Palestine question – NAM Coordinating Bureau final communiqué – Letter from Zimbabwe

Letter dated 27 October 1987 from the Permanent Representative

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

I have the honour to forward herewith a copy of the communiqué adopted by the Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries held in New York on 16 October 1987 (see annex).

I request that it be circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 38 and 39, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  I. S. G. MUDENGE

Ambassador Permanent Representative

ANNEX

Communiqué issued by the Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau

of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on 16 October 1987

A Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries was held in New York on 16 October 1987, in order to hear a statement by His Excellency Mr. Zehdi Labib Terzi, Permanent Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the United Nations, in connection with the mission of PLO at the United Nations.

The Meeting was apprised of the recent adoption by the United States Senate of Amendment No. 940 to make unlawful the establishment and maintenance of PLO offices in the United States.  In this regard, the Meeting recalled that the Movement, at its Eighth Conference of Heads of State or Government, held at Harare in September 1986, had reaffirmed its total support for PLO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and emphasized that PLO alone has the full right to represent the Palestinian 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 their 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 Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations. In this context, the Meeting considered Amendment No. 940 a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and the rights of United Nations invitees, such as PLO and recognized liberation movements.

The Meeting found unacceptable and rejected any attempt to deny the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people its recognized right to participate effectively in the work of the United Nations and called upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take the necessary measures, in consultation with the parties concerned, in order to declare the United Nations position and to secure respect by the host country of the provisions of the Headquarters Agreement.  In this regard, the Meeting requested the Chairman of the Co-ordinating Bureau to convey the concern of the Movement to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the President of the United Nations General Assembly at its current session.

The Meeting condemned once again the attempts by ultra-conservative 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 into question the policy pursued by PLO.

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