Palestine question – NAM Coordinating Bureau final communiqué – Letter from Cyprus (excerpts)

Items 31 and 34 of the provisional agenda*

Letter dated 29  July 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to enclose herewith the text of the final communiqué of the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries on the Question of Palestine, which was held at Nicosia, Cyprus, from 15 to 17 July 1982.

I request Your Excellency kindly to have this text circulated as an official document of the General Assembly under items 31 and 34 of the provisional agenda, and of the Security Council.

*A/37/150.

ANNEX

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE

CO-ORDINATING BUREAU OF THE NON-ALIGNED COUNTRIES

ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE HELD IN CYPRUS

15-17 July 1982

1. In response to a call by Chairman Yasser Arafat, leader of the P.L.O., the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries met in Nicosia, Cyprus, in an Extraordinary Ministerial Session, from 15 to 17 July 1982, in order to examine the grave situation in the Lebanon brought about by the Israeli aggression against the Lebanon and the Palestinian people, and to take practical and effective measures in the framework of the United Nations, or in any other possible way to stop the invasion, to secure the total, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the Lebanon in accordance with the demand of the international community and to support and strengthen the comprehensive assistance to the struggle of the Palestinian people, and to the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, its sole and legitimate representative.

2. The following members of the Co-ordinating Bureau participated:

Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, the Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Yemen, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Panama, Peru, Somalia, Sri Lanka, the Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Yugoslavia and Zambia.

The following members of the Movement also participated:

Afghanistan, Dem. Rep. of Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Cape Verde, Egypt, Grenada, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Senegal, Suriname, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam

and Zimbabwe.

The following organizations attended as observers:

The Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization (A.A.P.S.O.), the League of Arab States and the United Nations.

The following countries, organizations and officials were also present as guests:

The President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, the United Nations Council for Namibia and Romania.

3. At the inaugural session the Meeting was privileged to hear an important statement by H.E. Spyros Kyprianou, President of the Republic of Cyprus.  The Meeting also had the privilege of hearing messages sent by the Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries H.E. Fidel Castro Ruz, and by H.E. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.  The Meeting was addressed by H.E. Ismat Al-Kittani, President of the 36th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and H.E. Isidoro Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Chairman of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries, who proposed H.E. Nicos A. Rolandis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, as Chairman of the Meeting.  Mr. Rolandis delivered a statement.

A message to Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the P.L.O., was adopted by the plenary.  Messages were also addressed to H.E. Elias Sarkis, President of the Lebanese Republic, and H.E. Hafez El Assad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic.

4. On the proposal of the head of the delegation of Jamaica, it was decided that full texts of those statements and messages should be circulated as official documents of the Bureau.

5.   The Ministers adopted the following communiqué and programme of action:

The Israeli aggression of the Lebanon constitutes an affront to all Non-Aligned Countries and the international community as a whole, since it violates, in a particularly brutal manner, the basic norms of international law, the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter as well as the fundamental values and norms of international conduct.  This aggression constitutes one of the most ignominious pages in human history.  The decision to convene an Extraordinary Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau on the Question of Palestine demonstrates the Movement's deep concern at the grave and critical situation in the Lebanon and its negative effects on peace and security in the Middle East and the world at large.  The decision also demonstrates the Movement's solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the suffering people of Palestine and the Government and people of the Lebanon as well as its commitment to the national liberation struggles of peoples under colonial and alien domination, an essential element of its efforts to bring about effective international security and order, in a world free from aggression, foreign domination, oppression and exploitation.

6. The Ministers considered the traumatic developments brought about by the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon and particularly Beirut, evaluated their consequences to and implications for international peace and security and considered ways and means for the safeguarding of the lives of the Palestinian and the Lebanese people and the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the further strengthening of the international status of the P.L.O.

7. The Ministers condemned Israel for its aggression against the Lebanon and the Palestinian people and their representative, the P.L.O., as a continuation of the policy followed by Israel since its creation, a policy aimed at expanding its territory at the expense of its Arab neighbours and at exterminating the Palestinian people.

