Middle East situation/Palestine question – Declaration on Palestine/9th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference – Letter from Qatar

  Letter dated 6 March 2003 from the Permanent Representative of Qatar

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Upon instructions from my Government and as Chairman of the ninth session of the Islamic Summit Conference, I have the honour to transmit herewith the texts of the communiqué on Iraq and the declaration on Palestine, adopted at the second emergency session of the Islamic Summit, held in Doha, State of Qatar, on 5 March 2003 (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would have the text of the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 31, 35, 36 and 77, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 6 March 2003 from the Permanent Representative

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

[Original: Arabic]

Communiqué on Iraq and Declaration on Palestine adopted at the

second emergency session of the Islamic Summit Conference

Doha, Qatar
2 Muharram 1424 A.H. (5 March 2003 A.D.)

Their Majesties, Excellencies and Highnesses the Heads of State and Government of member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) convened their second emergency conference in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday 2 Muharram 1424 A.H. (5 March 2003 A.D.) at the kind invitation of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar and Chairman of the Ninth Islamic Summit Conference, following contacts and consultations by His Highness with a number of his brothers, the Heads of State and Government of OIC member States.

The Conference considered the general situation in light of the tensions and successive developments and challenges presently faced by the Islamic Ummah, as well as the threats of a possible military attack on Iraq and the current circumstances of the Palestinian cause.

After reviewing the regional and international implications of these issues and the efforts of several parties to contain the crisis and ensure a peaceful outcome, particularly within the scope of the United Nations Security Council, the Conference adopted the following Communiqué and Declaration: 

Communiqué on Iraq adopted at the second emergency session

of the Islamic Summit Conference

The second emergency session of the Islamic Summit Conference was convened in Doha, Qatar, on 2 Muharram 1424 A.H. (5 March 2003 A.D.).

The Conference considered the grave situation generated by developments in the Iraqi question, the potential escalation of the situation into a military confrontation and the serious repercussions that this could have for the region and the world.

On the basis of the provisions of the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its enshrined principles of Islamic solidarity among member States and of the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member States, and pursuant to the resolutions adopted at the various sessions of the Islamic Summit Conference and the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, the Conference:

1.   Welcomed Iraq’s acceptance of United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 (2002) and the cooperation shown by Iraq in facilitating the task of the international inspectors. It invited all States to support Islamic efforts aimed at averting war and expressed the hope that this cooperation will continue to enable the inspectors to complete their tasks as defined by the resolution. It also welcomed the calls stating that the work of the international inspectors must continue and that time must be allowed for diplomatic and peaceful efforts to resolve this crisis;

2.   Expressed its categorical rejection of any strike against Iraq or threat to the security and safety of any Islamic State and emphasized the need to settle the Iraqi question by peaceful means within the framework of the United Nations and in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy;

3.   Affirmed the need to preserve the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and its neighbouring States;

4.   Asserted that the Islamic States will refrain from participating in any military action targeting the security and territorial integrity of Iraq or any other Islamic State;

5.   Called on the international community to work towards the elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, including Israel, in accordance with Security Council resolution 687 (1991), paragraph 14, and, in this respect, called for an end to the policy of double standards;

6.   Rejected any attempt to impose change in the region, interfere in its internal affairs or disregard its interests and just causes;

7.   Reiterated its solidarity with the Iraqi people and demanded that the blockade imposed on them be lifted in accordance with international law;

8.   Called again on the Republic of Iraq to reaffirm its respect for the independence, sovereignty and security of the State of Kuwait and to ensure its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders in order to avoid in any way provoking a repetition of the events of 1990. It also called for the adoption of policies that would guarantee these objectives within the framework of goodwill and good-neighbourly relations. In this connection, the Conference stressed the importance of ending media campaigns and negative statements in order to create a positive climate that will reassure the two countries of commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness and non-interference in internal affairs;

9.   Expressed support for the renewed activity, as from 8 January 2003, of the technical subcommittee emanating from the Tripartite Commission on the issue of the Kuwaiti prisoners and detainees held since 1990 and 1991. It commended the State of Kuwait’s positive response to the information on its missing persons provided by Iraq through the International Committee of the Red Cross and expressed the firm hope that substantial and concrete progress will be made on this issue. The Conference welcomed Iraq’s return of a portion of the Kuwaiti archives and called on Iraq to return the remainder of the archives and other property of the State of Kuwait.

Declaration on the grave situation in Palestine adopted at the

second emergency session of the Islamic Summit Conference

The kings, presidents and emirs of member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held an extraordinary meeting in Doha on 5 March 2003 to consider the extremely grave, difficult and tragic situation in the Palestinian territories and at Islamic and Christian holy places. They also considered the barbaric crimes committed in Israel’s three-year-old war against the Palestinian people, in the course of which it has used all types of weapons, including aircraft, tanks, missiles and warships, killing and injuring thousands and detaining tens of thousands of defenceless Palestinians. Israel is continuing to occupy Palestinian cities and villages and to isolate them from the outside world; to construct hundreds of roadblocks and trenches; to deny Palestinians access to medical supplies and foodstuffs; to destroy Palestinian infrastructure, institutions and establishments, as well as institutes, university and school buildings, places of worship and hospitals; to demolish houses still inhabited by their occupants; to plough up land and destroy crops; and to close border crossing points with a view to humiliating, starving and increasing the sufferings of the Palestinian people.

