour of Al-Quds Fund and its Waqf, together with the appropriate directives to the public and other media to conduct a parallel campaign for this purpose.

4. Calls upon Member States to continue their support to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, especially at this decisive stage, for the consolidation of its national authority over all occupied Palestinian territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, capital of the independent Palestinian State, and to extend all forms of support to the Palestinian people so they can build their institutions and national economy.

5. Commends the positive role played by Al-Quds Fund in supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and boosting their struggle.

6. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution and to submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 7/28-P

BAIT MAL AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF AGENCY

Processing from the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC);

Recalling resolution no. 7/9-C (IS) of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, held in Doha (2000);

Bearing in mind the resolutions of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th Sessions of Al-Quds Committee, especially those pertaining to the founding and structuring of Baitulmal Al-Quds Al-Sharif ;

Mindful of the resolutions of the Twenty-third (23rd) Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) (Conakry, 1995), the 26th ICFM (Ougadougou, 1998) and the 9th Islamic Summit Conference (Doha), which welcomed the establishment of Baitulmal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency and called upon all member states to support the said agency so that it may perform its noble mission in the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Recalling as well the resolutions and recommendations of the Fifth session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) (Tehran, 1999) and the twenty-fourth (24th session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (Jeddah, 2001), both blessing the agency's functions and exhorting the member states to back its activities in the Holy City;

Determined to intensify efforts in defending the Muslims' first "qibla" and third holiest mosque, safeguarding its Arab identity and Islamic character and protecting it against Zionist infringement and judaization designs:

1 – Pays tribute to outstanding efforts exerted by the late King Hassan II, may God bless his soul and reward him for having founded Baitulmal Al-Quds Agency and set its objectives as protecting the Holy City and its steadfast Palestinian inhabitants along with its sacred Arabo-Islamic identity and heritage, and for having enabled it to carry out its mission by providing its headquarters and securing generous financial resources so that it may discharge its work in the best possible conditions;

2. Expresses, in the same vein, its best wishes and thanks to his successor His Majesty King Muhammad VI, who is following in the footsteps of his late father with the same faith and upholding, with the utmost care and generosity, the agency's activities;

3- Notes with satisfaction the donations made by some Islamic states in favor of Baitulmal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency to make it possible for it to implement its well-studied projects;

4 – Invites OIC member states to extend their support to Baitulmal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, facilitate its tasks in all fields designed to harness all kinds of facilities and mobilize all the financial potentialities as well as technical and technological expertise to contribute towards the fulfillment of the Agency's projects in the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif,

5 – Urges Islamic public and private institutions, financing funds, banks, businessmen and other individuals to perform their sacred duty of fostering Baitaulmal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency and generously provide all the necessary assistance, to achieve its ambitious and pressing objectives in the areas of housing, education, health and others, and for the preservation of the Arab identity and Islamic landmarks of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

6 – Exhorts firms, contractors and investors from Islamic states to invest in Al-Quds, as a show of cooperation with the inhabitants of Baitul Maqdes, in the various economic, commercial, trade and tourist fields, to shield the Holy City from the encroaching peril of judaization and preserve the Arab character of the City its Muslim holy shrines.

7 – Calls upon member states to extend invitations to the Agency's Director General to visit them and to help him organize wide ranging campaigns and embark upon intensive contacts with all the competent authorities, on both the governmental and private enterprise levels, in the fields of information, culture, finance and trade, to muster ample financial capabilities, again on both the governmental and private sector levels as well as the popular one, to meet the huge needs of the Holy City's steadfastness in the face of the enormous challenges it is confronted with in the fate-determining battle imposed upon it.

RESOLUTION NO. 8/28-P

THE MECHANISM OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THE

INTIFADA OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

Having considered the report of the Secretary General about the mechanism of financial support to the Intifada of the Palestinian people included in document Number (ANNEX-1-ICFM/28-2001/PAL/DR.8.);

Proceeding from the principles and objectives set forth in the OIC Charter;

Referring to the Islamic Resolutions relating to the Palestinian cause and the Arab Israeli conflict, particularly Resolution Number 1/9-P (I.S), adopted by the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference in Doha, and the Final Communiqué of the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference held in Doha on May 26th , 2001;

Strongly condemning the continued perpetration by Israel of criminal acts, terrorist practices and repressive measures, the extension of its settlement activities, the confiscation of lands and belongings, the continuation of its policy of collective punishment targeting Palestinian citizens all over the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, the blockade imposed on Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the violation of holy sites and the desecration of Islamic and Christian shrines;

Expressing its strong condemnation of the provocative and aggressive Israeli measures and practices, including the oppression, killing and displacement policy triggered by Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to the holy precincts of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, under the escort of thousands of Israeli troops and the subsequent bloody massacres, perpetrated within those holy precincts, which have spared neither the children, the women, nor the defenseless Palestinian citizens, all over the Palestinian territories;

Holding Israel fully responsible for the criminal killings and the destruction of the Palestinian economic infrastructure as well as for all the human and material damages and the devastation caused by the Israeli weaponry to public utilities and personal belongings;

Commending the resolutions adopted by the Extraordinary Arab Summit held in Cairo on 21-22 October, 2000, on a mechanism of support to the Intifada of the Palestinian people, providing for the needs of the Martyrs' Families as well as for those of the injured and the disabled, preserving the identity of Al-Quds and enhancing Palestinian capacities for economic autonomy;

Commending the just struggle of the Palestinian people and its heroic intifada for the recovery of its legitimate national rights and fully determined to support this intifada by all possible ways and means, and to use the resources of the Islamic Ummah to help the intifada achieve its objectives;

Calling upon Member States to strengthen their solidarity with the Palestinian people, support its just and legitimate struggle and make the necessary contacts with the international community to bring it to shoulder its responsibility and compel Israel to put an end to its method of collective punishment and its practices of confiscation of land and property, demolition of houses, bulldozing of farms and destruction of roads, and stop any action that puts life and the environment at risk in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories;

Urging donor countries and financial institutions to provide their assistance in order to bolster up the resistance of the Palestinian people, support the economic and social development programmes, help build an autonomous Palestinian economy, and work for the consolidation of national Palestinian institutions;

Commending the efforts exerted by the Islamic Development Bank under the guidance of the Board of Governors of the Al-Aqsa and the Al-Quds Intifada Funds to consolidate the mechanism of financial support to the Intifada, provide financial assistance to the families of the martyrs and wounded of the intifada, and finance and equip and build health and education institutions and restore utilities;

1. Calls on member States to support the intifada of the Palestinian people through the Al-Aqsa and the Al-Quds Intifada Funds.

