\ oc,. - ~ 1900 REPORT UN/SA UJLLb..liON OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE GENERAL ASSEMBlY OFFICIAL RECORDS: THIRTY-FIFTH SESSION SUPPLEMENT No. 35 (A/35/35) UNITED NATIONS REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE E'XERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE 1 _ GENERAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL RECORDS: THIRTY-FIFTH SESSION SUPPLEMENT No. 35 (A/35/35) UNiTED NATIONS New York, 1980 NOTE Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capitalletters combined with figures. Mention ofsuch a symbol indicates a reference ta a United Nations document. /Original: Fhglish/French/ /1 October 1980ï CONTENTS LETTER OF TillLWSMITTAL 1. II. III. INTRODUCTION r~ATE iv 1co~rrTTEE 4 1 OF THE 5- 6 7' 2 ORGAHIZATION OF lJORK A. B. C. El~ction 11 3 3 3 of officers th~ 7- 8 Participation in the work of Committee Re-establishment of tr"' Horking Group (Task Force). 9 - 10 11 12 - 3 IV. ACTION TAKEN BY THE COJV1MI'ITEE · . . A. B. C. Action t.aken in accordance with paragraph 8 of General Assemb1y resolution 34/65 A . . . Action taken in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of General Assemb1y rêsolut~on 3h/65 C . . . . . Action taken in accordance with "Çnr.agraphs 2 ann 7 of Gene-r-a.l Assembly resolution 34/65 D OF THE COMMITTEE ArJNl~X 44 4 4 6 la 12 12 - 19 . . 20 - 37 38 - 44 45 - 48 V. RECOl@,~"IJDATIONS RECOM1OEIJDATIONS OF THE CGMMITTEE ENDORSED BY TEE GEJCP.AL ASSEHBLY AT ITS THIRTY-·FIRST SESSIOE . . . . . . . . . · . . . . · . . . . . . . 13 -iii- LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 22 September 1980 Sir, l have the honour to transmit to YO:l herewith the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for submission to the General Assembly in accordance with paragraph 3 of resolution 34/65 C, Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration, (Signed) Falilou I~ Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People His Excellency Mr, Kurt \'Taldheim Secretary-General of the United Nations -iv·- I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, originally composed of 20 members and later enlarged to 23, 1/ was established by the General Assembly in resolution 3376 (XXX) on 10 November 1975. Its first report, 2/ submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-first session, contained-the recommendations of the Committee designed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable rights as recognized and defined by the General Assembly. 2. The Committee's recommendations were first endorsed by the General Assembly at its thirty-first session as a basis for the solution of the question of Palestine. 3. In its subsequent reports to the General Assembly at its thirty-second 3/ thirty-third '!±I and thÏl·ty-fourth sessions, 2.1 the Committee retained its recommendations unchanged, and on each occasion they were again endorsed by the General Assembly which reviewed and renewed the mandate of the Committee. Despite frequent urgings by the Committee, its recommendations have not yet 4. been acted upon by the Security Council, and neither have they been implemented. The Committee consequently recommended, in tenus of its mandate, the convening of an emergency special session of the General Assembly to consider the matter. This was held from 22 to 29 July 1980. By a vote of 112 to 7, with 24 abstentions, the General Assembly, at its seventh emergency special session, requested and authorized the Secretary-General, in consultation, as appropriate, with the Committee, to take the necessary mensures to'wards the implementation of the recommendations as a basis for the solution of the question of Palestine (resolution ES-7/2 of 29 July 1980). 1/ The Committee is compoaed of thE' following members: Afghanistan, Cuba, Cypru;, German Democratic Republic, Guinea, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania , Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Turkey" Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Yugoslavia. 2/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-first Session, Supplement No. 35 (A/3l/35). 3/ Ibid., Thirty-second Session, Supplement No. 35 (A/32!35). 4/ Ibid., Thirty-third Session, Supplement No. 35 (A/33/35 and Corr.l). 