This brutal, deliberate and planned aggression is framed within Israel’s continuing policy of imposing a fait accompli, Judaizing the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and undermining all regional and international efforts designed to end the aggression and to resume the peace process.

The leaders reaffirm the support of the entire Islamic Ummah for the Palestinian people and its legitimate national leadership under its militant President, Yasser Arafat, in efforts to ensure restoration of its rights in accordance with the resolutions of international law; to secure Israel’s withdrawal to the borders of 4 June 1967; to establish its independent Palestinian State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital; and to secure a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (III). They also reaffirm their continued provision of all forms of political, moral and material support to the Palestinian people in its legitimate struggle against the occupation.

The leaders reaffirm the Islamic position on the question of Al-Quds and its importance for the Islamic world and, in particular, the outcome of the nineteenth session of the Al-Quds Committee, chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and its support for the position of the State of Palestine on the basis of commitment to sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of the independent State.

The leaders also condemn the Israeli occupation authorities’ policy of systematic aggression, as manifested in confiscation of Palestinian land, construction and expansion of settlements thereon, raising of barriers and of an “apartheid wall” and construction of bypass roads. These and all other settlement activities constitute a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international humanitarian law, particularly the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. They consider that the settlements are illegal, null and void and that they must therefore be dismantled pursuant to Security Council resolution 465 (1980).

The leaders condemn the systematic, massive and wide-scale violations of human rights perpetrated by the Israeli occupation authorities, particularly mass killings and collective punishments such as demolition of homes and sealing of Palestinian areas. These measures constitute State terrorism and crimes against humanity, all being a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the right to life of the Palestinian people. The leaders call on the High Contracting Parties to the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to meet to consider violations committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.

They call on the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their responsibility for the preservation of international peace and security by inducing Israel to cease its brutal aggression against the Palestinian people and to provide that people with the necessary international protection as a safeguard against serious violations until it is able to exercise its inalienable national rights in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy.

The leaders reaffirm the importance of continued media coverage of developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and of a constant effort to persuade the international media to expose violations of Palestinian human rights, to awaken the world’s conscience and to mobilize international solidarity with and sympathy for the Palestinian people in its legitimate national struggle.

They call upon member States to extend urgent financial assistance to the Palestinian authority in order to meet the urgent needs resulting from the continued, escalating Israeli aggression, now in its third consecutive year. This will enable the authority to continue to provide medical and educational services and to assist the hundreds of thousands of unemployed; it will also support the Palestinian people’s resistance, help the families of the martyrs, injured and detainees and ensure minimum funding for reconstruction, replanting of land destroyed by the Israeli war machine and repair of roads and infrastructure.

The leaders confirm their endorsement of the Arab Peace Initiative. 

Looking forward to a halt to bloodshed and further deterioration in the region, the leaders insist that the international community, and in particular the quartet made up of the United States, the Russian Federation, the European Union and the United Nations, must take prompt action to:

 –   Stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and halt the murders, arrests, demolition of homes, destruction of infrastructure and desecration of Islamic and Christian holy places;

 –   Put an immediate end to all measures of Israeli aggression against the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and other Palestinian cities, especially the policy of Judaization and settlement; demolition of Palestinians’ homes; appropriation of their lands; and changes in the configuration of their cities; and to the policy of isolating the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif from its Palestinian environment and of erecting barricades around it in order to deny Palestinians access to the city and the religious sites therein;

 –   Induce Israel to stop building an “apartheid wall” which is eating into Palestinian territory, infringing on the rightful borders of the Palestinian State and exacerbating conditions in the region;

 –   Ensure withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, lifting of the internal and external blockade and of all the restrictions imposed on Palestinian cities, villages and camps and the cessation of all inhumane Israeli measures and practices against the Palestinian people, which are in violation of all international conventions and norms;

 –   Halt all Israeli settlement actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

 –   Release all Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons;

 –   Ensure international protection for the Palestinian people against the crimes to which it is exposed in the context of the Israeli war of aggression; 

  –   Allow the entry of food and medical supplies to the Palestinian territories and unfreeze the Palestinian Authority funds seized by Israel; and

 –   Resume negotiations on the basis of their terms of reference, particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and of the land-for-peace formula, from the point at which they were halted, following a specific timetable and a political road map based on the relevant Security Council resolutions; the Arab Peace Initiative, which provides for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967; and a just solution to the refugee problem pursuant to the resolutions of international legitimacy, particularly General Assembly resolution 194 (III).

  The leaders reaffirm their full solidarity with Syria and Lebanon and their rejection of any threats directed against these two fraternal countries. They also insist on the return of the occupied Syrian Golan, up to the 4 June 1967 borders, and the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty over the remaining occupied Lebanese territories, including the Shab’a farmlands. 

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