NAM final documents – Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau – Letter from India (excerpts)

* A/41/50/Rev.1.

Letter dated 15 May 1986 from the Permanent Representative of India

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honor to request you to have circulated among Member States the final documents of the Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Countries held at New Delhi from 16 to 19 April 1986 as an official document of the General Assembly, under items 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 43, 45, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 75, 80, 82, 86, 91, 92, 96, 107 and 108 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

Annex I

I. POLITICAL DECLARATION

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The Co-ordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries met at the level of foreign ministers in New Delhi, India, from 16 to 19 April 1986.

2. The meeting was preceded by a meeting of senior officials on 14 and 15 April 1986.

3. The following members of the Co-ordinating Bureau participated: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Yemen, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana,

Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine Liberation Organization, Panama, Peru, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South West Africa People's Organization, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

4. The following members of the Movement also participated: Argentina, Botswana, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Niger, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu.

5. The following countries, organizations and national liberation movements attended the Meeting as observers: Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Uruguay, Venezuela, African National Congress, Afro-Asian People's Solidarity organization, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania, Socialist Party of Puerto Rico, United Nations.

6. The following countries and organizations were. present as guests: Austria, Finland, The Holy See, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations Commissioner for Namibia, United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, United Nations Council for Namibia, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, World Health Organization.

7. The Meeting was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India and Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, His Excellency Mr. Rajiv Gandhi.

8. The Ministers took note of the report by this Chairman of the Coordinating Bureau on the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement since the Ministerial Conference held at Luanda in September 1985.

9. The Ministers also took note of the preparations made by Zimbabwe as the host country of the Eighth Conference of Heads of State or Government to be hold at Harare in August and September 1986.

10. The Ministers noted the comprehensive review of the international situation made at the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries in Luanda in September 1985. The assessment contained in the Luanda Declaration set out the deep concern of the Non-Aligned Movement in regard to developments which had taken place since the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries held in New Delhi in March 1983. Even in the few months since the Luanda meeting events have taken place and action has been taken which have further exacerbated tension in various parts of the world and thereby further jeopardized international peace and security. The Ministers reviewed this situation and evaluated the dynamic and constructive role played by the Movement. The Ministers also reviewed, the implementation of the decisions taken under the Action Program for Economic Co-operation (APEC) of Non-Aligned Countries adopted at the Seventh Summit Conference and evaluated during the Fifth Meeting of the Coordinating Countries of the Action Program for Economic Co-operation, held at New Delhi from 7 to 11 April 1986.

II.  ROLE OF NON-ALIGNMENT

11. The Non-Aligned Movement was conceived in the context of the struggle against colonialism and the polarization of international relations resulting from military blocs and alliances and the cold war. It was the inevitable result of the need felt by newly independent countries in all parts of the world to protect and strengthen their national independence and exercise their full sovereignty in political and economic matters. Over the years, despite many obstacles, the Movement and the policy of nonalignment have achieved significant successes. They have played a vital and catalytic role in efforts to promote peace and peaceful coexistence, independence, disarmament, the accelerated economic development of developing countries and the struggle for an equitable world economic order, which are the central issues of our time. The Ministers noted with satisfaction that throughout the two-and-a-half decades of its existence, the Movement has demonstrated its abiding appeal add its continuing relevance and vitality.

12. The Ministers reaffirmed the validity of the principles and policies adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement as major factors for the preservation of world peace. The Non-Aligned Movement is committed to taking constructive action towards halting and reversing the dangerous trends in the current international situation, as well as creating conditions conducive to the promotion of relations of co-operation, good neighborliness and friendship among States. It has striven over-the years for the maintenance of peace based on justice, the promotion of disarmament, the relaxation of international tension and the elimination of focal points of aggression and conflict, as well as for the encouragement of just and peaceful solutions to international issues. To realize these ends, the peoples and leaders of nonaligned countries have ceaselessly worked for the elimination of structures of domination, discrimination, exploitation and inequality, for the free expression of the authentic national traditions and cultures of peoples and for the establishment of a new system of international relations based on independence, equality, justice and co-operation among all States.