21 Ibid., Thirty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 35 (A/34/35 and Corr.l). -1- II. 1i4NDATE OF THE COMMITTEE 5. The present mandate of the Comraitt.ee tras specifiec1 in paragz-aph 8 of Gen0.raJ. Assembly resolution 34/65 A~ para~ra:phs 2 and 3 of resolution 34/65 C par-agraphs 2 and 7 of resolution 34/65 D. By those pc:rc.c;ro.phs the General Assembly: (a) Authorized and requesteQ the Committee) in the event that the Security COlliècil failed ta consider or to take a decision on the Committee's recow~endations by 31 ],:larch 1930 s ta consider that situation and ta make the suc;gestions i t deemecl appropr-i.at e ; (b) Requested the Committee to keep the situation relating ta the question of Po.lestine under review and ta report anQ make su~gestions ta the General Assembly or ta the Sec~rity Council as ~ay be appropri~te (c) Authorized the Cornmittee ta continue to exert aIl efforts ta promote the implementation of its recommendations) ta send delegations or representatives ta international conferences where such representation would be considered by it t~ be appropriate and ta report thereon ta the General Assernbly at its thirty-fifth session and thereafter, (cl) Requested that the Special Unit should~ in consD~tation with the Committee o discharge the tasks detailed in ~aragraph l of General Assembly resolution 32/40 13 and. undertaloe an expanded progr-amme of work LncLud.i.ng, inter alia~ the orc;anization of seminars and the monitoring of political and other relevant developments affecting the inalienable richts of the Palestinian people. At the seventh eme.rgency special s es s i on , in its resolution ES-·7/3~ the General Assembly further r-eques't ed the Commi.tt.ee te study t.hor-ough.Ly the reasons for the refusaI of Israel ta comp.Iy loJith the relevant United Nations resolutions particularly resolution 31/20 of 2L~ November 1976; in which the General Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the COITilllittee and the n~ITilerOUS resolutions demand.ing the withd:r:'mval of Israel from the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories? including Jerusalen~ and ta submit the stucly ta the Assernbly. 6. 0 -2- III. A. ORGAc'\fIZATION OF ï10RK Eléction ---- . -- ----------_ ..of -officers 7. In tb,~ months of .Ian ua'ry and February 1980 the Comnri.t t ee rptain,,-d its bur-eau from 1979 on a provisional basis until the npw orficers wpre el~cted. 8. At. its 49th mtetine, on 12 Harch 1980, thê Committee unarrîmousIy following officers: Chairman: Vice-Chairman: Hr. Falilou Kane (Sf'negal) Mr. Raul Roa Kouri (Cuba) ftt. Farid Zarif (Afehan~stan) Mr. B. Victo~ pl~cted th:' J. Gquci (Malta) Partic:' pation in thE work of__the Commi_Uee Unit~d 9. The CommitteE' reconfirmed that thosé States 11embers of the Nations and Permanent; Obae-rvez-s to the Urrit.e-d Nations which wished to participatE in tht, work of the Committee as observers could do so, and ft again welcowpd in that capacity Ale;eria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Libyan Arab Jarrrahiriya, I.1auritania, thE' Syrian Arab Republic, Viet Nam, the League of Arab Stat2s, cnd the Palestin~ Liberation Organization. which continued in 1980 to participqte in th~ work of thE' Cow~nittee . 10. At its requ~st, the Organization of th. Islamic Conference also participated in thE vor'k of tlw Comnrit t ee as an observer from 12 March 1980. Il. 'I'h> Committee once again unanimously decided that the vTorkinr:; Group (Task Force ) which it had established in 1977 should continue to function in or-der- to facilitatE the work of the Commit t ee by : (a) kecpinC' up to date vlith events which affect the work of th~ Committee and sugGE'stin~ action which the Comwittee could usefully undertake, and (b) assistin~ th~ Committ~e in any other specific assignment. relat~d to its wo~k" The following were reappointed members of the Working Group: Malta (Chairman), Afghanistan, Cuba, Guinea, Guyana, Indis, Senpgal, Tunisia and, as répresentatives of the people directly concerned, the Palestine Liberation Organization. In addition, t.h.' Ge~man Democratic Republic was co-opted to serve on thli' Horkinf, Group dLlrins the p-,riod of its terrn of membership of the Security Council. -3- IV. A. ACTIOIT TAKEl\T BY Tlill Cm1I'lI'I'TEE Action takn in accordanc with paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 34/65 A 12. The General Assembly. in paragraph 7 of its resolution 34/65 A. urged the Security Council once again to consider and to take as soon as possible a decision on the recommendations of the Committee endorsed by the General Assembly. In paragraph 8 of the same resolution. the General Assembly authorized and requested the Committee. in the event that the Security Council failed ta consider or to take a decision on those recommendations by 31 March 1980, to consider that situation and to make the suggestions it deemed appropriate. 13. In accordance with this mandate, on 6 March 1980 the Acting Chairman of the Committee addressed a letter (S/13832) to the President of the Security Council drawing his attention to paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 34/65 A. He also reiterated the fundamental principles which had guided the members of the Committee in formulating its recommendations. Those principles were: ~üddle (a) The question of Palestine is at the heart of the problem of the East and no solution to that nroblem can be envisaged without taking into account the inalienable rights of the Palestininn people; (b) The implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestirian people of returning to their homes and property. of exercising their right of selfdetermination and independence and national sovereignty - will contribute to a final solution of the Middle East crisis; (c) The participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian pèople. on an equal footing with all other parties on the basis of General Assembly resolutions 3236 (XXXIX) of 22 November 1974 and 3375 (XXX) of 10 November 1975 is indispensable to all efforts, deliberations and conferences on the Middle East which take place under the auspices of the United Nations; (d) The inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and the consequent obligation for Israel to withdraw completely and speedily from all territory so occupied. 