Question of Palestine agenda item request – Letter

DOCUMENT A/9742* AND ADD. 1-4**

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chad, China, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Dahomey, Democratic Yemen, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, German Democratic Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Yugoslavia and Zaire: request for the inclusion of an additional item in the agenda of the twenty-ninth session

Letter dated 11 September 1974 from the representatives of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Democratic Yemen, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, German Democratic Republic, Guinea, India,Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Yugoslavia and Zaire addressed to the Secretary-General

Upon instructions form our respective Governments, we have the honour to request, as an important and urgent matter and in accordance with rule 15 of  the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the inclusion in the agenda of the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly of an additional item entitled "Question of Palestine".

In accordance with rule 20, an explanatory memorandum is enclosed with this request.

(Signed)

Mir Abdul Wahab SIDDIQ (Afghanistan)

Mokhtar TALEB-BENDIAB (Algeria)

Salman Mohamed AL-SAFFAR (Bahrain)

Guero GROZEV (Bulgaria)

Patrice MIKANAGU (Burundi)

Bawoyeu ALINGUE (Chad)

Joseph MADZOU-ANGOULOU (Congo)

Teofilo ACOSTA RODRIGUEZ (Cuba)

Abdulla Saleh ASHTAL (Democratic Yemen)

Ahmed Esmat ABDEL MEGUID (Egypt)

Alejandro EVUNA OWONON (Equatorial Guinea)

Peter FLORIN (German Democratic Republic)

Philippe MADDY (Guinea)

Rikhi JAIPAL (India)

Abdul Karim AL-SHAIKHLY (Iraq)

Abdu Hamid SHARAF (Jordan)

Suhail Khaleel SHUHAIBER(Kuwait)

Edouard GHORRA (Lebanon)

Kamel Hassan MAGHUR (Libyan Arab Republic)

Blaise RABETAFIKA (Madagascar)

N. PARAMESWARAN (Malaysia)

Siragatou (Mali)

Moulaye EL HASSEN (Mauritania)

Tsevegzhavyn PUNTSAGNOROV (Mongolia)

Mohamed Saleh ZAIMI (Morocco)

Illa SALIFOU (Niger)

Yahya AL-MANTHRI (Oman)

Iqbal A. AKHUND (Pakistan)

Jasim Yousof JAMAL (Qatar)

Ion DATCU (Romania)

Jami M.BAROODY (Saudi Arabia)

Medoune FALL (Senegal)

Philip G. PALMER (Sierra Leone)

Abdirizak Haji HUSSEN (Somalia)

Rahmatalla ABDULLA (Sudan)

Riad SIAGE (Syrain Arab Republic)

Taoufik ABDENNEBI (Tunisia)

Khalid Younis KINENE (Uganda)

Ali HUMAIDAN (United Arab Emirates)

Sebastian CHALE (United Republic of Tanzania)

Ahmed AL-HADDAD (Yemen)

Jaksa PETRIC (Yugoslavia)

MUTUALE TSHIKANKIE (Zaire)

Explanatory memorandum

1. The General Assembly has been continously seized with the problem of Palestine since April 1947.  In consequence of some of the early resolutions of the General Assembly regarding this issue, a great number of Palestinians have been displaced and forced to endure the status of refugees, and the Palestinian people has been prevented from exercising its inalienable rights, including the right of self-determination, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the recognized norms of international law.

2. Nevertheless, for more than 20 years, the question of Palestine as such and the question of the status and fate of the people of Palestine as such have not appeared on the agenda of any session of the General Assembly, even though the Assembly and other organs of  the United Nations have dealt with various aspects, ramifications or consequences of the Palestine problem  throughout this period.

3. Since 1948, however, the General Assembly has recognized and reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian refugees to repatriation and, since 1970, has recognized and reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine, including its right to self-determination. In addition, the international community outside the framework of the United Nations has, in recent years, recognized these rights through various forums.

4. As the United Nations has borne since its inception an historic, political and juridical responsibility regarding the problem of Palestine, it is, therefore, incumbent upon the General Assembly to consider the question of Palestine in its true nature and proper form, and to include an item entitled "Questions of Palestine" as a separate item in the agenda of its twenty-ninth session.

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* Incorporating document A/9742/Corr.1.

** Documents A/9742/Add.1-4 were issued to add the following names to the list of sponsors of the request: Huang Hua (China), Feeydoun Hoveyda (Iran), Simeon Ake (Ivory Coast) and Osman Olcay (Turkey) in document A/9742/Add.1 of 16 September 1974; Zenon Rossides (Cyprus), Tiamiou Adjibade (Dahomey), Chaidir Anwar Sani (Indonesia), and Edwin Ogobo Ogbu (Nigeria) in document a/9742/Add.1 of 17 September 1974; S.A. Karim (Bangladesh), Rashleigh Esmond Jackson (Guyana), A.J. Bellizzi (Malta) and Dabra Togbe (Togo) in document A/9742/Add.3 of 18 September 1974; and Frank E. Boaten (Ghana) in document A/9742/Add.4 of 19 September 1974.