The implementation of such an expansionist policy has been made possible by the massive military, financial and political support given Israel, particularly by the United States, in the context of their permanent alliance and which has been firmly condemned by the Non-Aligned Countries.  Such a policy has led to the holocaust of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

The Ministers therefore called on the United States Government to reconsider its policy and to exert all efforts to ensure the prompt and unconditional withdrawal of the

Israeli forces from the Lebanon.

8. The Ministers, in expressing their grave concern and indignation at the explosive situation in the Middle East, which is the result of Israel's acts of aggression against the Lebanon, the violation of its sovereignty and Israel's devastating and genocidal actions against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, condemned Israel's aggression as well as the Israeli atrocities and all other inhuman actions against the Palestinian people and its sole and legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization.

9. The Ministers underlined that the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries could not remain indifferent in the face of this abominable crime against the Lebanese and Palestinian people, and considered that the impunity of the aggressor and its expansionist goals will only lead to further aggression against the neighbouring Arab countries.

10. The Ministers reiterated once again their strong condemnation of Israel's continuous measures and practices in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, especially the continuing settlement-building programme;  the alteration of the occupied Palestinian territories' demographic and geographic features, particularly in Jerusalem; the dismissal of the elected Mayors and Municipal Councils; and the ongoing process of depopulation of the occupied areas with the aim of implementing the Zionist Israeli plans for settling the population of the occupied Palestinian areas outside the borders of their homeland in Palestine.

11. The Ministers recalled the declarations of the Summit Conferences of the Non-Aligned Countries, including that of Havana of September 1979, as well as the declarations of the Ministerial Conferences held in New Delhi in February 1981 and at the headquarters of the United Nations in September 1981; of the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau on the question of Palestine, which was held in Kuwait in April 1982; and of the Ministerial Meeting held in Havana from 31 May to 5  June 1982.  They reaffirmed once more that the question of Palestine is the core of the Middle East problem and together with the continued occupation by Israel of Arab territories is the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and reiterated their full commitment to the decisions of the Kuwait meeting.

12. The Ministers also recalled Security Council resolutions 508 of 5 June 1982, 509 of 6 June 1982, 512 of 19 June 1982 and 513 of 4 July 1982 as well as resolutions ES-7/2, ES-7/4 and ES-9/1 of the Seventh and Ninth Emergency Special Sessions of the U.N. General Assembly and resolution  ES-7/5 of the Emergency Special Session of 26 June 1982.

13. The Ministers condemned Israel for its refusal to comply with the provisions of the aforementioned resolutions and noted with deep concern the failure, so far, of the Security Council to take effective and practical measures in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to ensure implementation of its resolutions 508 (1982) and 509 (1982).

14. The Ministers demanded that Israel comply, without any further delay, with all provisions of Security Council resolutions 508 (1982) and 509 (1982) as well as with those of resolution ES-7/5 of the Seventh Emergency Special Session and cease immediately all military activities within the Lebanon and across the Lebanese border and withdraw forthwith and unconditionally all its military forces to the internationally recognised boundaries of the Lebanon.

15. The Ministers called upon the Security Council to authorise the Secretary General to make all necessary endeavours and undertake urgently also practical steps aiming at the implementation of the provisions of resolutions 508 (1982), 509 (1982), 512 (1982) and     513 (1982).

16. The Ministers recalled paragraph 73 of the Final Communiqué of the Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries held in Havana in 1982 and, in view of Israel's contemptuous disregard for all principles and norms of international law and its refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions and the provisions of the Charter, called upon the Security Council to convene immediately in order to impose the measures prescribed in the Charter of the United Nations against Israel for its failure to comply with the aforementioned resolutions and for gravely endangering through its actions, international peace and security.

17. The Ministers also called upon all member states of the Movement and also upon all other states to take appropriate measures by severing diplomatic, economic, cultural and other relations with Israel.