14. The Acting Chairman also conveyed the Committee's conviction that appropriate action by the Security Council on the basis of the implementation of the Committeeis recommendations would undoubtedly lead to the achievement of tanGible progress towards the solution of the question of Palestine. He pointed out that specifie action by the Security Council should not be delayed further. especially on account of the increased intransigence by Israel in establishing and strengthening its settlements in the illegally occupied Arab territories. The Acting Chairman also stressed that in the past year Israel had blatantly defied Security Council resolutions 446 (1979) and 452 (1979) and had only a few days previously openly made it evident that it had no intention of paying any heed to resolution 465 (1980) which had just been passed unanimously by the Security Council. -4- 15. The Acting Chairman also recalled th~t the Security Council had discussed the Committee' s recommendations durhg June and August 1979 and that although a draft resolution (S/13514) had been pre5ented~ it had not been voted upon; in effect~ thel'e:!"ore ~ the Security Council l'las still seized of the question and the Committee considered it important that the Security Council should take practical measures with a view to implementing the Committee's recommendations which were intended to restore to the Palestinian people their inalienable rights, the denial of which was the root of the Middle East problem. 16. On 24 March 1980~ the Chairman of the Committee addressed another letter (S/13855) to ti:0 President of the Security Council, in which he pointed out that ~evelopments evolving in the occupied Palestinian and other occupi~d Arab territor~es, i~cluding Jerusalem~ constituted continuing violations by Israel of the inalienable rights or the Falestinian people, and requested that since the date envisased in pnrnGraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 34/65 A was imminent, the Security Council should convene urgently to consider the recommendations of the Committee. 17. In response to these represcLtaticns the 8ecurity Council considered the question of Palestine on 31 March and 3, 8, 9, 29 and 30 April. After a discussion in which) inter alia, the Chairman, the Rapporteur and seven members of the Committee participated, a draft resolution was presented to the Security Council by the repr:csEntat~ve of Tunisia, but was not adopted because of the negative vote of a permanent member. 18. Consequently~ in accordance with the terms of paragraph 8 of resolution 34/65 A, the Committee considered the situation once more and recommended that the question of Palestine should be discussed by the General Assembly at an emergency specia.l session. 19. Accordingly~ at the request of Senegal, the seventh emergency special session of the General Assembly met from 22 to 29 July 1980 to consider the question of Palestine. The high level of attendance underlined the importance that most Member States attached to the session. The Committee noted that over 100 Member States had participated in the debate, a.nd that the overwhelming majority had supported the Committee's position regarding the inplementation of its recommendations and insisted on the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The General Assembly adopted a draft resolution prepared by the Committee. By that resolution the General Assembly once more endorsed the Committee's recommendations and fixed the date of 15 November 1980 as a dead.line for witharawal by Israel from the occupi~d Arab territories, Of special satisfaction to the Committee was the fact that ~n this occasion severaJ. Western European member States had in their interventions censured Israel's settlement policy and its attempts to mak~ Jerusalem its permanent capital; and they had also pointed out that the Palestine Liberation Organization should participate in any negotiations concerning the West Bank and Gaza if such negotiations were to be of any practical use. The Committee regarded as noteworthy the fact that many of these countrieG which had previously voted against the endorsement of the Committee's recommendations had now not done so but abstained in the vote. The Committee expresses its satisfaction with the results of the emergency special session of,the General Assembly and considers it to have been most useful in highlighting ~he isolation of Israel in its defiant attitude towards world public opinion and the application of international law. -5- B. 1. Action taken in accordance ,vith parap-r8phs 2 and 3 of Gener-a.L ------ Assë;1blY r;solution 34/65- -è---..:..