Mideast situation/Palestine – Statement by NAM – Letter from Colombia (excerpts)

Letter dated 9 November 1995 from the Permanent 

Representative of Colombia to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit herewith the documents of the Eleventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Cartagena, Colombia, from 18 to 20 October 1995 (see annexes).*

I request you to arrange for this letter and the enclosed documents to be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 10, 18, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 37, 39, 42, 44, 45, 47, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 117 and 165, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Julio LONDOÑO PAREDES  

Permanent Representative

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

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MIDDLE EAST

Palestine

131. They reaffirmed their unflinching support for the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people to secure their inalienable rights to self-determination and independence and reiterated their demand for the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Palestinian and other Arab lands including Jerusalem.

132. They pointed out that the responsibility of the United Nations in this matter should continue until the Palestinian people exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, until an independent and sovereign State is established within its national territory, and until the problem of refugees is settled in conformity with human rights instruments and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.  They therefore insisted on the need for the General Assembly to reaffirm, at its fiftieth regular session, its position on the major aspects of a definitive peace settlement, including the status of Jerusalem, the illegal settlements and refugees.  They regretted the decision by Israel to confiscate Palestinian land and property in Jerusalem as well as its attempts to alter the religious and historic character of the Holy City.  In this respect, they reaffirmed all Security Council and General Assembly resolutions related to Jerusalem and considered the Israeli actions contrary to these resolutions as null and void.  They voiced serious concern at the obstacles faced to implement the Agreement.  They called for the full and scrupulous implementation of the Agreements, and in particular the provisions of Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 465 and 478.  They underlined the need for a mechanism dealing with the issue of Palestine set up by the General Assembly to continue operating in an effective way.  The Heads of State or Government expressed their support to the call made by the Jerusalem Committee, held in Ifrane, Morocco, 16-17 January 1995, to the U.N. Security Council, in particular the two co-sponsors of the Peace Conference to take the necessary measures to compel Israel to desist from carrying out any settlements and judaisation of the Holy City of Jerusalem and any geographic or demographic changes therein, and to comply with the agreements and conventions providing for the preservation of the Palestinian institutions and the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the Holy City of Jerusalem in implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.

133. They expressed that the Declaration of Principles signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 20 September 1995 and the establishment of the Palestinian Self-Government Authority constitutes a new step in efforts taken by Palestine and Israel.

134. They considered that the arrangements relating to a Palestinian interim self-government should be widened quickly so that the Declaration of Principles is applied as rapidly as possible to the totality of occupied territories, with a view to giving effect to the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of a Palestinian State.

135. In this context, they welcomed the conclusion of the Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip concluded in Taba-Egypt and signed in Washington by President Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister as an important and substantial step towards the fulfillment of the national rights of the Palestinian people.  They expressed the hope that further vigorous steps shall be taken for the complete Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967 in order that comprehensive peace and common prosperity should prevail on the area.

136. They concurred with the Secretary-General of the United Nations that in order to sustain support for the Declaration of Principles and the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, it will be essential to promote economic and social development in the occupied Palestinian territories.  In this context, they called upon the participants of the Conference to Support Middle East Peace, which took place in Washington on 1 October 1993, to deliver the pledged assistance which is vital for the establishment of peace.

137. They also stressed the need for the full participation of Palestine in the Special Commemorative Meeting of the United Nations in New York under conditions and facilities applicable to Observer States of the United Nations at the meeting.

THE PEACE PROCESS

138. The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed their support for the peace process initiated at the Madrid Peace Conference of October 1991 which aims at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 425 and the principle of land for peace which ensure the full Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian and other Arab occupied territories.

139. The Heads of State or Government noted with appreciation the commendable efforts exerted by the Syrian and Lebanese Government in order to open up possibilities for achieving progress in their full commitment to peace in the Middle East, and demanded that Israel totally withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanese territories, in implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and in accordance with international law, and the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force.