2. Exhorts Member States to follow the example of Arab donor countries which have announced generous contributions to the assets of both funds and proceeded to transfer their contributions to the two accounts, opened for that purpose.

3. Entrusts the OIC General Secretariat and the Islamic Development Bank with arranging for urgent consultations with a view to mobilizing further resources to support the Al-Aqsa and the Al-Quds Intifada Funds, from all those Member States that have not yet announced their contributions to both Funds.

4. Commissions the Secretary General to follow up this resolution and submit a report thereon to the 29th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

…

RESOLUTION NO. 41/28-P

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONES

IN AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, CENTRAL ASIA

AND SOUTH EAST ASIA

Recalling that the establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in various regions of the world is one of the measures which can most effectively guarantee the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as contribute to the achievement of general and complete disarmament;

Convinced that the establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in various regions will serve to protect the States of such regions against the threat or use of Nuclear Weapons urges all states, particularly nuclear weapon ones to demand Israel to close down its nuclear reactors, especially the Daymona Nuclear Reactor and the mounting and highly disturbing news on the increasing possibility of nuclear radiation leakage which may lead to an environmental disaster in the Middle East;

Expressing deep concern on the report of the UN Secretariat at the Review Conference of NPT on implementing the decision of the 1995 Review Conference of NPT in the Middle East that all States of the region have joined the NPT except Israel;

Taking into consideration the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the 1995 Conference of the States parties to the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty on the review and extension of the treaty as well as the final document of 2000 NPT Review Conference;

Also recalling all the resolutions adopted by various Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers, including Resolution 22/8-P(IS) adopted by the Eighth Summit of the OIC Conference and resolution 24/26-P issued by the Twenty-sixth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, and on the establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia and Central Asia;

Bearing in mind all the resolutions and recommendations adopted by the Organization of African Unity in this respect, and recalling in particular the Declaration on Denuclearization of Africa adopted by the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its First Ordinary Session held in Cairo from 17 to 21 July 1964 on the necessity for establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa;

Warning at the serious consequences from the fact that all countries of the Middle East have become parties to the Non-proliferation treaty except Israel that has not joined the Treaty , has not placed its nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguard agreements and has not declared its intention to do so, and has continued its clandestine nuclear programmes;

Recalling as well, all relevant resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on this subject particularly Resolutions 51/41, 51/42 and 51/53 on the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia respectively;

Noting the successful conclusion of the signing ceremony of the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (Treaty of Pelindaba) that was held at Cairo on 11 April 1996;

Welcoming the proposals made by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan aimed at achieving nuclear and missile restraint in South Asia;

Convinced that a global ban on the proliferation of Nuclear Weapons cannot be achieved in the absence of progress towards universal nuclear disarmament;

Recalling the paragraphs specific to disarmament in the final document of the Twelfth Conference of the Heads of State and of Government of the NAM held in Durban, Republic of South Africa, in September 1998 as well as the final document of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, Cartagena, Colombia, 8-9 April 2000;

Taking Note of the Report of the Secretary General in this respect (Document No. ICFM/28-2001/PIL/D. 31),

1. Urges all States, especially nuclear weapon States to exert pressure on Israel to become party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and calls on the international community and the Security Council to compel Israel to comply with the relevant U.N. Resolutions, particularly Security Council Resolution 487 (1981), to immediately 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 and to implement the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the Extension and Review of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Meeting held in New York in April and May 1995 as well as paras 1-9 of the resolution adopted by 2000 NPT Review Conference on 19 May, 2000.

2. Reaffirms the determination of Member States to take measures to prevent nuclear proliferation on a non-discriminatory and universal basis and urges all States, particularly nuclear weapon states to demand Israel to close down its nuclear reactor especially the Daymona Nuclear Reactor and with the increasing mounts and highly disturbing news on the increasing possibility of nuclear radiation leakage out of it, which may lead to an environmental disaster in the Middle East.

3. Condemns Israel for not implementing the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the 1995 NPT Conference and calls on the United Nations, the permanent members of the Security Council and the international community to take the necessary measures to avert Israeli nuclear threat endangering the peoples of the region, which constitutes a serious violation of the UN objectives, particularly Article 51 of the Charter.

4. Requests the Security Council to obtain Israel's renunciation of nuclear armament, and a full report on its stockpile and ammunition for the consideration of the Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency as those steps are essential for the establishment of a zone free from nuclear weapon and weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East region, and are fundamental factors for a just and comprehensive peace in the region and calls upon Member States to strive to include again the item "Israeli nuclear capabilities and its dangers" on the agenda of the forthcoming General Conference of the IAEA.

5. Considers that the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia constitute one of the important elements for the strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation.

6. Calls on nuclear weapon States to engage constructively through a transparent and credible process of negotiations at the conference on Disarmament with the view to establish within its programme of work a subsidiary body in nuclear disarmament.

7. Requests all Member States to keep up and further coordinate their position at the United Nations and other relevant international fora to promote the establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and Central Asia.

8. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the developments in this regard and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 42/28-P

THE STRENGTHENING OF THE SECURITY OF

NON-NUCLEAR WEAPON STATES AGAINST THE

USE OR THREAT OF USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Deeply concerned over the existence of significant nuclear arsenals in the world which increase the possibility of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons;

Taking into consideration that it is imperative for the international community to develop effective measures to ensure the security of non-nuclear weapon states against the threat or use of nuclear weapons, whatever their origin;

Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 8 June 1996 on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons in which it expresses that threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the Rules of international law applicable in armed conflict and in particular the principles and rules of Humanitarian Law;

Recognizing that effective measures to protect non-nuclear weapon states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons may positively contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and strengthen international peace and security;

Deeply concerned over Israel's arsenal of nuclear weapons and its threats and practices aimed at destroying the peaceful and defense capabilities of Member States;

Deeply convinced that the most effective guarantee for non-nuclear States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is the total elimination of all nuclear weapons;

Recalling the commitment made by nuclear-weapons-states to provide security assurances to non-nuclear weapons states in accordance with their obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other instruments;

Noting that nuclear weapons states have failed to provide credible assurances to non-nuclear weapon states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons;

Recalling all relevant resolutions adopted by the Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers including Resolution 25/26-P of the 26th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers;

Recalling also the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly as well as those issued by the Non-Aligned Movement on the need for assurances by nuclear powers to non-nuclear weapon states to the effect that they shall not resort to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against them;

Noting the adoption of Security Council Resolution No. 984 unanimously approved on 11 April, 1995 as well as the Declaration issued by the nuclear weapon States on positive and negative security guarantees for the non-nuclear weapon States which are still inadequate to assure the non-nuclear States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons;

Noting also the adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on 10 September 1996;

Expressing deep concern over the threat or use of nuclear Weapons in general and against the OIC Member States in particular;

Taking Note of the Report of the Secretary General on the Disarmament issue (Document No. ICFM/28-2001/PIL/D.31);

1. Calls upon all States, including those Members of the Conference on Disarmament, particularly the nuclear weapon States, to work urgently towards binding agreement on an international convention to assure unconditionally non-nuclear weapon States against the nuclear weapons and to explore all additional means to provide effective assurances to Non-Nuclear Weapon States in the global or regional context.

2. Recommends that the Islamic States make every effort at all international fora with a view to promoting the above-mentioned objectives aimed at strengthening the security of non-nuclear weapon States against the threat or use of nuclear weapons.

3. Urges the Conference on Disarmament to give priority attention to all issues on its agenda, particularly to the commencement of negotiations on nuclear disarmament.

4. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the developments in this respect and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

…

Annex III

[Original: Arabic, English and French]

Resolutions on economic affairs and science and technology,

adopted by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers at

its twenty-eighth session

(Session of Peace and Development — Intifada Al-Aqsa)

…

RESOLUTION NO. 9/28-E

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES,

OF THE SYRIAN CITIZENS IN THE OCCUPIED SYRIAN GOLAN HEIGHTS

AND OF THE LEBANESE CITIZENS IN OCCUPIED SOUTH LEBANON

AND WESTERN BEKKA FORMERLY UNDER OCCUPATION

Recalling resolution No. 9/9-E (IS) adopted by the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Recalling also Resolution No. 9/27-E adopted by the Twenty-seventh session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers;

Believing in the objectives and principles of the OIC Charter aimed at strengthening Islamic solidarity among the Member States, and conforming with mass international will that rejects Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territory which lead to deterioration of the economic and social conditions of Arab citizens under the yoke of Israeli occupation, on the one hand, and that supports the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region based on the (Land-for-Peace principle) UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 425 as well as the authority of the Madrid Peace Conference, on the other;

Underlining the unfailing efforts exerted by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to promote the economic structure; and in view of the escalation of the illegal and unlawful expansionist settlement policies of the Israeli government, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the occupied Syrian Golan; and also in view of the serious implications of this escalation on the existing difficult economic and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory and the Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan;

Expressing extreme concern over the grave economic impacts, resulting from the expansionist settlement policy of the Israeli government, on the difficult living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory and those of the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan as well as the Arab people in the occupied Arab territory;

Appreciating with profound interest the role which the Palestine Liberation Organization and its National Authority (PNA) are playing in all territories under the PNA including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the improvement of the Palestinian people's living conditions and the overhauling of their national economy;

Expressing deep concern over the danger of Israel's continued occupation of the Syrian Golan, part of South Lebanon which are suffering huge economic and material losses;

Emphasizing the resolutions of the recent Arab Summit in Cairo concerning this matter;

Having considered the report of the Secretary General,

1. Hails the efforts made by the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian National Authority to rebuild Palestinian facilities, infrastructure and properties already destroyed and those being destroyed by the Israeli occupation authorities. It commends the strenuous efforts exerted by the Palestinian Authority to rebuild and strengthen Palestinian National economy.

2. Invites all concerned bodies to expedite the extension of the envisaged necessary assistance to help the Palestinian people to establish their national economy, consolidation of their national institutions and to enable them to establish their independent State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

3. Reaffirms the earlier OIC resolution in favour of the extension of all forms of economic, technical, material and moral support and assistance to the Palestinian people, preferential treatment for Palestinian export products, granting them exemptions from taxes and tariffs and permitting Palestinian manpower to work in Islamic States for specific periods thus helping to improve their material conditions and contributing to their return and their steadfastness on their land.

4. Urges Member States to set up people's committees to collect donations to support the Intifada and provide urgent assistance to the Palestinian people in this emergency situation.

5. Strongly condemns the closure and blockade imposed on corridors, and on the Palestinian airport, towns and villages, which have resulted in heavy losses and serious damage to the social and economic life of the Palestinian people, and are detrimental to the Palestinian economy; and calls upon the international community to force Israel to end the closure and lift the blockade imposed on the Palestinian territories.

6. Strongly condemns the acts of demolition and destruction of Palestinian homes and lands, the uprooting and burning of fruitful trees and plants, and the bulldozing of the soil, which are perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army and settlers and which have resulted in severe losses for the Palestinian economy; and calls upon the international community to force Israel to put an end to these criminal acts and to pay reparation for these damages.

7. Calls upon the international community to intervene to force Israel to release the Palestinian funds being held up by it and estimated at millions of dollars accruing from taxes and tariffs due to the Palestinian authority and levied by the Israeli government.

8. Strongly condemns Israel for using internationally banned weapons, particularly depleted uranium, against the Palestinian people for the deadly and harmful effects on humans, land, and vegetation in the Palestinian territories.

