Volume XV, Bulletin No. 11
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Contents
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Page
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I.
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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
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1
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II.
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RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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2
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III.
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NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION
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6
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I. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
On 30 November 1992, the International Day of Solidarity was observed at United Nations Headquarters, New York, and at the United Nations Offices at Geneva and Vienna, as well as in several other cities, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977.
All States Members of the United Nations, specialized agencies and observers were invited to attend the solemn meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people.
At that meeting, statements were made by: Kéba Birane Cissé (Senegal), Chairman of the Committee; Stoyan Ganev (Bulgaria), President of the General Assembly; the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali; and, the President of the Security Council for the month of November, André Erdös (Hungary).
The Observer of Palestine, Nasser Al-Kidwa, read out a message from Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Also, Stanley Kalpagé (Sri Lanka) made a statement as Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.
In addition, the representative of Indonesia, Nugroho Wisnumurti, read out a message from President Soeharto in his capacity as Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.
A further message was delivered by Hikmet Cetin, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey and Chairman of the Twentieth Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.
The observer for the League of Arab States, Mahmood Aboul-Nasr, read out a message from its Secretary-General, Ahmed Esmat Meguid. Further statements were made by Hasan Ali Hussain Al-Ni'Mah (Qatar), speaking as Chairman of the Group of Arab States for the month of December 1992, and Colleen McGuire, representative of the International Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine.
Concluding statements were made by the Chairman of the Committee and Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Messages to commemorate the occasion were received from 21 heads of State, 12 heads of Government and 11 Foreign Ministers, as well as the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and UNESCO. Still further messages were received from 11 non-governmental organizations active on the question of Palestine.
All statements and messages received will be published in extenso in a special bulletin prepared by the Division for Palestinian Rights.
In further commemoration of the International Day, the Committee arranged the screening of a series of films during the week beginning 30 November in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.
At the request of the Committee, and also in commemoration of the International Day, the Office of the Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations presented an exhibit in cooperation with the Committee, which was displayed in the Public Lobby at United Nations Headquarters from 30 November to 4 December 1992.
II. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE
RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The Committee met on 5 November 1992, at which time it adopted its report to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. The report contained the following recommendations:
"The year 1992 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the occupation by Israel of the Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem. While welcoming the peace process initiated at Madrid in October 1991 and expressing the hope that it will lead to substantive results, the Committee draws once again the attention of the international community to the fact that the occupation continues, buttressed by harsh and repressive measures, causing serious suffering and hardship among Palestinians and an unending cycle of violence in the region. The Committee considers that the permanence of occupation and the denial of Palestinian rights, in particular the right to self-determination, are the major obstacles to the attainment of peace.
"The Committee expresses its continued and full support for the intifadah, the courageous struggle of the Palestinian people, to end Israeli occupation and implement the proclamation of independence of November 1988. Through the intifadah, the Palestinian people has clearly expressed its determination to bring about the exercise of its inalienable national rights and has affirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization is its sole legitimate representative. The Committee reaffirms the international consensus that the attainment and exercise of Palestinian rights, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, are indispensable for the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the core of which is the question of Palestine. The Committee calls once again upon the international community as a whole to intensify further its efforts to bring about this essential objective.
"The Committee recalls that the Peace Conference on the Middle East convened under the co-sponsorship of the United States and the former Soviet Union has the support of all the parties and has for its frame of reference Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the principle of land for peace. The Committee expresses its earnest hope that this process will bring about a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement to the question of Palestine based on internationally recognized principles and United Nations resolutions. The Committee stresses the essential need for an active role by the United Nations, the Security Council and the Secretary-General, for a successful outcome of the peace process.
"The Committee reaffirms that the United Nations has a permanent responsibility with respect to the question of Palestine until the question is resolved in all its aspects in a satisfactory manner in accordance with international legitimacy.
"The Committee recalls that an international consensus has been reached over the years on the essential principles for the achievement of comprehensive peace, as recommended initially by the Committee (see annex I) and subsequently elaborated by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine held at Geneva in 1983, and relevant General Assembly resolutions, the latest of which was resolution 46/75. The Committee reaffirms that these principles include the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem; respect for the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized boundaries; and the recognition and exercise of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination.
