CEIRPP – Guinea statement

In expressing its grave concern at the fact that no progress has as yet been achieved with regard to the Palestinian people's exercise of their rights in Palestine, including the right to self-determination without foreign interference and the right to independence and national sovereignty, the General Assembly entrusted 24 States Members of the United Nations with a historic task of great responsibility.

The representatives who have preceded me have given the background of the Palestinian problem. We should also like to recall certain facts that are undeniably part of the voluminous records of the Middle East and will certainly serve to clarify further the item on our agenda.  The General Assembly, having examined the question of Palestine at its 2296th meeting of 22 November expressed in resolution 3236 (XXIX) its grave concern that the Palestinian people had been prevented from enjoying its inalienable rights, in particular its right to self-determination. That same resolution reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced and uprooted and recognized that the Palestinian people was a principal Party in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.  The General Assembly, in an appeal to all States and international organizations, English text requested that they extend their support to the Palestinian people in its struggle to recover its rights by all means, in accordance with the purposes and principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations.

We recall that, when on 11 May 1949 it subscribed to the Charter of the United Nations, Israel accepted without any reservations all the obligations set forth in the Charter and committed itself to abide by them as did every other Member of the Organization.  Thus, in resolution 273 (lll), the General Assembly accepted Israel, within its fold as a peace-loving State which accepted the obligations contained in the Charter and was able and willing to carry out those obligations.

One has only to see what has taken place in the Middle East today to realize that the State of Israel is far from observing scrupulously the rules and regulations to which it subscribed. In fact, contrary to the provisions set forth in resolutions 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and 194 (lll) of 11 December 1948, Israel's borders are located way beyond those prescribed.  Despite the decisions taken at the 275th meeting of the Trusteeship Council on 19 December 1949 the city of Jerusalem is the scene of distressing events, to which we have all been witness.  Israel's repeated violation of its obligations to the international community has compelled the Security Council to envisage the adoption of measures against that country, in particular in order to obtain the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the occupied territories and a just settlement of the problem of the Palestinian refugees.

I wish to speak here of all the pain felt by believers in Guinea whenever they learn about Israel's actions and only recently when they heard that the Al-Aqsa Mosque located on Temple Mount, Haram El Sharif, had been the victim of anti-Arab fury. It should be noted that Israel, like South Africa, constitutes a bridgehead of imperialism. Indeed, both claim that they are unique, that they are better than the rest.  We know that these twins have recently distinguished themselves before the Security Council by the wrong which they continually do other peoples, the one assuming the right to defend a dam in the territory of a sovereign State, and to that end using Namibia, which will never be part of South Africa; the other pursuing its illegal occupation of entire regions and massacring civilians, women and children, thus depriving them of their right to life and liberty.

The representative of the United States, Mr. Scranton, in the recent debate in the Security Council did not hesitate to cite Israel's violations of the fourth Geneva Convention.  He stressed, as did Mr. Goldberg, that:

"The United States does not accept or recognize unilateral actions by any State in the area as altering the status of Jerusalem".(S/PV.1896, P.37)

He underscored that:

"as far as the United States is concerned, such unilateral measures, including expropriation of land or other administrative action taken by the Government of Israel, cannot be considered other than interim and provisional and cannot affect the present international status nor prejudge the final and permanent status of Jerusalem", (ibid.)

The exercise of its inalienable rights by the Palestinian people is a cardinal condition for the peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict.  This peaceful settlement will be the work of all parties concerned and of all men of good will, of whom our Committee is one of the most official representatives.  For the Palestinian people to be able to exercise their rights the Palestine Liberation Organization must remain — and this must be clear to all — the sole representative the Palestinian people and that Israel acknowledge it as a valid spokesman on equal footing with all parties concerned.

With regard to the return of the Palestinian people to their homeland, that burn should take place in two phases, as has been recommended. The first phase should take place at the same time as the liberation of the occupied territories. tie second would follow and would comprise the return of those who left the country in the difficult conditions of the period 1947-1948. The Palestinian people would be consulted with regard to their self-determination, which will probably lead to independence and national sovereignty.

If the question of the return of the Palestinians to their homeland were put before the International Court of Justice it would acknowledge that it is right that all Palestinians, whatever their origin, should return to the homeland of their ancestors, in accordance with a time-table to be established.

Scrupulous respect for the Charter of the United Nations, for the Geneva Convention and for all the obligations voluntarily assumed by Israel compels its representatives immediately to revise their position in order, finally, to contribute to the solution of the Middle East problem.  We are firmly convinced that the question of Palestine is that of a martyred people upon which pain, humiliation and death have been inflicted. The solution of this problem can be found in the constant efforts of all men who prize justice and peace.

The Republic of Guinea, its State-Party and its militant people will spare no efforts to ensure that the noble people of Palestine can fully exercise their rights, including the right to self-determination, independence and sovereignty.

* Distributed in accordance with a decision of the Committee. based on the interpretation from the French.

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