-;~~ Reaction to developments in the occunied territories 20. The Coumittee closely foll017ed developnlents in the occupied territories and, on several occasions, authorized its Cllairman to communicate its concern to the Secretary-Genp.ral and to the President of the Security Council at the Israeli Government's practices and policies in those territories. 21. Accordingly, on every occasion on which the Government of Israel took any action which, in the opinion of the Committee, was in violation of international law and General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, these were invariably brought to the attention of the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council by the Chairman. These letters dealt with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, the expropriation by the Israeli authorities of vast areas of Arab ovmed land, restrictions on educational establishments, the harsh and inhuman treatment of Arab prisoners by the Israeli authorities, the expulsion of the rlayors of Halhoul and Al Khalil (Hebron) and the Sharia Judge of Al Khalil (Hebron), and the assassination attempts on the lives of the ~layors o~ Nablus, Ramallah and Al Bireh, three cities in the West Bank. 22. The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, repeatedly conveyed the Committee's grave concern at these steps by Israel which ivere undoubtedly aimed at strenrthening its annexation of the occupied Arab territories in flagrant violation of international law, world public opinion and General Assembly and Security Council resolutions; he pointed out that Israel's protestations of being a peace lovinf member of the United Nations, dedicated to findin~ a comprehensive solution to the problem of the f'Iidd1e East had no basis in goocJ faith. He also stressed that effective action needed to be taken by the Security Council to convince Israel of the danger of its ~olicies and the necessity for its immediate and complete withdra'ial from the illegally occupied territories since its continued presence there and its series of defiant acts were a serious obstruction to a~hieving a comprehensive, just and lastinc peace in the Middle East. 23. In addition the COID~ittee, through its Chairman, participated in the meetings of the Security Council to examine the situation relatinG to settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusal~~. The Committee also intervened in ~he Council's meetings concerning other developments in the area and particularly on Jerusalem. On the unanLmous adopti~n by the Council of resolution 465 (1980) accepting the conclusions and recommendations contained in the second report of the Commission of the Security Council established under resolution 446 (1979), the Chairman conveyed to the President of the Security Council the Committee's satisfaction at the adoption of that resolution; he advised that the Committee considered it particularly auspicious that the Couneil was unanimous in determining that aIl measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied sinee 1967 3 including Jerusalem, had no legal validity, and that the Committee took special note of the Council's reference to the specifie status of Jerusalem. 24. -6- Fe also conveyed t he Commi.t.tee ' s n;ratificatioll thilt the Counc iL T_p.S unan imous in strongly deplorinc th~~ 1sraeli Govermnent' s policy of est::>.hlishin:~~ set.t Lonent s in the occupied territories , including .Ierusa.Lem , as a po Li.cv vThich constituteo. a f'Lagr-ant, violation of the Fourt li Geneva Converrt i on of 1949 anô a.l.so as 11. serious obstruction to a cO'o11:9rehensive, just and lastin[' peace in the Tfiddle la.::;t. The Corum.ittee noted 1-rith anpr-ec i.at i.on the call on the 1sraeli Gover-nnerrt to dismantle the ezi s t i nr- settlements and te: cee.se on an urr.ent basis the es't ab.li shmerrt of such settlements. 25. 26. In a separate letter to the President of the Security Counc i L on the same 0.0.7, the Chairman conveyed the Coamittee's deep concern at the possible L~plicatior.s of the st.at craerrt made by the President of the United States of JI~erica regardin~ Security Council resolution 465 (1980). Uhile emphasizing that" the Committee had no intention of questionin~ the ri~ht of any Governulent to forNulate its forei~n policy, the Chairman drew the attention of the Security Council to one particular st at.emerrt which touched on a very imnortant aspect of the Commi t t ee ' s mandate. The sentence in question read as foliows: liAsto Jerusaler, Fe strongly believe that Jerusalem should be undivided, Fith free access to the Loly Places for all faiths and that its status s hou.l d be det.ermi ner, in the negot i at i.ons for a cO!'1prehensive peace settlement. 