Mideast peace process – Ministerial Declaration/Group of 77 – Letter from Guyana (excerpts)

Letter dated 29 September 1999 from the Permanent Representative of Guyana

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit herewith the Ministerial declaration (see annex I) and the Ministerial statement on the South Summit (see annex II), adopted on the occasion of the twenty-third annual meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 24 September 1999.

On behalf of the Group of 77 I would highly appreciate it if you could arrange for the present letter and its annexes to be circulated, as a document of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly under agenda items 12, 20 (a) and (b), 34, 37, 43, 49 (a) and (b), 58, 59, 61, 97 (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), 98 (a), 99 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h), 100 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f), 101 (a) and (b), 103, 104, 105, 110, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125 and 151.

(Signed) S. R. Insanally

Ambassador

Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations

Chairman of the Group of 77

Annex I

Ministerial declaration on the South Summit, adopted at the

twenty-third annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the

Group of 77, held at United Nations Headquarters on 24 September 1999

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Situation in the Middle East

89. The Ministers noted with interest the recent developments in the region related to the Middle East peace process.  They also expressed their concern over the persistence of the difficult economic and social situation of the Palestinian people as a result of the continued occupation and illegal Israeli policies and actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, particularly settlement activities, and the closure of the Palestinian Territory.  In this context, the Ministers stressed the need to preserve the territorial integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to guarantee the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and to respect the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people.  The Ministers re-emphasized the need for international assistance to support Palestinian development efforts in the economic and social fields, and called on the international donor community to deliver the financial assistance pledges to the Palestinian Authority.

90. The Ministers reaffirmed their support for the Middle East peace process, aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region on the basis of Security council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), and 425 (1978) and the principle of land for peace.  They further reaffirmed their support to the Palestinian people in their effort to achieve their inalienable rights, including their right to establish an independent state on their national soil, including Jerusalem.  In this context the Ministers urgently called for the full and speedy implementation of the agreements reached and for international support to reactivate and complete the peace process from the point where it was stopped at, emphasizing the necessity to respect all agreements, pledges and commitments reached during previous stage of the peace talks.  The Ministers expressed their deep concern at the stalled peace process on the Lebanese-Israeli and Syrian-Israeli tracks, and at the persistence of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the other Arab territories, which gravely deteriorate the living conditions of the Arab population under occupation, as well as negatively affect the national efforts to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development in the region.  They further expressed grave concern over the escalating Israeli policies of building and expanding settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan, in violation of international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention, of 12 August 1949.  The Ministers reaffirmed further the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the Question of Palestine, and called upon Israel to comply with all relevant United Nations resolutions and to put an end to its occupation of Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the other Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan and south Lebanon.

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