18. The Ministers expressed their grave concern about the increasing collaboration between Israel and the racist regime  in South Africa, in particular in the military and nuclear fields, and strongly condemned such collaboration and cooperation which have enabled the racist Pretoria regime to unleash repeated aggression against African Front Line States, particularly Angola.

19. The Ministers condemned the misuse of the veto by the United States which impeded the Security Council from adopting a unanimous resolution calling for the implementation of the cease-fire and from taking action in support of the Lebanon's sovereignty, for the protection of the Palestinian people and the realization of their inalienable rights.

20. The Ministers expressed the conviction that Israel's record and actions, especially during the recent past few weeks in the Lebanon, have established conclusively that Israel is not a peace-loving state but a blatant aggressor, and that it has not carried out its obligations under the Charter and other international instruments to which it is a party.

21. The Ministers called upon all countries and peoples to refrain from giving Israel any military, material or other support which would allow it to persist in its hostile policies.

22. The Ministers welcomed the positive and encouraging attitude taken by a number of member states of the European Economic Community in relation to the latest developments in the Lebanon, especially their stand on resolution ES-7/5 of the Seventh Special Session of the General Assembly, and called upon all other members of the European Community to adopt a similar position and assist the Palestinian people in exercising its inalienable rights as identified and affirmed by the United Nations resolutions and to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

23. The Ministers acknowledged and expressed their appreciation for the consistent and positive  support which has been extended to the just cause of the Palestinian people by a number of countries outside the Non-Aligned Movement.

24. The Ministers called upon all states and international agencies and organizations to intensify further their efforts to provide the most extensive and effective humanitarian aid possible to the victims of the Israeli invasion in the Lebanon.

In this respect, the Ministers strongly condemned Israel for its indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas as well as the use of cluster and phosphorous bombs and toxic gases and reaffirmed Israel's international responsibility to pay compensation and reparations for the loss of life and property.  The Ministers further demanded that Israel respect the 1949 Third Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners  of war and the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in time of war and to lift its blockade of West Beirut and to allow the supply of food, medicine and water and electricity services, the denial of which by the Israeli occupation forces is causing massive suffering to the civilian population.

25. The Ministers hailed the Palestinian, national Lebanese and Syrian armed forces who, through their tenacious resistance, have prevented the execution by Israel of its devious and ignominious plans.  The Ministers also expressed appreciation to all those forces, organizations and personalities the world over, including in Israel, who have expressed their opposition to and condemnation of the Israeli aggression.

26. The Ministers, after evaluating the extremely serious situation resulting from the continuing Israeli aggression, declared once more that peace in the Middle East is indivisible and must be based on a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine and the Middle East conflict.  Such a settlement, under the auspices of the United Nations, must be based on the relevant UN resolutions and should ensure the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and which will enable the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to return to their homes and land, the right to self-determination national independence and the establishment of their own independent sovereign state in Palestine.

While reaffirming once again their total and unconditional support for the struggle of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the P.L.O., and expressing their solidarity with the neighbouring Arab countries in confronting Israel's expansionist and aggressive designs, the Ministers:

A. Urge all countries and organizations to reaffirm their full commitment to the just cause of the Palestinian people and its struggle under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian  people,

and undertake to react urgently, concretely and effectively against the genocidal attempts of Israel at exterminating the Palestinian people.

B. Undertake to substantially increase their moral, political, diplomatic and material support for the Palestine Liberation Organization, in order to enable the latter to effectively resist the Israeli aggression and to protect the lives of the civilian population, ensure their survival and adopt concrete measures contributing to the implementation of the programme of action contained herein.

C. Call on all members of the Movement to undertake similar commitments and to respond rapidly and effectively to appeals for solidarity and action by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, in order to meet the present dire needs of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people.