1l 27. He pointed out that the Commi.tt.ee "Tas concerned at the fa ct that this formulation could be interpreted as supportin~ 18rael'8 insistence that the City of Jerusalem vas indivisible only as long as it remained under Israeli domination and that the Committee believed that t h i s proposition was in direct contradiction to resolution 242 (1967) ivhich 6ùphasized the inaàLlissibility of the acquisition of territories by war and called for the vithdravral of Israeli 'rm.ed forces f'r oru the territories occupied in June 1967. The Co~@ittee, he stated, sincerely hoped that the United States s t.at enent, wac Ln no vay desii~ned to 3UP:90rt the Israeli position. 28. He conveyed also the Committee' s concern at the reference made in that statement to the status of Jerusalen: as a natter of negotiation, In the Cormrit t ee ' s view the Ibly City of Jerusalem already had a very special and unique status for the three monotheistic religions. The only international definition of the status of Jerusalem "TaS to be found in General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 29 Novemher 1947, i~lich specified that the City of Jerusalem should be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime aQministered by the United Nations. The Committee believed that i t vras on.Ly lw means of an internationalized status of corpus separatum that free access to the HoIy PLaces could be guaranteed to the f'o.Ll.ower s of all religions, and hor.ed that the United States statement was not intended to prejudge that delicate issue. The COF~ittee expressed its appreciation to those Governments which had decided to r emove their embassies from Jerusalem as a reflection of their res~ect for international lavA 29. Following exprcpriation by the Israeli authorities of vast areas of Arab oiVl1ed land within a few days of the unanimous adoption by the SecuLity Council of resolution 465 (1980), the Cha i.rman conveyed the Committee i s deep concern at t.heae outrages comm.itted by the Government of Israel vrhich clearly proved that Israel had little intention of he.Lpi.ng progr ess t.ovards FI. peaccf'u.L settlement of the ~liddle East problem; he once af,ain called for concrete and practical cction by the Security Council. '-7- 2. Review of events relating to the Middle East 30. In reviewing events which have taken place on the Middle East question, the Committee recalled once more the detailed and phased recommendations which it had made on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people which the General Assembly had repeatedly endorsed, most recently at its seventh emergency special session. 31. The Committee deems it necessary to stress once more that the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, is indispensable to a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine which is at the heart of the Middle East conflict. The Committee recalled that in resolution 34/65 B the General Assembly had noted with concern that the Camp David Accords had been concluded outside the framework of the United Nations and without the pa~ticipation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people; that the resolution had rejected those provisions of the Accords which ignored, infringed upon, violated or denied the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return, the right of self-determination and the right to national independence and sovereignty in Palestine, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and which envisaged and condoned continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967; that it strongly condemned all partial agreements and separate treaties which constitute a flagrant violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, the principle of the Charter and the resolutions adopted in the various international forums on the Palestinian issue, and declared that the Camp David Accords and other agreements had no validity in so far as they purport to determine the future of the Palestinian people and of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967. 