140. They took note of the Washington declaration of 25 July 1994, signed by Jordan and Israel, which put an end to the state of belligerency between them and opened the way for the return of occupied Jordanian territories and the restitution of the right to the water resources, thereby contributing to the normalization of relations.  They also welcomed the conclusion of the Jordan-Israel Treaty of Peace of 26 October 1994, which in their view constitutes a transcendental step toward the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

141. They considered that all the measures and actions adopted by Israel, the occupying power, such as its illegal decision of 14 December 1981 that purport to alter the status of the occupied Syrian Golan, are null and void, constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and have no legal effect.  They called upon Israel to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981) and to withdraw full from the occupied Syrian Golan, to the lines of 4 June 1967, in implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.

142. They reiterated the principle that the acquisition or control of land or maritime areas by force in inadmissible, contradicts the principles of international law, and does not generate any rights.

LEBANON

143. They urged full respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and condemned the Israeli occupation of the southern part of its territory and the western valley of Bekaa and supports efforts, inter alia, directed towards the liberation of these territories.  They reaffirmed the need for a speedy and unconditional implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978) as a prerequisite for the peace and security of the region, and the release of all Lebanese detainees in Israeli camps.

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SECURITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

149. The Heads of State or Government reviewed the developments that occurred in the Mediterranean region since the Jakarta Summit and recalled the Ministerial Meetings of the Mediterranean Non-Aligned Countries held in Valletta in 1984, in Brioni in 1987 and in Algiers in 1989.  They reaffirmed their determination to pursue their initiatives aimed at promoting comprehensive and equitable cooperation in the region.  The Heads of State or Government expressed their support to the initiatives of the Mediterranean countries in their efforts to adopt effective measures to promote confidence-and-security-building and stability in their region by the elimination of all causes of tension and the consequent threat to peace and security.

150. They recalled that during the past twenty five years Mediterranean members of the Movement have shown a disposition to promote and enhance security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region in the formulation of proposals which have been tabled at the U.N. and other regional organizations.  In this context, the Heads of State or Government reiterated their full support to the efforts aimed at the reactivation of the Group 5+5 which constitutes a concrete and important contribution to a comprehensive approach for Mediterranean co-operation and security.  They also reiterated their support to the proposal to convene a CSCM.  In this regard they recalled the Algerian proposal of May 1972 calling for the convening of such a meeting.  The Heads of State or Government welcomed the initiative of H.E. President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt for the establishment of a Mediterranean Forum.  They took note of the meetings held in Egypt and Malta for enhancing Mediterranean cooperation.  They welcomed the call made by the European Parliament in June 1993 by H.E. President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI, President of the Republic of Tunisia, in favour of a European-Mediterranean Conference.  They further welcomed the proposal of H.M. King Hassan II of Morocco at the CSCE Ministerial Meeting in Rome in December 1993, to host a Ministerial Meeting on security and cooperation in the Mediterranean.  They also welcomed the initiative by Malta to set up a council of the Mediterranean and took note of its proposal in March 1995 for a Stability Pact for the Mediterranean.  The Heads of State or Government welcomed the convening, in November 1995, of the IPU Second Conference on Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean to be held in Malta.

151. The Heads of State or Government welcomed the convening of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference to be held in Barcelona on November 1995.  In this context, they took note of the results of the Ministerial Meeting of the Mediterranean forum held at Tabarka, Tunisia, in July 1995 and the meeting of the Arab-Mediterranean countries held on the initiative of Algeria, in Alpeis in September 1995, in preparation for the Euro-Med Conference.  The Heads of State or Government affirmed that such Conference would benefit from the participation of all Mediterranean States as part of the process of strengthening co-operation in the region.

152. The Heads of State or Government stressed that respect for the right of self-determination, elimination of foreign occupancy and foreign bases, non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs and respect for sovereignty of States are prerequisites for the establishment of peace and security in  the region.

153. The Heads of State or Government took note of the efforts of the Non-Aligned Mediterranean countries to strengthen further their co-operation in facing terrorist activities which pose a serious threat to peace, security and stability in the region and therefore to the improvement of the current political, economic and social situation.