"The Committee considers that, in the recent elections, a majority of the Israeli public has voted for peace and expresses the earnest hope that the new Israeli Government will recognize and respect the national aspirations and rights of the Palestinian people, in particular the right to self-determination, and institute radical changes in Israel's policies in favour of peace. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures for the restoration of the fundamental human rights and freedoms of Palestinians living under occupation, in accordance with Israel's obligations under international law. The Committee notes with concern reports from various sources that initial goodwill statements and measures by the new Government have failed to improve the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and have been followed by increased repression of demonstrations during the prisoners' hunger strike in October 1992. The Committee calls on the Government to act immediately to end extrajudicial killings, cease all land confiscation and settlement activities, release political prisoners, end deportations, administrative detention, ill-treatment and torture of prisoners, restore freedom of movement and other civil liberties, and repeal the military orders through which it controls every area of Palestinian daily life. The Committee calls once again on Israel to recognize the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War to the occupied Palestinian territory and to implement its provisions and those of the various human rights instruments to which it is a party. The Committee considers that the fact that a peace process is under way does not detract in any way from Israel's obligations in this regard.
"Pending progress towards a political settlement, the Committee considers it is of the utmost urgency that all necessary measures be taken to protect the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and numerous resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. The Committee considers that it is now all the more urgent for the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention and for the United Nations system as a whole to take action to ensure that Israel abide by its obligations as the occupying Power, in accordance with Security Council resolution 681 (1990). The Committee draws attention in this regard to the relevant recommendations made by the participants in the North American Regional Seminar on the theme "Enforcing the Fourth Geneva Convention for ensuring the protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem" (see annex IV).
"The Committee wishes to reaffirm that the United Nations has a duty and responsibility to render all assistance necessary to promote the social and economic development of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, in preparation for the full exercise of national sovereignty in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions. The Committee accordingly reiterates its call upon the organizations of the United Nations system, as well as on Governments and on intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to sustain and increase their economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people, in close cooperation with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Mindful of the importance of this issue and of the need to increase its own efforts to promote international action, the Committee has decided to devote its 1993 Economic Seminar to the question of assistance to the Palestinian people in accordance with the proposal made by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1992/58.
"The Committee notes with satisfaction the increased international support for the attainment of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine in accordance with international principles and United Nations resolutions in the year under review. The Committee believes that its programme of regional seminars, non-governmental organization meetings and other informational activities has played a valuable role in this process and it will continue to strive to achieve maximum effectiveness in the implementation of its mandate. The Committee will continue and intensify its efforts to ensure that those meetings provide a useful forum for promoting a constructive debate and a concrete and action-oriented analysis of the most important issues relating to the question of Palestine. The Committee once again extends an invitation to all Governments, including those of the United States of America and Israel, to participate in its work and in the events organized under its auspices.
"The Committee considers that the programme of research, studies and publications of the Division for Palestinian Rights is an essential resource for information, analysis and promotion of international action, and calls for its strengthening through the establishment of an adequately staffed and equipped computerized system." (see A/47/35, paras. 85 to 94)
III. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION
During the course of November, the following information was received by the Division for Palestinian Rights:
1. ICCP Newsletter No. 47, special issue on prisons, providing background information relating to the hunger strike of Palestinian political prisoners during September and October. Available from: the International Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine, 150 route de Ferney, Case postale 2100, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland.
2. The Other Front, weekly bulletin on developments in Israeli society, available from: P.O. Box 19543, Jerusalem.
3. Middle East International, bi-weekly publication, available from: P.O. Box 53365, Temple Heights Station, Washington, D.C., 20009, United States of America.
4. Newsletter of the Middle East Justice Network, available from: P.O. Box 558, Cambridge, MA 02238, United States of America.
5. Israel and Palestine Political Report, available from: Magelan, Boite Postale 130, 75463 Paris CEDEX 10, France.
6. Palestine Solidarité, bi-weekly bulletin of l'Association Médicale Franco-Palestinienne, available from: 14 rue de Nanteuil, 75015 Paris, France.
7. Women for Women Political Prisoners, available from: P.O. Box 8537, Jerusalem 91083.
8. Another Viewpoint, commentary available from: AVP, 604 Barbera Place, Davis, California 95616, United States of America.
9. Une Terre, Deux Peuples, publication of the Association pour l'Union entre les peuples juif et palestinien, available from: C.P. 43, 1247 Anières, Geneva, Switzerland.
10. P.R.C.S. Newsletter, newsletter of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, available from: Information Department, P.O. Box 5386, Nicosia, Cyprus.