32. The Committee noted also that the General Assembly in its resolution ES-7/2, adopted at its seventh emergency special session, had reaffirmed the principle~ which had guided the Committee in formulating its recommendation s· 3~ Action taken by other organization~ 33. The Committee followed with the greatest interest action taken during the year by other organizations on questions relevfmt to the work of the Committee. Among these were: (a) The Commission on Ruman Rights which, at its thirty-sixth session held from 4 Februar3T to 14 March 1980, had adopted resolutions condemning Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Arab tcrritoriEs as well as administrative and legislative measures by the Israeli authorities to encourage, promote and expand the establishment of settlers' colonies in the occupied territories, which further demonstrate Israel's determination to annex those territories. The Commission also expressed its deep concern at the consequences of Israel's refusal to apply fully and effectively the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 6/ in all its provisions to all the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem. 6/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973, p. 287. (b) The Political Consultative Committee of the States Parties to the Warsaw Treaty which, in a declaration adopted on its meeting in Warsaw on 14 and 15 May 19JO, stressed and reaffirmed the positive position of the countries concerned and which stated, inter alia, that a lasting peace in the Middle East could have been established long ago on the basis of an allembracing Middle Eastern political settlement with the direct participation of aIl the parties concerned, including the Palestinian Arab people as embodied by its representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and of respect for the legitimate interests of all states and peoples of the Middle East, including Israel; such a settlement required the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, the restoration of the right of the Arab people of Palestine to self-determination, including the establishment of its own independent State, the granting of the sovereignty and security of aIl States of the region; it requires also that no action should be taken which could make the attainment of those goals more difficult. The full text of the declaration is reproduced in document A/35/237-S/13948. (c) The Islamic Conference, at an extraordinary session of its Foreign Ministers held at Islamabad, Pakistan, from 27 to 29 January 1980, at its eleventh Conference of Foreign Ministers held at Islamabad from 17 to 22 May, and at an extraordinary session of its Al Quds Committee held at Casablanca, Morocco, from 16 to 18 August, reaffirmed its stand on the question of Palestine in the final declarations and resolutions adopted. These declarations and resolutions are reproduced in documents A/35/109-S/13810, A/35/419-S/14129 andS/14169 respectively. It had also held a se~ond extraordinary session of the Islamic Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Amman, Jordan, on Il and 12 July, which was devoted exclusively to the question of Palestine. A resolution was adopted which, inter alia, considered the Camp David Accords and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty a conspiracy against the future of Jerusalem and of the other occupied Arab territories~ which should be categorically rejected, and their repercussions and consequences withstood; the resolution refused to recognize separate and partial solutions of the Palestinian question. The Conference also called upon the General Assembly to consider, at its emergency speci~l session devoted to Palestine, ways and means whereby to secure the implementation of its resolutions on the Palestinian question, including the imposition of sanctions, in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. These resolutions are reproduced in document A/35/384-sI14097.· (d) The meeting of Heads of States and Governments and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the European Council in Venice, Italy, which, in its declaration of 13 June 1980, had detailed its position on the Middle East. The Committee regarded as specially significant that the Nine had taken a firm position on the question of Palestine and on the fact that the Palestinian people must be placed in a position to exercise fully their right to self-determination; that the Palestine Liberation Organization should be associated with the negotiations to that end; that Israel should put an end to the occupation of the territories which it has maintained since 1967; that Israeli settlements constituted a serious obstacle to peace in the Middle East and were illegal under international law and that the Nine would not accept any unilateral initiative designed to change the status of Jerusalem. The Committee considered this declaration to be an important advance on the part of the Nine towards an understanding of the question of Palestine as weIl as a major step towards a resolution of the problem. -9- (e) The Counci L of lIinisters of ti'.::: OrQ;anîzation of African Unity at its thirtY-fii'th ordinary session held at Freet.own , Sierra Leone, from 1[\ ta 2Ü June, adopt ed a resolution on 't iie question of Palestine, in trh i ch it reaffir'11f'lL its s t and on this question and its strong suppor-t to the Palestinian peonl.e led lly its sole le,c;itimate representative the Falestine ï,iber2.tion OrGan-' z at i on , The Mi rri s't er-s also condemned Israel 7 s expans Loni s't ~olicies and all ~8rti~1 agreements and sepayate treaties which constitute :'fJ_R0Tant violation of the r irlrt s of the Pa.Lest i ni an peoul e nnd of res~lutions a~orted in various international fora ou the Palestlne issue, and IIldch preverrt the realization of the Palestini:m peoples Î aspirations to return to their homeLand , to self-deterr:1Ïnation and to exercise full sovereignty on their territories. 