South American and Arab Foreign Ministers reaffrim the need to resume peace process – ASPA declaration/Non-UN document (excerpts)

DECLARATION OF THE MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ASPA   

Buenos Aires, 20-21 February 2008   

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South American and Arab countries gathered in Buenos Aires on 20 and 21 February 2008, according to what was stipulated in the Brasilia Declaration, after overviewing the progress achieved in various fields of cooperation between the two regions since the convening of the Brasilia Summit in May 2005, agree as follows:

Introduction

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17. They reaffirm the need to intensify existing efforts to resume the peace process in order to reach fair, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict on all tracks on the basis of relevant resolutions of the Security Council and of the General Assembly of the United Nations, as well as the Madrid Framework, in particular the "Land for Peace Principle", the Road Map, and the "Arab Peace Initiative" adopted at the Beirut Summit (2002), and reactivated at the Riyadh Summit (2007) and the Annapolis Conference (2007), leading to the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories up to the lines of 4 June 1967, including the occupied Syrian Golan, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State peacefully coexisting side by side with the State of Israel; and the dismantling of the separation Wall and all settlements including those in East Jerusalem; and they call upon the international community to resume their assistance to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people and to lift all kinds of sanctions. They call for an immediate cessation of all acts of violence.

18. They express deep concern about the situation in Gaza and call for the immediate reopening of the crossings between Gaza and Israel so that essential goods and services, including fuel, can be supplied on a continuous basis, so as to avoid and prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. They also reaffirm their support for the full implementation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied territories, including Gaza.

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