CEIRPP meeting – Summary record

COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE

RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 40th MEETING

Held at Headquarters, New York,

on Wednesday, 27 June 1979 at 10.30 a.m.

Chairman:  Mr. FALL (Senegal)

CONTENTS

Consideration of the Committee's action under the terms of General Assembly

resolution 33/28

Report on the Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Conference in Colombo

Report on the Tenth Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Fez

Report on the Conference of Arab Jurists in Baghdad

Invitation from the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee

Other matters

     This record is subject to correction.

     Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages, preferably in the same language as the text to which they refer.  They should be set forth in a memorandum and also, if possible, incorporated in a copy of the record.  They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Chief, Official Records Editing Section, Department of Conference Services, room A-3550.

     Any corrections to the record of this meeting and of other meetings will be issued in a corrigendum.

The meeting was called to order at 11 a.m.

CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE'S ACTION UNDER THE TERMS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

RESOLUTION 33/28

1. The CHAIRMAN said that he had received a letter dated 30 May 1979 from the President of the Security Council informing him that consultations were being held among members of the Council with a view to convening a meeting in the near future to consider the Committee's recommendations.  He explained that the original meeting of the Council on that subject had been suspended and merely needed to be resumed.  Because of events that had occurred since that meeting, some members of the Council did not consider it timely to reopen the discussion at the present time.  In reply to the President's question as to whether the subject of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people could be discussed together with other related subjects, he had stressed that the rights of the Palestinians must be discussed separately.  The President would keep him informed of the progress made in the consultations.

2. He asked members of the Committee for their views on that question.

3. Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) said that, in his opinion, the Security Council should be convened to discuss the Committee's recommendations as soon as possible in accordance with resolution 33/28.

4. Mr. JOACHIMI (German Democratic Republic) said that his delegation supported the opinion expressed by the observer for PLO.  It had often stressed that the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people was of the utmost importance to a just political solution to the Middle East problem.  The same position had been emphasized in many relevant United Nations resolutions, but, unfortunately, nothing had been done to further that objective.  On the contrary, current talk of autonomy for the inhabitants of the occupied territories merely represented the first step towards confirming Israel's annexation of those territories.  The Committee must draw the Council's attention to all violations of United Nations resolutions.

5. Mr. KORNEYENKO  (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) said that his delegation also supported the view of the observer for PLO.  He pointed out that the Committee had already sent several letters to the President of the Security Council asking the Council to consider its recommendations.

6. Mr. SHAMMA (Observer for Jordan) also agreed with the observer for PLO, especially since his delegation had learned that the report of the Security Council Commission established under resolution 446 (1979) would be issued shortly.  The Council would then have to meet to discuss that report and other matters.

7. The CHAIRMAN said he would inform the President of the Security Council once again that it was the consensus of the Committee that the Council should resume its consideration of the Committee's recommendations, as endorsed by the General Assembly; such action had been called for by the non-aligned movement and the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

REPORT ON THE MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE CO-ORDINATING BUREAU OF THE NON-ALIGNED CONFERENCE IN COLOMBO

8.   The CHAIRMAN recalled that several members of the Committee had attended the Ministerial Meeting in Colombo.  Since the Rapporteur named at that meeting was absent, he invited the observer for PLO to report briefly on the

meeting.

9. Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) said that the Meeting had shown strong support for the rights of the Palestinian people and had felt that the Committee should suggest ways of ensuring the exercise of those rights. It had condemned attempts to deny recognition to PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people by seeking partial or bilateral solutions to the problem.

10. He read out those paragraphs of the final declaration of the Meeting, that pertained to the work of the Committee.  In the paragraphs in question, the Co-ordinating Bureau had expressed regret that the Security Council had failed to consider or to reach a decision on General Assembly resolution 33/28; it had urged the Council to do so as soon as possible.  It had also recalled the decision of the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade calling for the convening of a special session of the General Assembly to consider the question of Palestine with a view to adopting measures for the implementation of United Nations resolutions regarding the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, and the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and it had welcomed the General Assembly's decision authorizing the Committee to consider the situation and to make any suggestions it deemed appropriate.

REPORT ON THE TENTH ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS IN FEZ

11. The CHAIRMAN reported briefly on the Islamic Conference held in Fez, Morocco, on 12 May, which he had attended as a member of his country's delegation.  Since the subject of the Conference had been "Jerusalem and Palestine", many of the resolutions adopted were relevant to the Committee's work.  He had asked the Moroccan delegation to have the Conference documents distributed as official United Nations documents.

REPORT ON THE CONFERENCE OF ARAB JURISTS IN BAGHDAD

12. Mr. KAPETANOVI   (Yugoslavia), reporting on the Conference of Arab Jurists held in Baghdad from 18 to 21 May 1979 on the subject of human rights, said that the Committee had been represented by three members, who had described its work to the participants.

13.  The holding of the Conference had marked the first time that the question of human rights in Arab countries had been discussed in a forum of that nature. The right to self-determination as a basic human right had frequently been mentioned and, in that connexion, the attainment of the rights of the Palestinian people had been strongly supported by all participants.

INVITATION FROM THE SOVIET AFRO-ASIAN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE

14. The CHAIRMAN said that he had received an invitation from the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee for a delegation from the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to visit the Soviet Union in order to become acquainted with the many activities conducted by the Soviet people in support of the Palestinian people.  He had met with the Soviet Ambassador, and they had agreed that a delegation of three members would be appropriate.  He suggested that the Task Force should meet the following week to designate those members, and he invited interested members to contact the Committee secretariat.

15. Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) said that he had stopped in Moscow on his way back from Colombo and had met with the President of the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee.  The latter had expressed the hope that the delegation from the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People would visit the Soviet Union soon, since the Solidarity Committee was organizing an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people to be held in October, probably in Lisbon, and the Committee's visit would be helpful in making those preparations.

OTHER MATTERS

16. Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) requested information on several matters which had been raised previously:  the film which had been discussed for the past two years, the special study being done by a consultant, the appointment of an editorial board to aid in the publication of the Bulletin, and the issuance of a United Nations stamp, which had been postponed until 1980 but could perhaps be designed now.

17. Mr. YOGASUNDRAM (Secretary of the Committee) replied that the preliminary technical work on the film had been completed and that a work print would probably be screened the following week.  The study by the consultant should be ready soon.  He would very much appreciate the Committee's appointing an editorial board to assist in the publication of the Bulletin.  The matter of the stamp had been referred to the appropriate authorities.

18. The CHAIRMAN added, with regard to the appointment of an editorial board, that most of the texts to appear in the Bulletin had already been published by the United Nations; all that was needed was to prepare a brief introduction to each text, describing its relevance to the Committee's work.  He suggested that the Task Force should perform that function.

19. He would raise the question of the stamp again in the hope that it could be issued before the next International Day of Solidarity in November.

20. He asked the Secretariat whether all relevant Committee studies had been translated into all the official languages.  When that had been done, he would like a complete set to be sent to all members of the Committee and to all observers.

21. Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) drew attention to the fact that studies of the Committee were published as sales items and that only a few copies were sent to United Nations offices.

22. Mr. YOGASUNDRAM (Secretary of the Committee) said that although such studies were sales publications – and a tremendous number of them had been sold – many were distributed free of charge.  The supply had been exhausted, and they were being reprinted.

23. Mr. SHAMMA (Observer for Jordan) offered to provide the Committee with the papers presented at an international symposium of eminent Moslem thinkers and jurists to be held in Amman from 23 to 26 July on the subject of Jerusalem.

24. The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee would be very happy to receive the papers.

The meeting rose at 11.45 a.m.