4. 31~. ~n~er Attendance at conferences In accordance vith paraGraph 3 of General Assembly resolution 34/65 C, which, alia, authorized the COE~littee to send delegations or re~resentatives to international conferences trher e such representation wou.Ld be considered appropriate, the COlmnittee accepted several invitations in 1980. 35. The Committee was represented at the Islamic Conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 17 to 22 May 1980, at the Week of Solidarity with the Palestinian People orGanizeo. by the Solidarity Committee of the German Democratie Republic in Berlin, from 2 to 8 June; and at a conference on !ivlorld Parliament. of Peop.Les for Peac e'", o.rgani aed by the Forld Peace Council, in Sofia, Bulp:aria, from 23 to 27 September. 3G. ~le Co~mittee has also accepted an invitation by the International Progress Orcanizô.tion to attend 0. conference on "The Lega.L aspect s of the Palestine prohlem including, eSDecially, the question of Jerusalem", at Vienna, from 5 ta "( Iloverabo r 1980. 37. On eaeil of these occasions represente..tives of the Committee took the cppor-turrity to make known the wor-k of the ComrJ.ittee and its recommendations and to discuss ways an~ means of promoting the implementation of those recommendations. There was conclusive evidence of considerable understandin~ of, and sympathy for, the problems of the Palestinian people qS weIl as of interest in the work of the Committee and United N~tions action on the question. C. Action tal,en in accordance rHh Assenbly r~solution 34/65 D uara~ra-phs 2 and 7 of Gener1Ü 38. The Comcri.tt ee wishes to stress the importance it attaches to the vor-k being done h Jr the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights and to the need to provide it vith ade0uate resources to discharGe its duties. 39. In ~ara~raph l of resolution 34/65 D, the General Assembly requested the . f!ecret.ar:r-General to redesignate the Special Unit as the Division for Palestinian Ri~hts and ta ~rovide it with the resources necessary to dis charge the incre~sed responsibi1ities assi~ned to it by the Assembly. In paragraph 2 of that resolution, t he Jeneral Assembly requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the Division for Pe..lest.inian Rights woul.d continue to discharge its tasks in consultation with and under the guidance of the Co~mittee. ~. -10- 40. The Committee notec1 that, pendi.ng Vlf~ r ecommendat.Lons of an interdepartnental "lwrkinr: 8!'ouP established by the Secretary-General, there wou.Ld be no change in the designation of the Special Unit on Palestiniml RiGhts. However~ it noted wit~ appreciation that immediate action had been taken to strenr;then the Special Unit and that this had enabled the Unit to expan d the sc ope of its work , Hhile considerinr; it too earLy to judr;e TThether t.he Special Unit needed further strent::theninp; in order to discharr;e the expanded programme of "I·TOrk thathad b eeu entrusted to it, and was likely to be entrusted to it in the future, the Comnittee decided that it sholild kee:9 the matter under constant revievr. 41. In accordance vrith paragraph 2 of resolution 34/65 D, t,TO seminars on Palestinian rights were organized by the Special Unit, the firpt in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania from 14 to 18 July 1980 and the second at Vi ennu , fron 25 to 29 Au~ust 1~80. The Committee, which was represented at the3e seminars, considers them to have been most useful in bringing to[ether academi c i.ans and ot.her s interested in the quest i.on of Palestine and e:ng,blinc: an exchange of v i ews whi ch would constitute a valuable contribution t.ovar-ds Lnf'ornri.ng t~e international cOD~~unity of the various facets of the question. The papers presented 2t these seminars will be issued in due course. 42. The Com~ittee also noted with satisfaction that the publications prepexed by the Special Unit were, through the co-operation of the Department of Public InfoI'!!lation, receiving the videst possible clissemination and that the film prepur ed in 1979 ty the Department of Public Information in consultation vrit.h t he ' Committee had been awarded a prize at the 22nd Annual Amer-i can Film. Festival sponsored by the Educ at i.onal, Film Librar;r Association in New York in l'.1ay 19130. 