9. Calls the Member States to contribute to the Al-Quds Fund, the Al-Quds Waqf and Beit al-Mal of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

10. Calls for the necessity of implementing the resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the economic assistance extended to the Palestinian people as well as the resolutions of other international organizations and relevant specialized agencies. It also calls for unified efforts during the Fifty-fourth Session of the UN General Assembly in this respect.

11. Urges the private sector and investors of the OIC Member States to undertake the execution of the economic, industrial, agricultural and housing programmes in the territories of the Palestinian National Authority with a view to supporting and strengthening the Palestinian national economy.

12. Condemns Israel's continuing occupation of the Palestinian territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the escalation of its arbitrary practices against the Palestinian people in all of the occupied towns and villages, and building an expansionist infrastructure by establishing more settlements and calls for halting these practices.

13. Condemns Israel for its continued occupation of the Syria Golan and parts of South Lebanon, including the Shebaa farms and the arbitrary Israeli practices which have led to the degradation of the social and economic situation of the Syrian and Lebanese populations suffering under the yoke of Israeli occupation.

14. Expresses extreme concern about the serious economic implications resulting from a new series of expansionist settlement policies by the Israeli government on the existing difficult living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian territories as well as those of the Syrian citizens in the Occupied Syrian Golan and the Arab people in the other Occupied Arab territories.

15. Urges the OIC Member States to carry all necessary actions at the international level to exert pressure on Israel to desist from resorting to imposition of the brutal blockades on the occupied Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif which result in extremely painful economic effect on the Palestinian people and raise the level of unemployment among the Palestinians. It also hampers international efforts aimed at realizing development in the occupied Palestinian territory and the territory of the Palestinian National Authority.

16. Calls on Member States and the international community to compel Israel to pay the Government of Lebanon reparations for the plight of the Lebanese citizens in Southern Lebanon and the Western Beqaa who suffered Israeli aggressions throughout the occupation that has induced substantial losses and social complications and caused a quasi-permanent paralysis of economic activities in the region.

17. Calls on Member States and the international community to extend necessary assistance to the Lebanese citizens in South Lebanon and the Western Beqaa who have been constantly and every day the targets of Israeli aggression throughout the occupation period, thus entailing huge material losses and social hardships leading to a quasi permanent paralysis of the economic activities in the area.

18. Calls also on the Member States to coordinate their efforts regarding the implementation of the resolutions on the subject.

19. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this recommendation and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 13/28-E

ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF LEBANON

Recalling Resolution No. 13/9-E (IS) adopted by the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Also recalling Resolution No. 12/27-E adopted by the Twenty-seventh Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers;

Further recalling Israeli aggressions against Lebanon, and the resulting losses of life and property, and their consequences on political and economic conditions in Lebanon;

Appreciating the efforts exerted by the Government of Lebanon to achieve stability and security, establish its authority, reconstruct its country, and provide for the needs of citizens in the territories previously under Israeli occupation;

Taking into account the difficulties faced by the Lebanese citizens in the territories previously occupied by Israel, and in the neighbouring areas;

Having considered the report of the Secretary General on the subject;

1. Expresses its appreciation of the assistance extended by some Members States and by the relevant organs of the OIC.

2. Condemns Israeli acts of aggression against public facilities and infrastructure in Lebanon, aimed at obstructing the efforts of reconstruction made by the government of Lebanon. It also condemns the continued Israeli unwillingness to withdraw from parts of the territory of Lebanon, including the Shab'a farms, to the line of the internationally recognized borders of Lebanon.

3. Reaffirms its previous Resolutions on the need to provide various forms of financial, material, and humanitarian aid to Lebanon to meet its economic, technical and training needs, and reiterates the appeal to OIC Member States and to international and regional bodies to contribute urgently and effectively to the reconstruction of what was destroyed by Israeli occupation, and to respond positively to the call for a conference of donor states for that purpose.

4. Calls on Member States to grant exceptional facilities to Lebanese products to permit them unhindered access to their markets in support of the Lebanese economy, the mainstay of Lebanese steadfastness and resistance to Israeli aggression.

5. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this recommendation and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 25/28-E

ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO THE STATE OF PALESTINE

Recalling Resolution No. 25/9-E (IS) adopted by the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Recalling also Resolution of the Seventh Islamic Summit Conference as well as resolutions of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th Sessions of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers,

Noting with great interest the role played by the Palestine National Authority in the Palestinian Self-rule regions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with a view to improving the living conditions of the Palestinian people and building up the national economy;

Having taken note of the report of the Secretary General;

1. Expresses deep appreciation for the assistance extended by some Member States and OIC relevant bodies.

2. Commends the initiative proposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Extraordinary Session of the Arab Summit held in Cairo in October 2000 to set up two funds for the Intifada and Al-Aqsa with a capital of US$ 1 billion, 250 million of which was donated by the Kingdom on top of the initiative undertaken by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to take care of one thousand families of martyrs and victims of the Palestinian Intifada. The Conference also commends the contributions of other member States to these two funds, as shown in the attached table, on calls on all the member States to continue supporting their Palestinian brothers to enable them to face the difficult economic conditions they are suffering as a result of the Israeli aggression.

3. Welcomes the initiative of the Republic of Iraq to donate one billion Euros to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian people.

4. Commends the efforts made by the Palestine National Authority in the Palestinian Self-Rule regions in order to reconstruct what occupation had destroyed, as well as the efforts exerted to build up and consolidate the Palestinian national economy .

5. Urges the speedy granting of the required and approved assistance by the concerned Member States and OIC bodies, with a view to helping the Palestine National Authority and the Palestinian people in the building up of the national economy and the consolidation of their national institutions.

6. Reaffirms the previous resolution advocating the provision of all forms of support and assistance as well as economic, technical, material and moral assistance in support of the Palestinian people and the Palestine National Authority and urges that preferential treatment be accorded to Palestinian products as regards importation and exemption of taxes and customs duties.

7. Urges businessmen and investors of Member States to contribute to the implementation of economic, industrial, agricultural and housing projects in the Palestinian Self-Rule regions, with a view to building up the national economy and enabling the Palestine National Authority and its national institutions to implement their development programmes, during the coming transitional period, in the various economic, social and health fields.