13. The quintessence of the policy of nonalignment, based on its principles and objectives as set out in successive Summit Conferences, is the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racism, Zionism and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony, as well as against great Power or bloc policies. The recent evolution of the international situation fully justifies the policy of nonalignment, and its principles and objectives, as a positive, non-bloc, independent, global factor in international relations. Nonalignment involves the rejection of all forms of subjugation, dependence, interference or intervention, direct or indirect, overt or covert, and all pressures – political, diplomatic, economic, military and cultural – in international relations.

14. The Ministers reaffirmed the need for strict adherence to the principles of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal and external affairs of States, which are basic principles of nonalignment. They observed with concern that the security and independence of nonaligned countries were being increasingly threatened by colonialist policies, by great-Power and bloc rivalries, by imperialist policies and policies of domination and by the quest for spheres of influence, as well as by the persisting unjust international economic relations, all of which had led to military, political and economic pressures and foreign interventions against nonaligned countries. They noted in particular the various kinds of pressures exerted against the unity of the Movement with a view to diverting it from its established principles and objectives. In this context they called for greater unity, solidarity and co-ordinated action on the part of nonaligned countries to resist such pressures. They expressed their conviction that strict observance of the principles and goals of nonalignment were all the more necessary in the present period of crisis in international relations.

15. Nonaligned countries have consistently supported the complete emancipation of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world and have rejected erroneous attempts made to consider the struggles of peoples for independence and human dignity as part of the context of East-West confrontation that denies them the right to determine their own destiny and realize their legitimate aspirations. Nonaligned countries renewed their commitment not to be party to, nor to take action leading to, great-Power confrontation and rivalry or the strengthening of existing military alliances and interlocking arrangements arising therefrom, particularly through participation in military arrangements or through the provision of military bases and facilities for great-Power military presence conceived in the context of great-Power conflicts.

16. The effectiveness of the Non-Aligned Movement will always derive from the fidelity of its members to the principles and spirit of nonalignment as articulated at the successive Summit meetings and from their ability to oppose injustice irrespective of its source. The Ministers reiterated the nonaligned countries' commitment to respect scrupulously the principles and objectives of nonalignment and expressed their determination to make every effort further to strengthen the Non-Aligned Movement's capacity for action and to develop concrete modalities to enhance the influence and impact of its decisions on world affairs.

17. The policy and the movement of nonalignment have exerted a significant influence in the evolution of international political and economic relations as a whole, thus expressing the need of the contemporary world for peace, freedom, independence, equality, development and prosperity for all.  The Ministers observed that the interest in the policy of nonalignment, as an authentic perspective in international affairs and as a basis for solving acute contemporary problems has increased and that there is growing readiness for co-operation based on its principles and goals even among countries outside the Movement.

III. ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL SITUATION

18. The Ministers noted with deep concern that, contrary to expectation, there has been no appreciable lowering of the level of international tension. The international political and economic situation has, if anything, been further aggravated. Conflicts, disputes and instability in many regions of the world have persisted. The economic situation of the developing countries has steadily and gravely deteriorated. The politics of domination and intervention pursued by great Powers have exacerbated international tension. There is increasing recourse to the use or threat of force, aggression, occupation, pressure, economic coercion and interference, in violation of the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. Forces hostile to the emancipation of peoples continue to infringe on the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries and to impede the realization of the rights of the peoples under colonial and alien domination to self-determination and independence. Pockets of colonialism continue to defy the winds of change. The recrudescence of great-Power confrontation has been accompanied by competition for spheres of influence, domination and exploitation in more and more parts of the world. All these pose a grave threat to global peace and security. Although constructive proposals have been made, including proposals for the phased and total elimination of nuclear weapons, there is no concrete evidence of progress towards halting and reversing the nuclear arms race and preventing its extension into outer space. Policies aimed at negotiating from a position of strength still prevail. New doctrines are being advanced and public sentiment mobilized to justify the development and deployment of armaments of increasing sophistication, especially nuclear armaments, in various parts of the world. Consequently, the vast technological resources and research capabilities of certain developed countries, which should have been devoted to solving the problem of human economic and social development, are being diverted towards improving the already awesome destructiveness of existing weapons systems and building new ones.

