CEIRPP meeting – Press release

U N I T E D   N A T I O N S

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Committee on Rights of                           Press Release GA/PAL/18

 Palestinian People                              28 April 1976

14th Meeting (AM)

PALESTINIAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE RECEIVES DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR INCLUSION IN REPORT

Hears Romania in General Debate

     The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, at a meeting this morning, received the text of   draft recommendations for inclusion in the report which the Committee is to submit by 1 June to the Secretary-General for transmission to the Security Council.

     The Chairman, Medoune Fall (Senegal), said the Committee would meet again

next week to consider the draft recommendations and the remainder of the

report, after members had had an opportunity to consult their Governments on

the text, which had been prepared by an eight-member drafting group.

     At the start of this morning's meeting, the Committee heard a statement

by Romania in the general debate.

     The first of the draft recommendations, headed "The Right of Return",

provides for a two-phase implementation of the exercise of this right,

"without prejudice to the right of all Palestinians to return to their homes,

lands and property".

     The first phase involves the return to their homes of the Palestinians

displaced as a result of the war of June 1967, and the second deals with the

return to their homes of the Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967.

Palestinians not choosing to return to their homes "should be paid just and

equitable compensation".

     The second of the draft recommendations is headed "Right to Self-

Determination, National Independence and Sovereignty".

     Under this heading, the Committee would recommend that the Security

Council establish a time-table for the complete withdrawal by Israeli occupation forces by 1 June 1977 from the areas occupied in 1967.  The evacuated territories, "with all property and services intact", would be handed over to the United Nations "which, with the co-operation of the League of Arab States, will subsequently hand over these evacuated areas to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the representative of the Palestinian people".

     The Committee would state that, upon the return of the Palestinians to

their homes and property and with the establishment of an independent

Palestinian entity, the Palestinian people would be able to exercise its right

to self-determination and to decide its form of government without external

interference.

     Under a third section of the draft recommendations, the Committee would

state:

     "The Committee feels that the International Court of Justice may be

requested to give advisory opinions on a number of legal questions, for

instance, whether certain laws enacted by Israel since 1948, such as the Law

of Return, the Nationality Law, the Absentee Property Law and the Development

Authority Law were compatible with the provisions of the Plan of Partition

in resolution 181 (II)."

     Under the resolution by which the 20-nation Committee was established

by the General Assembly (resolution 3376 (XXX) of 10 November 1975), the

Security Council is requested to consider, as soon as possible after 1 June,

"the question of the exercise by the Palestinian people of the inalienable

rights recognized in paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 3236 (XXIX)", adopted

by the Assembly on 22 November 1974.

     The Committee, "taking into consideration the action taken by the Security Council", is then to submit a report, with observations and recommendations, to the Assembly at its thirty-first session this fall.

     Statement by Romania

     ION DATCU (Romania), speaking in the general debate, said the position of

his country on this question was well known.  Romania had been among the

countries which had inscribed the Palestinian problem on the agenda of the

General Assembly, and it had been a sponsor of the draft resolution on this

subject which had been considered by the Security Council last January.

     For years, he said, Romania had continued to stress, officially and in

contacts with the interested parties, that a just and durable settlement in

the Middle East had to be founded on three essential conditions:

     First was the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the Arab territories

occupied since the way of 1967, in conformity with the principle of the

inadmissibility of occupation of foreign territories in any form or under any

pretext.

     Recent events in the West Bank, he said, showed that the maintenance of

the occupation constituted a permanent source of conflict in the area.

Moreover, historical experience indicated that the security of a State could

not be achieved by force of arms but only by a policy of peace and friendly

relations with its neighbours.

     The second condition was recognition and respect for the legitimate right

of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to establish their own independent State.

     The recent events in the occupied Arab territories emphasized the need for Israel to renounce its rigid positions and show an attitude of "realism", he said.  Peace could not be attained as long as the occupation continued and

the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people were disregarded.

      The third condition, said Mr. Datcu, was recognition and respect for

the right to existence and territorial integrity, and to free and independent

development, of all the States in the region, including the Palestinian State

to be established.

     The representative of Romania expressed the view that the Committee had

a duty to contribute, through the programme it would recommend to the Security

Council and the General Assembly, to the exercise of the inalienable rights of

the Palestinian people and the promotion of peace in the Middle East.

     The national rights of the Palestinian people could only be attained

through the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, he held.

     Mr. Datcu said the United Nations should play a greater role in all the

efforts to resolve the Palestinian question and to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.  Its role should be increased in the entire process, up to and including the final settlement.  Among other things, he said, the United Nations should contribute to the resumption and acceleration of peace negotiations; undertake peace-keeping operations; and be ready to participate in an interim administration of the areas evacuated by Israel.

     Referring to the draft resolution considered by the Security Council,

he said it had won wide support but in January had not been adopted because of

the United States veto.  The efforts which had led to the formulation of the

draft resolution should be resumed, he felt.

     Draft Recommendations

     The draft recommendations prepared by the drafting group were presented

this morning by the Committee's Rapporteur, Victor J. Gauci (Malta).

     Other members of the drafting group were the representatives of Afghanistan, Cuba, Guinea, India, the PLO, Senegal and Tunisia.  The drafting group, however, was "open-ended", and other members of the Committee itself also took part in its closed meetings, which were held almost daily.

