UN Observer status of the PLO – OIC meeting communiqué- Letter from Kuwait

QUESTION OF PALESTINE

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

DEVELOPMENT AND STRENGTHENING OF

GOOD-NEIGHBOURLINESS BETWEEN STATES

Letter dated 19 October 1987 from the Permanent Representative

of Kuwait to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to enclose herewith the communiqué issued by the meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on 19 October 1987 (see annex).

I would appreciate this communiqué being distributed as a document of the General Assembly under items 38, 39 and 138.

(Signed) Mohammad A. ABULHASAN

Ambassador Permanent Representative

ANNEX

Communiqué issued by the meeting of the members of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference, on 19 October 1987

A meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 19 October 1987 in order to consider the status of the mission of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) at the united Nations.

The meeting was apprised of the recent adoption by the United States Senate of Amendment No. 940, making unlawful the establishment, maintenance and effective functioning of the PLO permanent observer mission in the United States.

The meeting recalled that the fifth Islamic Summit Conference, held in Kuwait from 26 to 29 January 1987, had stressed that any solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must be sought with the full participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on an equal and equitable footing with the other parties, in all international conferences, activities and deliberations relating to the Palestine question and the Arab-Zionist conflict.

The meeting further recalled that the Summit had reaffirmed its adherence and total commitment to, inter alia, the following principle: "The Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and that it alone is fully entitled to represent this people."

Noting that Amendment No. 940 by the United States Senate came at a time when the entire international community was calling for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations, the Meeting considered the move as constituting a denial of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to present and defend its cause in international forums, particularly in the United Nations, as well as a clear attempt to obstruct the search for a comprehensive, just and durable peace in the Middle East.

The Meeting recalled that the PLO Observer Mission to the United Nations, was present in the United States in accordance with General Assembly resolution 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, as well as the Headquarters Agreement between the United States as Host Country and the United Nations. In this context, the Meeting considered Amendment No. 940 as a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and the rights of the United Nations invitees, such as the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The meeting found unacceptable and rejected any attempt to deny the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people of its right to participate effectively in the work of the United Nations and called upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take necessary measures in order to declare the United Nations position and to ensure respect by the Host Country of the provisions of the Headquarters Agreement. In this regard, the Meeting requested the Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to convey the concern to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the President of the forty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Meeting condemned once again the attempts by some elements within the United States to destroy the infrastructure of PLO, as well as the insidious campaign aimed at distorting the truth about the Palestinian people's liberation struggle and calling the truth about the Palestinian people's liberation struggle and calling into question the policy pursued by PLO.

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