19. The Ministers expressed concern at the fact that the international community is faced with increasingly difficult problems resulting from deep-rooted imbalances, inequalities and injustices in international political and economic relations. The crisis affecting the world economy shows scarcely any improvement. It is manifested in the drastic widening of the gap between the developed and the developing countries, as well as in the increasingly critical economic situation facing developing countries, many of which are unable to meet even the most elementary needs of their peoples or to realize their developmental priorities. The prospects for the realization of the Now International Economic order based on justice and sovereign equality have receded further. The North-South dialogue is stalled and international co-operation for economic and social development through the multilateral process embodied in the United Nations system is in danger. Besides endangering the very existence of mankind, the arms race uses up huge amounts of resources necessary for development, further deepening the crisis. Problems such as increasing protectionism, continued deterioration in the terms of trade, persistent high interest rates and the mounting foreign debt problem, which has assumed serious political dimensions, endanger the very viability of many nonaligned and other developing countries.

20. The Ministers noted with satisfaction in this connection the moves made by the African States to convene a special session of the United Nations General Assembly from 27 to 31 May 1986 in New York, and requested all nonaligned countries to be represented at the session at a ministerial or high level.

21. The involvement of great Powers in local and regional disputes and the extension to these areas of the East-West confrontation complicates them further, renders their resolution difficult and jeopardizes world peace. The Ministers expressed grave concern at the military presence, activities and maneuvers of the great Powers in the territories, airspace and waters or in the vicinity of nonaligned countries in the context of such confrontation. They stressed that such activities breed tension and instability, endangering peace and security, and pose a threat of intervention in the internal affairs of those countries.

22. The Ministers affirmed that the particular security perceptions and policies of the major Powers and their alliance systems, which are not always in consonance with the concept of collective security enshrined in the United Nations Charter, serve to intensify their military and political competition, often threaten the security of nonaligned and other States and pose an increasing risk of nuclear war.

23. The Ministers reaffirmed their view that the global crisis which has affected all areas of international relations can best be solved through dialogue, particularly through multilateral negotiations within the framework of the United Nations system. Only such negotiations, in which all countries can participate on an equal footing and which are based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, can ensure a comprehensive solution to pressing international problems such as peace and security, disarmament and development, and encourage progress in various other fields in the interest of all mankind.

24. The Ministers noted with satisfaction the resumption of dialogue at the highest level between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This, however, has not provided the anticipated impulse either for progress in disarmament negotiations or for a noticeable relaxation of tension in their mutual relations. They called on the two Powers to overcome confrontation and mistrust and to embark upon negotiations with full responsibility, bearing in mind the interests of the world community, so as to achieve a genuine relaxation of tension as well as the strengthening of international peace and security.

25. The Ministers reaffirmed that there is no viable alternative to co-operation and peaceful coexistence among States, regardless of their political, economic and social systems, size or geographical location. Détente, in order to be durable, must be universal and comprehensive and open to universal participation, in the interest of all States. Such détente alone can lead to equitable and meaningful solutions to key problems and provide the basis for lasting peace. The Ministers emphasized that nonaligned countries should play an active and positive role in this process and participate in it on an equal footing, continuing to make a constructive contribution to it in the interest of the entire international community.

26. Recalling that the present meeting was being hold during the International Year of Peace proclaimed by the United Nations, the Ministers called for renewed thought and action for the promotion of peace.

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XVII.  SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

141. The Ministers expressed concern over the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East caused by Israel's continued practice of aggressive and expansionist policies in the region, which poses a grave threat to international peace and security.

142. They reaffirmed the active solidarity of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries with the Arab countries which are victims of Israeli aggression and with the just struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole and legitimate representative, for the restoration of its usurped national rights and the recovery of the occupied territories.

143. The Ministers reaffirmed their Governments' commitment to supporting the Arab front-line States and the PLO in the face of Israeli threats and Zionist aggression, as well as their struggle to liberate their territories.

144. They reaffirmed that the question of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East crisis and the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict, that partial solutions confined to some aspects of the conflict and excluding others can only lead to further complications and a deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, and that a just and comprehensive peace in the region can only be based on Israel's total and unconditional withdrawal from all the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, and the restoration of all the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their rights to return to their homeland, the right to self-determination without foreign intervention and the right to establish their own independent and sovereign State on their national territory on the basis of United Nations General Assembly resolution 3236(XXIX) of 22 November 1974.

