Palestine, Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Syrian Golan – Annual Coordination Meeting of Foreign Ministers of OIC – Final Communiqué/Non-UN document

FINAL COMMUNIQUE

OF THE ANNUAL COORDINATION MEETING OF

MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF

MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC

CONFERENCE

UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

NEW YORK

2 OCTOBER 2007

20 RAMADAN 1428

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC Member States held their Annual Coordination Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 2 October 2007, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Representative of the UN Secretary General attended the Meeting. The Meeting, after deliberation, adopted the following:

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PALESTINE AND AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF

16. The Meeting reaffirmed the centrality of the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the whole Islamic Ummah. It affirmed the Arab nature of Occupied East Jerusalem and the need to defend the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy places. It reiterated its strong condemnation of Israel, the occupying Power, for its persistent aggression on Islamic and Christian holy places in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, for its illegal excavations beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and for its illegal measures intending to change the Holy City’s status, demographic composition and character, in particular its illegal colonization practices, including its settlement activities and its construction of the Wall in and around the City.

17. The Meeting condemned the ongoing and intensifying Israeli military campaign against the Palestinian people by which Israel, the occupying Power, has continued to commit grave human rights violations and war crimes, including the killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians by use of excessive, indiscriminate and lethal force, as well as the continued practice of extrajudicial executions, the vast and widespread destruction of Palestinian properties, infrastructure, agricultural lands and other sources of livelihood, and the detention and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, including women and children. It demanded that Israel immediately cease all such violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law.

18. The Meeting condemned Israel’s continued imposition of collective punishment upon the Palestinian people, including in particular the severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods via prolonged closures and hundreds of checkpoints, some of which have been transformed into permanent structures similar to international border crossings. It stressed that such illegal Israeli practices are in effect strangling the Palestinian economy and causing severe socio-economic and humanitarian hardships for the Palestinian civilian population. The Meeting called upon the international community to provide urgent assistance to alleviate the Palestinian hardships in this critical period.

19. The Meeting reiterated its grave concern and strong condemnation regarding Israel’s continuing intensive campaign of settler colonialism, including vast land confiscations and the construction and expansion of illegal settlements. The Meeting also reiterated its condemnation of Israel’s continuing construction of the Wall throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, in flagrant violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and in total disrespect for the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 and General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004. The Meeting emphasized that both the illegal settlements and the Wall are destroying the territorial contiguity and integrity of the Palestinian Territory and jeopardizing the establishment of a sovereign, viable, and independent Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. The Meeting demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, dismantle the illegal settlements and the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem.

20. The Meeting called for the urgent intensification of efforts by the Quartet and the entire international community, in particular the Security Council, to address the current political and humanitarian crisis, leading to the revival of the peace process and the resumption of negotiations between the two sides and the full and honest implementation of the Road Map towards ending the occupation of the Palestinian Territory that was occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and thus realizing the two-state solution.

The Meeting noted the proposals for the revival of the Middle East peace process including the proposal to convene an international conference in the fall. It emphasized the importance of the decisions of the recent Arab Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, especially the call for reinvigoration of the Arab Peace Initiative adopted in Beirut, Lebanon, on 28 March 2002, which calls for a comprehensive, just and permanent solution to the entire Arab-Israeli conflict. In this regard, the Meeting expressed its support to the efforts undertaken by the Arab Ministerial Committee on the Arab Peace Initiative.

21. The Meeting commended the Mecca Agreement on Palestinian National Reconciliation which was reached under the patronage of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Adbulaziz Al-Saud and expressed its full appreciation for the efforts made by the Member States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General, in order to reach this Agreement.

22. The Meeting demanded that the situation that exists on the ground in the Gaza Strip be restituted to that which existed prior to the events of June 2007, to allow for the maintenance and preservation of the unity of the Palestinian people and land. In this connection, the Meeting stressed the need for national dialogue among Palestinians to achieve national reconciliation. It reaffirmed its full support for the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. The Meeting reaffirmed its support for all democratically-elected Palestinian institutions.

23. The Meeting reaffirmed the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the question of Palestine until it is resolved in all of its aspects. It called upon the United Nations to increase its efforts towards the achievement of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003) as well as agreed principles, which call for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and all other occupied Arab territories, the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to exercise selfdetermination and sovereignty in their independent and viable State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and a just resolution to the plight of the Palestine refugees in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194(III) of 11 December 1948.

24. The Meeting recalled General Assembly resolution 58/292 of 6 May 2004, on the “Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, and stressed the need for follow-up to ensure that Israeli credentials to the United Nations do not cover the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

25. The Meeting expressed its support for the continuous regional and international contacts of His Majesty King MOHAMMED VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee, and its tireless efforts to revive the peace process in order to reach a comprehensive, lasting and just peace in the Middle East, contributing to stand up for the legitimacy of the Palestinian people’s cause, and to preserve the Holy Land of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and its particular spiritual dimension.

26. The Meeting reaffirmed the previous resolutions of the Islamic Conferences supporting the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and consolidating the steadfastness of its people, and calls upon the Member States to provide the necessary support to Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the implementation of its program and plan of action, and to its mission in safeguarding the Arab, Islamic and civilizational character of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in countering the continued illegal Israeli measures aimed at Judaizing the Holy City.

SYRIA

27. The Meeting strongly condemned Israel’s policy of refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981) concerning the occupied Syrian Golan and its policies of annexation, building of colonial settlements, confiscation of land, diversion of water sources and imposition of Israeli nationality upon Syrian citizens. It also demanded Israel to completely withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan to the June 4th 1967 lines in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the principle of land for peace, the Madrid Peace Conference terms of reference and the Arab Peace Initiative, adopted by the Beirut Arab Summit on 28 March 2002. The Meeting also demanded Israel to release all Syrian detainees citizens of the Syrian occupied Golan, taking into consideration that some of them have been detained for more than 20 years.

28. The Meeting condemned threats against some Member States, particularly the Syrian Arab Republic, and condemned the decision of the US Administration to impose unilateral economic sanctions against Syria. It also condemned the so-called “Syria Accountability Act”. It urged Member States to further strengthen their brotherly ties with Syria in all fields.

29. The Meeting condemned the Israeli aggressive violation of Syrian airspace on 6 September 2007, and supported Syria’s sober-minded attitude towards Israeli escalation policies that aim to undermine the genuine and comprehensive peace process. The Meeting held Israel accountable for this irresponsible flagrant breach of Syrian sovereignty and expressed its solidarity with the Syrian Arab Republic.

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