D. Call for the intensification, by national and international means, of the campaign for political and economic as well as mandatory sanctions against Israel, in accordance with paragraph 8 of resolution number 2 of the declaration of the Summit Conference held in Algiers, in 1973, and further call upon all countries to take whatever action they may deem appropriate against those states which encourage and assist Israel to pursue its policies and practices.

E. Stress the manifest need of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries to reiterate its support and solidarity at the highest political level with the just cause of the Palestinian people and its struggle under the leadership of the P.L.O. as well as to make its full contribution to the achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East.

F. Decided to establish a Ministerial Committee consisting of eight Non-Aligned Countries and the current Chairman of the Movement with the following mandate:

1. Follow closely the developments affecting the Palestinian people and their representative, the P.L.O., particularly in the Lebanon, including a visit to the Lebanon in order to hold consultations with the Government of the Lebanon and the leadership of the P.L.O. and to verify the crimes perpetrated by the Israelis and suggest measures of concrete support and assistance to the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

2. Maintain continuous contact with the President of the UNGA, the President of the Security Council, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the permanent and other members of the Security Council with a view to finding an immediate, just and comprehensive solution to the current aggression and question of Palestine and to broadening the support and assistance of the world to the Palestinian people.

3. Prepare a Special Declaration on the Question of Palestine for the consideration of the Seventh Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the non-aligned countries, in Baghdad, September 1982, expressing the political support to and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their representative, the P.L.O., and containing comprehensive recommendations for measures of assistance to them.

G. Asked the Chairman of this meeting, H.E. Mr. Nicos Rolandis, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, to transmit the Final Communiqué of the meeting to the five permanent members of the Security Council, drawing their attention to the positions and recommendations contained therein, and to request them to enable the Security Council to take urgently all the necessary measures to bring about an end of the current critical situation in the Lebanon and to affirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the P.L.O., including the right to self-determination and independence and to the establishment of their own state in Palestine.

27. The Ministers further:

I. Demand that Israel lift the blockade of Beirut, observe a permanent cease-fire and withdraw its forces immediately and unconditionally from the territory of the Lebanon.

II. Call upon the Security Council, in agreement with the Government of the Lebanon, to immediately proceed with the establishment of a United Nations interim peace-keeping force in the Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations.

III. Welcome the negotiations now taking place in Beirut between the Government of the Lebanon and the P.L.O. and wish them complete success.

IV. Call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations to initiate as a matter of urgency contacts with all parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East with a view to finding concrete ways and means to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of this conflict, in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter and the relevant United Nations resolutions.  They reaffirmed their firm position  that no negotiations or any other steps in the current situation or otherwise must take place without the full and equal participation of the P.L.O., the sole and legitimate  representative of the Palestinian people.

V. Decided to request the President of the 36th Session of the UNGA to resume the Seventh Emergency Special Session of the UNGA on the Question of Palestine not later than the end of August.

VI. Appeal to all governments, organizations and individuals — in particular to the members of the Non-Aligned Movement — to substantially increase their assistance to the victims of the Israeli aggression in the Lebanon as a concrete expression of universal solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples through the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations which have already demonstrated their concern and capacity to organize and channel such assistance.

VII. Call upon the Security Council to recognise the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as defined in General Assembly resolution ES-7/2 and to endorse the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 31/20 of 2 November 1976.

VIII. Call on the member states of the United Nations to review the decision contained in resolution A/36/120 of 28 January 1982 concerning the convening, under the auspices of the United Nations, of an International Conference on the Question of Palestine with universal participation, with a view to advancing its date to 1983 and allocating the necessary resources in time.

IX. Call upon the Security Council to apply, as a matter of urgency, comprehensive and mandatory sanctions against Israel, under the provisions of Chapter VII and particularly Article 41 of the United Nations Charter, until Israel fully carries out the decisions and resolutions of the United Nations relevant to the Question of Palestine.

X. Urge all members of the Movement to use the means at their disposal to counter the insidious campaign and psychological war launched by the Israeli and other mass media aimed at weakening world solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.