145. The Ministers condemned any accord or treaty that violates or infringes the rights of the Arab nation and the Palestinian people as recognized by the Non-Aligned Movement, in accordance with international law, the United Nations Charter and relevant resolutions, thereby obstructing the liberation of Jerusalem and of the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories and preventing the Palestinian Arab people from exercising its inalienable rights.

146. The Ministers strongly condemned the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, the Judaization of Jerusalem and its proclamation as the capital of the Zionist State and reaffirmed that all measures carried out by Israel with a view to altering the political, cultural, religious, demographic and other features of the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories are illegal and null and void.

147. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs reaffirmed that Israel's decision taken on 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Syrian Arab Golan Heights is null and void and is invalid. It is also considered an act of aggression under the provisions of Article 39 of the United Nations Charter.

148. The Ministers condemned anew Israel's insistence on its continuing occupation of the Golan Heights and its non-implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions, in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1907 and the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War.

149. The Ministers called upon the Security Council to take effective measures, including the imposition on Israel of sanctions provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter, in order to achieve the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the Syrian Arab territories. They reiterated their total support for the struggle of the Syrian Arab Republic to liberate its occupied lands. The Ministers hailed the movement of revolt of the Syrian Arab inhabitants of the Golan Heights against Israeli occupation.

150. The Ministers condemned the establishment of a "strategic alliance" between the United States of America and Israel and affirmed that the alliance would enhance the aggressive, expansionist and destabilizing role of the régime of Tel Aviv, a role which posed a serious threat to international stability, peace and security in the Middle East.

151. The Ministers endorsed the conclusions and agreements reached by the Seventh Summit Conference condemning all such policies, and in particular the United States policy that assists Israel to pursue its occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and prevents the Palestinian people from exercising its inalienable rights.  In this regard, the Ministers observed that the United States continued to support Israel in many areas, particularly by establishing a free-zone agreement for mutual co-operation within the framework of their "strategic alliance" which threatens the security of the region, and the world, and confirms the total bias of the United States in favor of Israel.

152. The Ministers condemned Israel's exploitation of the natural resources and wealth of the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, in defiance of the Hague and Geneva Conventions on the principle of permanent sovereignty of States over their natural resources and wealth, and called upon all States and international bodies to abstain from recognizing Israel's authority and to refrain from any co-operation with it.

153. The Ministers reaffirmed their adherence to the resolution adopted at the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries bald at New Delhi from 7 to 12 March 1983, urging nonaligned countries to work for a boycott of Israel in the diplomatic, economic, military and cultural fields and in the sphere of maritime and air transport, and called upon the Security Council to enforce the provisions of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter in order to oblige Israel to put an end to its occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories and to enable the Palestinian people to recover its national rights, in conformity with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and other international forums and the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People adopted by the General Assembly.

154. The Ministers stressed the urgent need to organize the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in conformity with paragraph 6 of the Geneva Declaration and General Assembly resolution 38/58 C of 13 December 1983, in order to achieve a just and comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem, based essentially on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the right to establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian State in its national homeland, Palestine, in conformity with General Assembly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974 and ES-7/2 of 29 June 1980. The Ministers emphasized that the participation in the Conference of all parties directly concerned in the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the PLO and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, will be a sine qua non for the attainment of the objectives sought by the Conference.

155. The Ministers stressed the Security Council's responsibilities in providing an adequate institutional framework for guaranteeing compliance with agreements stemming from this Conference, and condemned the negative United States and Israeli attitude towards it.

156. The Ministers expressed their full support for the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East aimed at reducing tensions and increasing security in the region, in conformity with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular resolution S-10/12. In view of this, they appealed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to adopt concrete measures in order to establish favorable conditions for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

157. The Ministers strongly condemned Israel's barbaric armed aggression and terrorist attack on 1 October 1985 against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Tunisia in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and international law. They expressed deep distress at the heavy loss of life among Tunisian and Palestinian civilians and the damage to property resulting from the attack on the premises of the PLO, designed to destroy the heroic Palestinian resistance. Recalling Security Council resolution 573 (1985), the Ministers urged that immediate measures be taken to compel Israel not to resort to such acts and to pay adequate compensation to Tunisia for the damage it had suffered. The Ministers affirmed their sympathy, solidarity and support for the Government of Tunisia in the face of this aggression.