8. Urges the Member States, in view of the obstacles raised by Israel in the face of the Palestinian labour force, to provide work opportunities to this Palestinian labour force, with a view to enhancing the socio-economic status of the Palestinian people and putting an end to unemployment.

9. Also urges the Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with the Palestine National Authority in the economic, commercial and social fields. Expresses great appreciation for the assistance provided by some Member States to the Palestinian people in order to build up the national economy in the Palestinian Self-Rule regions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

10. Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this recommendation and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 4O/28-E

ENVlRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

INCLUDING ISRAELI PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS

ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN

TERRITORIES, IN THE OCCUPIED SYRIAN GOLAN HEIGHTS

AND IN OCCUPIED SOUTHERN LEBANON AND WESTERN BAKAA

FORMERLY UNDER OCCUPATlON

Having noted the resolution No. 39/27-E, and 41/9-E(IS) adopted respectively by the Twenty-seventh Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers and the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

A. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

Recalling previous Resolutions on this subject especially Resolutions 2/19-E, 17/21-E, 22/22-E, 29/23-E, 32/24-E, 32/25-E, 35/25-E and 36/26-E, 39/27-E of the 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th Sessions of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers respectively;

Deeply concerned at the continuing deterioration of the global environment, including the worsening trends in environmental pollution and the degradation of natura1 resources;

Stressing again the right of all human beings to enjoy a healthy and non-polluted environment, as a basic human right;

Re-emphasizing the right of States to protect their environment from harmful activities, and to cooperate among themselves to that end;

Noting with concern that the condition of the environment has reached a stage that requires taking effective measures to stop its deterioration;

Noting that while there has been progress in the implementation of Agenda 21, at various levels, particularly at the national level, the lack of fulfillment of international commitments agreed upon at Rio has been very disappointing;

Stressing the commitments of the developed countries envisaged in Agenda 21 and Rio Declaration adopted by UNCED;

Recognizing that environmental degradation both natural and man-made is a major global concern which requires the strengthening of international cooperation and extending effective contributions for the protection of the environment;

Noting with satisfaction the recent developments towards the finalization of the International Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought, which was adopted in Paris in September 1994 and inviting the Member States, which have not ratified all the relevant conventions, including the International Convention on Combating Desertification, to do so, as soon as possible;

Stressing the need for closely and constantly monitoring the global environmental situation and relevant activities and also supporting the establishment of mass-destruction-weapons-free-zones in the Muslim world;

Expressing also its deep concern over the devastating effects of hazardous, toxic and radioactive wastes on humankind and the environment and supporting the establishment of mass-destruction-weapons-free-zones in the whole world;

Strongly condemning the attempts by some developed countries to export their hazardous and radioactive wastes for dumping in developing countries, and appealing to Member States to sign the Basel Convention on Dangerous wastes and the Bamako Convention and relevant international agreements;

Guided by the teachings of Islam which enjoin the Muslim people to safeguard the bounties that Allah has granted them on Earth;

Having considered the Report of the Secretary General on this subject,

1. Encourages Member States to continue to incorporate environmental considerations in their developmental policies.

2. Urges Member States to cooperate and coordinate within the existing Desertification Regional Centers for preparation and implementation of NAP and RAP in accordance with article 11 of the CCD.

3. Invites Member States to exchange information and experience in various environmental fields such as desertification, climate change and loss of biological diversity.

4. Urges developed countries to provide new and additional financial resources specially for protection of global environment in general, and loss of biological diversity.

5. Also urges the Member States which have not ratified all the UN International Agreements on the Environmental including the International Convention on Desertification and Drought to do so as soon as possible so that the Convention can come into force.

6. Calls on Member States to mobilise available financial and institutional resources needed for implementing national programs of environmental protection.

7. Emphasizes the commitments of developed countries in transferring environmentally sound technologies and know-how to developing countries in accordance with the provisions of chapter 34 of Agenda 21.

8. Urges the Member States to attach greater importance to the question of the protection of the Environment and Natural Resources and to its relevance to sustainable development.

9. Condemns Israel's continued rejection to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and carrying out uncontrolled unclear programs.

10. Requests the international community, particularly relevant United Nations Organs, to conduct active scientific research on the rise in sea levels, and its socio-economic impacts, so as to protect the coastal zones and the wild life in the territories of the Member States.

11. Urges the developed countries to discharge their obligations under prevailing international agreements on the transfer to developing countries of financial resources and environmentally sound technologies.

12. Reaffirms the determination of the Member States to work for the strengthening of international cooperation in seeking solutions to global environmental problems and requests the donor countries and international financial institutions to extend further support to regional networks and national focal points in States stricken by desertification.

13. Stresses that multilateral cooperation for the protection of the environment should include the provision of additional financial resources and access to environmentally sound technologies for the developing countries.

14. Calls for the dissemination of pioneering experiments for the application of environmental development in the Islamic States and the use of the latter's available expertise in this field, whether through bilateral cooperation or multilateral programs for the exchange of expertise.

15. Requests Member States to promote coordination and cooperation among environment monitoring networks and remote-control sensing Centers and coastal control posts and all other environment protection organs in Islamic States.

16. Urges all Member States to continue consultation and coordination among them at all international meetings including consultations relating to environment protection, especially in the field of biological diversity, climate change, desertification, hazardous and radioactive waste.

17. Rejects the imposition of obligations on developing countries to contain the phenomenon on of climate changes in addition to the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol on the UN convention on Climate Changes and calls on Member States to oppose this orientation wherever it deemed necessary.

18. Expresses its satisfaction at the fruitful cooperation between the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the United Nations Environment Programme.

19. Calls for the intensification of this cooperation with emphasis on the problem of the remnants of World War II and other wars in the Islamic countries, which impedes development of their societies, and calls on the international community to address the problem immediately and take the necessary measures to remove land mines and war remnants in countries concerned.