     On a motion by Tunisia, the statement by the Rapporteur was made in open

session at this morning's meeting of the Committee.

     The Rapporteur, in his statement, said that the recommendations as they

stood represented a consensus of those who had participated in the drafting

sessions with the exception of one paragraph, on which there was a reservation

by one delegation.  He said the text was subject to wording changes on some

other provisions.

     He said the drafting group had sought an approach which would be positive

and effective and would mark a step forward.  He hoped the recommendations

would be adopted unanimously by the Committee so that they would have maximum

impact.

     In the discussion which followed, Rachid Driss (Tunisia), whose

delegation had made a reservation on one paragraph during the drafting sessions, offered an alternative formulation.  The meeting was suspended for 10 minutes while consultations took place on the two formulations.

     When the meeting resumed, the Rapporteur, Mr. Gauci, said that changes

had been suggested in the original version which might meet the points raised.

     Mr. Driss (Tunisia) said these changes were acceptable to his delegation.

     Text of Recommendations

     Following a section containing basic considerations and guidelines,

the draft recommendations read as follows:

I. THE RIGHT OF RETURN

     "The natural and inalienable right of Palestinians to return to their

homes is recognized by resolution 194 (III) which the General Assembly has

reaffirmed almost  every year since its adoption.  This right was also

unanimously recognized by the Security Council in its resolution 237 (1967);

the time for the urgent implementation of these resolutions is long overdue.

     "Without prejudice to the right of all Palestinians to return to their

homes, lands and property, the Committee considers that the programme of

implementation  of the exercise of this right may be carried out in two phases.

     "A.  PHASE ONE

     "The first phase involves the return to their homes of the Palestinians

displaced as a result of the war of June 1967.

     "The Committee recommends that:

          "(I)  the immediate implementation of Security Council resolution     237 (1967) should be requested by the Security Council and that such     implementation should not be related to any other condition;

          "(ii) the resources of the International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) and/or United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees

in the Near East (UNRWA), suitably financed and mandated, may be employed

to assist in the solution of any logistical problems involved in the

resettlement of those returning to their homes.  These agencies could

also assist, in co-operation with the host countries and the PLO,

in the identification of the displaced Palestinians.

     "B.  PHASE TWO

     "The second phase deals with the return to their homes of the Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967.

     "The Committee recommends that:

          "(I) While the first phase is being implemented, the United Nations,     in co-operation with the States directly involved, and the PLO as the     interim representatives of the Palestinian entity, should proceed to make     the necessary arrangements to enable Palestinians displaced between 1948     and 1967 to exercise their right to return to their homes and property, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly      General Assembly resolution 194 (III);

          "(ii) Palestinians not choosing to return to their homes should be     paid just and equitable compensation as provided for in resolution 194 (III)."

II.  RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE

AND SOVEREIGNTY

     "The Palestinian people has the inherent right to self-determination,

national independence and sovereignty in Palestine.  The Committee considers

that the evacuation of the territories occupied by force and in violation of

the principles of the Charter and relevant resolutions of the United Nations

is a conditio sine qua non for the exercise by the Palestinian people of its

inalienable rights in Palestine.  The Committee considers, furthermore, that

upon the return of the Palestinians to their homes and property and with the

establishment of an independent Palestinian entity, the Palestinian people will be able to exercise its rights to self-determination and to decide its form of government without external interference.  The Committee also feels that the United Nations has an historical duty and responsibility to render all assistance necessary to promote the economic development and prosperity of the Palestinian entity.

     "The Committee recommends that, to this end:

          "(I) a timetable should be established by the Security Council for

the complete withdrawal by Israeli occupation forces from those areas occupied

in 1967.  Such withdrawal should be completed no later than 1 June 1977;

"(ii) the Security Council may need to provide temporary peace-     keeping forces in order to facilitate the process of withdrawal;

          "(iii) Israel should be requested by the Security Council to desist

from the establishment of new settlements and to withdraw during this

period from settlements established since 1967 in the occupied territories.

Arab property and all essential services in these areas should be maintained

intact;

        "(iv) Israel should also be requested to abide scrupulously by the

provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian

Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, and to declare, pending its

speedy withdrawal from these territories, its recognition of the

applicability of that Convention;

       "(v) the evacuated territories, with all property and services intact,     may be handed over by the withdrawing occupation forces to the United     Nations which, with the co-operation of the League of Arab States, will     subsequently hand over these evacuated  areas to the PLO as the     representative of the Palestinian people;

       "(vi) the United Nations should, if necessary, assist in establishing     communications between Gaza and the West Bank;

          "(vii) as soon as the independent Palestinian entity has been     established, the United Nations, in co-operation with the States directly     involved and the Palestinian entity, should make further arrangements,     regarding the remaining unresolved questions, taking into account General Assembly resolution 3375 (XXX) for the full implementation of all the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with all relevant United Nations resolutions, and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East;

          "(viii) the United Nations should provide the economic and technical     assistance necessary for the consolidation of the Palestinian entity."

ADVISORY OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

     "The Committee feels  that the International Court of Justice may be

requested to give advisory opinions on a number of legal questions, for

instance, whether certain laws enacted by Israel since 1948, such as the

Law of Return, the Nationality Law, the Absentee Property Law and the

Development Authority Law were compatible with the provisions of the Plan

of Partition in resolution 181 (II)."

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