158. The Ministers condemned the act of piracy by Israel on 4 February 1986 in intercepting and forcibly diverting a Libyan civilian aircraft in international airspace and its declared intention of persisting in committing such acts. The Ministers urged the international community to take urgent and effective measures to prevent Israel from repeating such illegal and provocative acts which jeopardized the lives and safety of passengers and crew and violated provisions of international conventions safeguarding civil aviation.

159. The Ministers stressed the urgent need to adopt appropriate measures to counter the threat posed by Israel to Africa's regional security, taking into account its close co-operation with the apartheid régime in South Africa in the military, economic and nuclear fields, which contributes to perpetuating the illegal occupation of Namibia and strengthens the aggressive and repressive means of the criminal apartheid régime against the peoples of South Africa.

XVIII.  THE ISRAELI AGGRESSION AGAINST IRAQI NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS

160. The Ministers condemned Israel for its armed aggression against Iraqi nuclear installations, which are subject to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as an aggression against the IAEA system of safeguards and the inalienable right of peoples to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The Ministers requested the Security Council to take effective measures to ensure the implementation by Israel of Security Council resolution 487(1981). The Ministers considered that Israel has not committed itself as yet not to strike at or threaten nuclear installations in Iraq or elsewhere, including installations subject to the safeguards of IAEA. The Ministers therefore requested IAEA to envisage additional measures ensuring effectively Israel's undertaking not to strike at or threaten peaceful nuclear installations in Iraq or elsewhere in contravention of the United Nations Charter and in violation of the IAEA safeguards system. The Ministers also stressed their rejection of the attempts made by some States to delete the item entitled "The armed Israeli aggression on the peaceful Iraqi nuclear installations" from the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly, unless Israel complies with Security Council resolution 487(1981).

XIX. QUESTION OF PALESTINE

161. The Ministers reaffirmed that the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries an a whole had undertaken to give its support to the Palestinian people for the liberation of their homeland and the recovery of their inalienable national rights.

162. The Ministers emphasized that a comprehensive, just and durable solution to the situation in the Middle East cannot be achieved without the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and the regaining and exercise of all the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to return to their homes, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence, and the right to establish a sovereign and independent State in Palestine in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and relevant resolutions.

163. The Ministers reaffirmed their firm support for the Palestine Liberation organization (PLO), the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and emphasized that the PLO alone had the full right to represent the Palestinian people. They affirmed the right of the PLO to participate on an independent and equal footing, in accordance with international law, in all endeavors international conferences and activities whose objectives are to ensure respect for, and the attainment and exercise of, the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

164. The Ministers welcomed the resolutions of the Palestinian National Council, including those of the seventeenth session, held at Amman from 22 to 29 November 1984, which reaffirmed its strict adherence to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and the legitimacy of the struggle waged under the leadership of the PLO. They made an appeal for additional support for this struggle and towards the escalation and intensification of armed struggle against the forces of Zionist occupation.

165. They further reaffirmed their strict adherence to the principles of non-interference and non-intervention in the internal and external affairs of the Palestinian people and the right of the PLO to free and independent decision-making.

166. The Ministers condemned the United States and Israeli campaign to destroy the infrastructure of the PLO and to "eliminate" the Palestinian freedom- fighters. They equally condemned the armed aggression perpetrated by Israel and supported by the Government of the United States of America against the PLO and the host Arab States, such as the aggression against Tunisia and the PLO offices there.

167. The Ministers considered that the attainment and exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, as defined in United Nations General Assembly resolutions 3236(XXIX) and ES-7/2 of 22 November 1974 and 29 June 1980 respectively, and Israel's total, immediate and unconditional withdrawal from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, would contribute to the re-establishment of legality in international  relations and the strengthening of the process of democratization, and to the establishment of peace and stability in the Middle East. To this effect, the Ministers reiterated their call for a speedy implementation of United Nations General Assembly resolution 38/58 C of 13 December 1983 and stressed anew the necessity for the early convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, emphasizing the major responsibility' shouldered by the Security Council in facilitating the convening of the Conference and providing the appropriate institutional arrangements to guarantee the implementation of the expected agreements of the Peace Conference. The Ministers condemned the negative attitude of Israel and the United States towards the holding of that conference and expressed the hope that the United States would reconsider this negative attitude. They stressed the need to give full encouragement and support to the United Nations Secretary-General to enable him to continue his consultations and his endeavors for the holding of the Conference.