20. Appeals to the parties to World War II to expeditiously provide Member States with information, data and maps on mines planted in their territories during the war and commit themselves to extend immediate aid and assistance required for the removal of these mines which still cause huge damage to human lives and obstruct development and construction in vital areas, while taking into consideration the decisions of the UN Conference on the Question of Mines which was held in Geneva in 1996.

21. Calls on Member States to intensify coordination and consultation among themselves in the framework of the UN and others, particularly specialized agencies concerned, on tackling this subject in an effective and meaningful manner.

22. Expresses solidarity with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya concerning its position on the question of the minefields left on in its territory by World War II, their grave effect on the environment and the accidents and grievous damage they cause to thousands of its citizens. Also appeals to Member States to stand in solidarity with the Jamahiriya in its efforts to overcome this problem and its right to demand compensation for the damage and that the countries responsible for the mine danger, finance mine-hunting operations and produce minefield maps to the Libyan authorities concerned.

B. ISRAELI PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, THE SYRIAN GOLAN HEIGHTS AND IN OCCUPIED SOUTH LEBANON AND THE WESTERN BEKAA FORMERLY UNDER OCCUPATION.

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

Recalling previous OIC and other International Resolutions on this subject;

Recalling also the UNEP GC decision (UNEP/GC.19/107) on environmental situation in occupied Palestine and Arab territories, and expressing deep concern over the continued degradation of the environmental conditions in the occupied Palestine;

Taking into consideration the recommendations of the Twenty-first Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs;

Also recalling resolutions 14/11-E and 15/18-E of the UN Environment Programme with respect to the environmental conditions in the Palestinian Arab Territories, and the Syrian Golan and Lebanese territories occupied by Israel;

Referring to the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly, Security Council and ECOSOC;

Reaffirming the rights of mankind to a dignified life enjoying a healthy environment free of pollution as a basic human and sacred right;

Expressing deep concern over the escalating brutal and expansionist practices of the Israeli occupation authorities which include seizure of land and water-resources, the demolition of houses, the construction of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories, especially in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the Syrian Golan, the uprooting of trees, the destruction of crops, the cutting off of irrigation waters, the deforestation of wide expanses of land and the use of toxic gases with the attendant serious effects on the Palestinian and other Arab inhabitants and the economic and social situation in those lands;

Expressing deep concern upon the dumping by Israel of highly toxic radioactive and chemical wastes in the Mediterranean sea and particularly in the Lebanese regional waters;

Having considered the report of the Secretary General on this issue;

1. Condemns and censures Israel for its aggressive policies, the confiscation of Palestinian lands, the setting of forests on fire, the cutting off of irrigation water and the seizure of water resources and polluting the neighbouring countries' coasts thereby causing considerable degradation of ecological conditions in occupied Palestine and aggravating the economic and social situation of the citizens.

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the citizens of the occupied Syrian Golan and other occupied Arab territories, and considers illegal any violation of this right.

3. Urges UNEP to update its report on the environmental situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and submit it to the GC for immediate reaction.

4. Requests the Member States to continue to extend help and assistance to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and the citizens in the Lebanese territories previously occupied, in drawing up the plans deemed necessary for environmental conservation within these territories and stresses the need to adopt concrete measures for consolidating such plans and taking steps to expose the policies pursued by Israeli occupation authorities which have led to ecological degradation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the occupied Syrian Golan and the previously occupied Lebanese territories.

5. Strongly condemns Israel's persistence in changing the legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and its practices aimed at changing its environmental conditions as well as its geographical, demographic and historical features and at imposing Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan.

6. Calls for the strengthening of the cooperation among the Member States in the field of earthquake monitoring and establish a mechanism from the Member States in the Red Sea so as to monitor earthquakes in the region and exchange the necessary information on treating this phenomenon.

7. Condemns Israel's continuous rejection to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to pursue nuclear program which are bound to cause serious damage to the neighbouring Islamic States as these programs are not subject to monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency and calls upon the international parties and bodies concerned to adopt the measures necessary for putting an end to this damage, while stressing the importance of cooperation among the Member States concerned in the field of monitoring radiation fallout in the area.

8. Opposes the introduction of amendments to annex 7 of the Basle Convention on the prohibition of exporting dangerous wastes from OECD countries to non-OECD member countries until the states signatory to the Convention have approved the provisions of the annex.

9. Strongly emphasizes the need for in-depth studies of crucial issues on the environment affecting Member States so that they can keep abreast of their future development and implications.

10. Requests the Secretary General to take appropriate steps for the implementation of this recommendation and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

Annex IV

Resolutions on cultural and Islamic affairs adopted by the Islamic

Conference of Foreign Ministers at its twenty-eighth session

(Session of Peace and Development — Intifada Al-Aqsa)

[Original: Arabic, English and French]

…

RESOLUTION NO. 31/28-C

THE TWINNING OF PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITIES

IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES WITH

UNIVERSITIES IN OIC MEMBER STATES

Recalling resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and other Islamic Conferences, in particular, of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference,

Having considered the report of the Secretary General on the matter;

Having considered the recommendations of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs;

1. Recommends to the Member States and the OIC General Secretariat to follow-up implementation of the provisions in the key operative paragraphs of Res. No. 28/9-C (IS) issued by the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference, namely:

a) Calls on the Member States to allocate scholarships for the Palestinian students injured in Al-Quds Al-Sharif Intifada and the other students who are members of families of the Intifada martyrs. It calls on the Universities of the Member States to allocate scholarships in the names of child martyrs of the Intifada, and to name one of those scholarships as Mohammad Al-Durra Scholarship.

b) Recommends the necessity of strengthening Islamic solidarity with the people and students of Palestine through establishing twining relations between universities in OIC Member States and Palestinian universities in the Occupied Territories to enable the latter to overcome their difficulties, confront Israeli designs aimed at impeding their functioning, fulfill their educational mission in the best manner and contribute to the reinforcement of the Palestinian National Authority.

c) Recommends also to extend every kind of financial and academic support and assistance to Palestinian universities so that they may be able to play their national and educational role, and support in particular the Open University of Al-Quds in view of its importance of supporting the steadfastness of its people and preserving the Arab and Islamic heritage of the Holy City.

d) Calls upon Member States to see to it that their universities receive delegations of trainees and academics from the Palestinian Universities in order to offer them work.

e) Calls upon the Member States to contribute towards qualifying Palestinian youth in their Universities and exchanging educational delegations with the Palestinian Universities in various academic fields, so as to assist the Palestinian Universities in performing their within the framework of overall reconstruction by the Palestinian National Authority and lessen the material and academic difficulties which may emerge.

2. Requests the Secretary General to follow-up this matter and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 32/28-C

THE TEACHING OF THE SUBJECT OF THE HISTORY

AND GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE

Recalling resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and other Islamic Conferences, in particular of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Having considered the recommendations of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs;

Having considered the report of the Secretary General on the matter:

1. Recommends the Member States and the OIC General Secretariat to follow up the implementation of the provisions in the key operative paragraphs of Res. No. 29/9-C (IS) issued by the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference, namely:

a) Calls on the General Secretariat and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) to expeditiously print and communicate the curricula to the Member States in implementation of relevant Islamic Resolutions.

b) Calls upon Ministries of Education and all educational organisations and institutions in Member States to contribute effectively to the teaching of the subject of the History and Geography of Palestine approved for the three levels of education so as to inform the young generations of Muslims about the land of Palestine as well as its identity and history and the rights of its Muslim Arab people, and safeguard the Islamic and historic heritage of Palestine, particularly in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

c) Appeals to the Member States and the IDB to contribute to financing the printing of the approved curricula in the three OIC languages as well as in the national languages of non-Arabic-speaking States.

2. Recommends to ISESCO to supervise the publication of the curricula that have not been published so far after reviewing them with the competent bodies of the Palestinian National Authority and requests it to distribute them to Member States as soon as possible.

3. Requests the Secretary General to follow-up this matter and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 33/28-C

THE EDUCATIONAL SITUATION IN THE OCCUPIED

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, AND OCCUPIED SYRIAN GOLAN

Recalling resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and other Islamic Conferences, in particular of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Taking into consideration the policy and practices of the Israeli occupation authorities towards the Arab citizens in the occupied Arab territories, aimed primarily at the eradication of their cultural identity, along with Israeli attempts to wipe out and disintegrate their national Arab identity at all levels, the Israeli policy of systematic stamping out of education aimed at creating a poorly educated generation ignorant of its history, culture, nation and Ummah, the Israeli practice of a policy geared towards maligning Arab and Islamic civilization and causing prejudice to Arabs and Muslims, the Israeli abuse and distortion of historical and geographical facts, in addition to the continued Israeli policy of racial discrimination by claims of Israeli superiority over the citizens of the occupied Arab territories which constitute a blatant violation of their fundamental rights;

Having considered the recommendations of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs;

Having considered the report submitted by the Secretary General on the subject;

1. Recommends the Member States and the OIC General Secretariat to follow up the implementation of the provisions in the key operative paragraphs of Res. No. 30/9-C (IS) issued by the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference, namely:

a) Condemns the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities against the educational and cultural organizations and institutions in the Palestinian territories aimed at denying the Palestinians access to education, so as to obliterate their national identity and severe them from their culture and history, and distort their civilization to serve the designs of occupation.

b) Appeals to Member States to support the efforts of the Palestine Liberation Organization aimed at promoting the educational process in the Palestinian territories under its National Authority during the transitional period, and to provide it with all technical and financial means to develop curricula for all educational levels.

c) Calls upon Member States to promptly extend every kind of academic and financial assistance and support to the educational sector in the occupied Palestinian territories so that it may fulfill its mission in the reconstruction of the Palestinian national institutions and so that the educational institutions may contribute to the establishment of the Palestinian people's national authority on their homeland, and thus further enhance Islamic solidarity with the people of Palestine.

d) Calls upon Member States to extend every necessary financial assistance to provide the funding required for the promotion of education in the occupied territories in general and in the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif in particular, in view of the great difficulties faced by the educational process in the Holy City on account of the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at the judaization of the Holy City and at severing it from its Arab-Islamic environment.

e) Reiterates its full support and assistance for the inhabitants of occupied Syrian Golan in their resistance against the oppressive Israeli practices, and their legitimate struggle to preserve their cultural, national and Arab identity, and appeals to the United Nations, to specialized international bodies and institutions and in particular to UNESCO, to counter those Israeli policies which violate international laws and conventions.

f) Calls for support to the steadfastness of the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan against the Israeli practices aimed at obliterating their Arab cultural identity and proclaims its support for the maintenance of Syrian Arab educational curricula and the provision of educational and cultural material.

g) Recommends to provide all kinds of financial and academic assistance and support to the Palestinian universities in implementation of the resolutions of successive Islamic Conferences, and to work for the establishment of a Centre of higher studies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

h) Calls upon the international community to shoulder its full responsibility in forcing Israel to abide by the principles of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and of all international conventions on human rights, particularly the Geneva Convention of 20.8.1949 on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, as well as the relevant resolutions adopted by the United Nations and its specialized agencies.

i) Invites Member States to extend the necessary facilities to Palestinian students to enable them to enroll in their universities and specialized institutions and thus help them complete their university studies and also stresses the need to increase the number of scholarships and seats for the Palestinian youth in the Islamic States, particularly in higher education, technical and technological and teacher training. It also expresses its appreciation to all Member States which have responded to this appeal, particularly the Government of Tunisia, which has gracefully allocated fifty scholarships to Palestinian students to study in various Tunisian universities and higher institutes as of academic year 2000/2001.

j) Calls for extending support to the Open University of Al-Quds in view of its vital importance in strengthening the resistance of the Palestinian people and enabling them to continue their university education and also calls for extending the technical and financial assistance necessary for the development of the university and for solving its problems so that it may open new branches and thoroughly fulfill its educational mission.

k) Expresses its high appreciation for the role played by Palestinian schools and universities in the preservation of the Palestinian culture and heritage and in confronting the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities against the educational and cultural institutions and organizations in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

2. Reaffirms the need to implement the recommendation addressed to the administrations of Islamic Universities to receive training and academic missions from the universities of the occupied territories to work in their universities for short periods.