168. In this context, the Ministers decided to call for the convening, as soon as possible, of a meeting of the Security Council to consider the situation in the Middle East, including the question of Palestine. The Ministers also decided to entrust to the Non-Aligned Movement's Committee of Eight on Palestine the task of following up this matter and taking measures to ensure the resumption of the Security Council a meeting. They welcomed the efforts of the Non-Aligned Committee of Eight on Palestine and recommended that it should continue its Activities and submit a report to the Eighth Summit Conference, including recommendations for future action.

169. The Ministers expressed grave concern at the situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in the areas of armed conflict resulting from the Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanese territories. They reiterated the need to provide guarantees for protecting the safety of the Palestinian refugees.

170. The Ministers condemned Israel for its denial of the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and properties in Palestine and for preventing them from exercising this inalienable right.

171. The Ministers expressed concern over the fact that the Palestinians and other Arabs living in the Israeli-occupied territories lack all forms of legal protection and are victims of repressive legislation, the "iron-fist" policy, arbitrary mass arrests, torture, displacement of persons, expulsion and the destruction of homes, in flagrant violation of their human rights and of the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

172. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection of all Israeli policies and practices aimed at altering the geographic features of the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem, or altering the demographic structure therein, particularly Israel's plans to displace and transfer Palestinian refugee camps to new sites. They reiterated their demand to all nations not to recognize such alterations and to cease and sever any co-operation with Israel that may encourage it to pursue its policies and practices in violation of Security Council resolution 465 (1980)

173. The Ministers reaffirmed their adherence to the resolutions adopted by the Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries convened from 7 to 12 March 1983 at New Delhi on urgent action by the nonaligned countries for the boycott of Israel in the diplomatic, economic, military and cultural fields and the area of sea and air traffic and also urging the Security Council to apply Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter against Israel. The Ministers further urged all States to refrain from any co-operation with the Zionist regime that might encourage it to continue pursuing its policy of State terrorism and the commission of terrorist and expansionist acts against neighboring countries.

174. The Ministers strongly condemned the aggression committee against the holy places in the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories, particularly the latest aggression against the sanctity of the Aqsa Mosque in Al Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem). In this context, they expressed full support for the relevant . resolutions adopted b~ the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Ministers also hailed the stand taken by the people of Al Ouds (Jerusalem) in resisting that aggression.

175. The Ministers stressed the urgent need for all States to adopt appropriate measures to counter the threat posed by Israel to Africa's regional security, taking into account its close co-operation with the apartheid régime in South Africa in the military, economic and nuclear fields, which contributes to perpetuating the illegal occupation of Namibia and strengthens the aggressive and repressive means of the criminal apartheid régime against. the peoples of South Africa.

176. The Ministers expressed anew their support for the Arab Peace Plan adopted by the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference. held at Fez from 6 to 12 September 1982, as reaffirmed by the Extraordinary Arab Summit Conference held at Casablanca from 7 to 9 August 1985. They further affirmed their support for the resolutions adopted in support of the Peace Plan by Arab and other international conferences.

XX. LEBANON

177. The Ministers expressed concern at the dangerous situation still confronting Lebanon. They reaffirmed previous resolutions adopted in this respect by the nonaligned countries, especially those adopted by the Seventh Summit Conference. They demanded the full implementation of Security Council resolutions 425(1978.), 426(1978), 508(1982) and 509 (1982) calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territories and for the deployment of UNIFIL and the Lebanese army up to the internationally-recognized boundaries of Lebanon. They declared their solidarity with the Lebanese people and Government and reaffirmed their full support for Lebanon's safety, for its territorial integrity, and for its right to exercise sovereignty throughout its territories within its internationally recognized boundaries.

178. The Ministers condemned the Israeli aggression of Lebanon and the continued Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon, Western Beqaa and Qada Rashaya, and the inhuman practices of the occupation forces in these territories contrary to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949; they expressed their appreciation and full support for the National Lebanese Resistance aiming at the liberation of Southern Lebanon from the Israeli occupation; and they urged the United Nations to ensure the protection of the civilian population, including the Palestinian refugees who lived under Israeli occupation.

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