3. Condemns the practices and actions of the Israeli occupation authorities against educational and other institutions in the occupied Syrian Golan, their cancellation of the Syrian educational syllabus in the villages of the Golan and its substitution by Israeli one, their imposition of the teaching of Hebrew instead of Arabic, their replacement of the teaching staff to serve the goals and directions of Israeli policy, their taking measures to deny Syrian Arab citizens access to higher education in Syrian universities and their denying some of those who manage to get education in those universities the right to return to their homes.

4. Requests the Secretary General to follow-up this matter and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 34/28-C

THE PRESERVATION OF THE ISLAMIC CHARACTER, HUMAN

HERITAGE AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF

Recalling resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and other Islamic Conferences, in particular of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Condemning the aggressive actions perpetuated by Israel for the expansion of the borders of Al-Quds Al-Sharif Municipality;

Having considered the recommendations of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs,

1. Recommends to the Member States and the OIC General Secretariat to follow-up the implementation of the provisions in the key operative paragraphs of Res. No. 31/9-C (IS) issued by the Islamic Summit Conference, namely:

a) Reiterates all previous Islamic resolutions on the preservation of the Islamic character and human heritage of Al-Quds.

b) Calls for continued action at all Islamic and international levels with a view to forcing Israel to rescind its decision to annex the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, reaffirming the City's Arab-Islamic character and rejecting its annexation or judaization, pursuant to the relevant resolutions of international legality, and in particular UN Security Council Resolutions No. 465 and 478.

c) Requests the General Secretariat to continue its coordination with international agencies and institutions and particularly with UNESCO to prevent the Israeli authorities from demolishing buildings in the vicinity of the Al-Quds Holy Enclosure and demand that they close the tunnel and stop their excavation works especially on the south side of the Holy Enclosure which actions aimed at destroying the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and erecting their alleged temple on its site.

d) Recommends that an information symposium on the City of Al-Quds be organized specially at the present juncture, in order to inform public opinion of imminent threats to the City, and the need to safeguard the Islamic and Christian holy places and guarantee the freedom of religious rites for all believers.

e) Urges the General Secretariat and Member States to provide material assistance to enable the Palestinian people to face Israeli challenges and schemes aimed at obliterating religious landmarks in the Holy City of Al-Quds, and reaffirms the need for extending all sorts of support and assistance to the residents of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to enable them to refurbish their houses, support their steadfastness and protect Islamic shrines in Al-Quds Al-Sharif from demolition and waste.

f) Calls on Member States, public institutions, and the private sector to extend the necessary assistance to the Baitulmal Quds Agency whose Director General was appointed and Casablanca headquarters donated by His Majesty, the late King Hassan II, may Allah have mercy on his soul. Recommends that the Director of Baitulmal Quds Agency shall visit the Islamic States in order to inform about the Agency and its objectives and to organize information campaigns in this respect, on the example of the visit he made to Cairo in October 1999.

2. Condemns the aggressive and expansionist Zionist policies and particularly the policies seeking to establish further settlements and to transfer and resettle hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories including Al-Quds Al-Sharif – policies aimed at seriously altering the demographic and historic status of these territories by judaizing them, and may jeopardize the current peace process and constitute a flagrant violation of international laws and of relevant U.N. and Security Council Resolutions.

3. Expresses its strong indignation over the recent desecration of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the new round of massacre of the Palestinians, resulting in martyrdom of hundreds of Palestinian people who have stood up against the acts of desecration of Islamic holy places.

4. Commends the strenuous efforts made by His Majesty the late King Hassan II, may Allah have mercy on his soul, in establishing the Baitulmal Quds Agency and enabling it to fulfill the Islamic character of the city of Al-Quds. It also commends the fine efforts exerted in this regard by his successor, His Majesty King Mohamed VI.

5. Requests the Secretary General to follow-up this matter and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

RESOLUTION NO. 35/28-C

THE ISRAELI AGGRESSIONS AGAINST ISLAMIC SHRINES

IN THE CITY OF AL-KHALIL (HEBRON)

Recalling resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and other Islamic Conferences, in particular of the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference;

Expressing deep concern at the designs being devised against the precinct of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied city of Al-Khalil with the aim of judaizing it, seizing part of it and preventing worshippers from entering and normally offering in it the five daily prayers;

Recalling Security Council resolution number 904 (1994) on the Massacre in the precinct of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil;

Having considered the recommendations of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs;

Having considered the Secretary General's report on the subject;

1. Recommends the Member States and the OIC General Secretariat to follow up the implementation of the provisions in the key operative paragraphs of Res. No. 3219-C (IS) issued by the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference, namely:

a) Requests Member States to coordinate and intensify their efforts in the various international fora to prevent the implementation of the Israeli scheme for partitioning the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil, to ensure access to it for Muslim worshippers and preserve the integrity of the Ibrahimi Enclosure as a Mosque for Muslims only as it has been through the ages; and warns Member States against any slackness in this regard as this would encourage Israel to undermine the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic and Christian shrines.

b) Calls on Member States to ensure the restoration of the old town in Al-Khalil as well as the remaining Islamic relics and shrines on the Palestinian lands to safeguard the heritage and culture of this historic city and its resident Palestinian facilities in an effort to counter Jewish colonization.

2. Strongly condemns the repeated Israeli aggressions against the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil, in particular, the massacre perpetrated by the settlers against Palestinian worshippers in the Enclosure of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Ramadan 1414H killing tens of martyrs.

3. Strongly condemns also the aggressive Israeli scheme for the partition of the Enclosure of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil, which aims at seizing and judaizing most of it and building a Synagogue therein, which constitutes an aggression against Islamic Holy Places and feelings and a violation of all international Conventions and Charters, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

4. Requests the Secretary General to follow-up this matter and submit a report thereon to the Twenty-ninth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

…

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Middle East situation/Palestine question – Final communiqué of OIC FMs extraordinary meeting – Letter from Mali (excerpts)

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Middle East situation/Palestine question – Final communiqué of OIC FMs extraordinary meeting – Letter from Mali (excerpts)

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