43. TIle COMnittee observed, once more, that there had been an enthusiastic response from a 1ar~e number of countries to the invitation to observe the International Day of Solidarity in 1979. ConseCluent1y, it recommended that the observance ofSolidarity Day should f'o.l.Low the same patrt ern in 1980 and that a special meeting cf the Committee lTould be held ta which all Member States vTould be invited and at ·:rhich s t.at ement;s woul.d be made and mess ege s received f'r'om head.s of State and Government read out. It i3 e1:pected that many Gover~~ents, witb the assistance of the United !Jations Information Centres, will once more observe the Intern~tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinien People in an appropriête manner , 44. The Co:m:mittee "IoTaS informed that, in accordance with the r-eque st s contained in paragraphs 5 and 7 of General ASSelI\b1y reso1ution 34/65 D, action vas be ing taken to issue a series of United Nations cOmL1emorative postage stamps in January 1981. A phot08raphic display in the public areas of United Nations Headquar-t er-s , designed to keep visitors .in t'orrncd of the grave situation in Palestine, and of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, will also be exhibited as from November 1980. -11- V. RECOMMENDATION8 OF THE COMMITTEE The repeated endorsement of the recommendations of the Committee by the General Assembly at its thirty-first, thirty-second, thirty-third and thirty-fourth sessions and its seventh emergency special session, strengthens the Committee's conviction that positive action by the Security Council could create the necessary conditions for a just and lasting peace, since the recommendations contain the basic principles relating to the problem of Palestine within the Middle East situation. ~he Committee, consequently, unanimously decided once more to reiterate the validity of those recommendations which are again annexed to the present report. 45. 46. The Committee once more urges the Security Council to take positive action on those recommendations which, with emphasis on the urgency of their implementation, have repeatedly been brought to the attention of the Security Council. 47. The Committee once more draws the attention of the General Assembly to its considered opinion that the Camp David Accords and the attendant negotiations which continue to t~ce place contravene paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 33/28 A of 7 December 1978 and paragraphs land 2 of General Assembly resolution 34/65 B of 29 November 1979, to the extent that they did not take into account the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and were negotiated without the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people. The Committee considers that a wider understanding of the just cause of the Palestinian people would be a najor contribution towards a just solution of the question of Palestine and that it should continue in its efforts to achieve such a wider understanding so as to promote the implementation of its recommendations. 48. -12- ANNEX* Recommendations of the Committee endorsed by the General Assembly at its thirty-first session l. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES 59. The question of Palestine is at the heart of the Middle East problem, and, consequently, the Commi~tee stressed its belief that no solution in the Middle East can be envisaged which does not fully take into account the legitimate aspirations of the Palestiniaû people. 60. The legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return ta their homes and property and to achieve self-determination, national independence and sovereignty are endorsed by the Committee in the conviction that the full huplementation of these rights will contribute decisively to a comprehensive and final settlement of the Middle East crisis. 61. The participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing with other parties, on the basis of General Assembly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3375 (XXX) is indispensable in aIl efforts, deliberations and conferences on the Middle East which are held under the auspices of the United Nations. 62. The Committee recalls the fundamental ?rinciple of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and stresses the consequent obligation for complete and speedy evacuation of any territory so occupied. 63. The Committee considers that it is the dutY and the responsibility of aIl concerned to enable the Palestinians ta exercise their inalienable rights. 64. The Committee recommends an expanded and more influential role by the United Nations and its organs in promoting a just solution to the question of Palestine and in the implementation of such a solution. The Security Council, in particular, should take appropriate action to facilitate the exercise by the Palestinians of their right ta return to their homes, lands and property. The Committee, furthermore, urges the Security Council to promote action towards a just solution, taking into account aIl the powers conferred on it by the Charter of the United Nations. 65. It is with this perspective in view and on the basis of the numerous resolutions of the United Nations, after due consideration of aIl the facts, proposaIs and suggestions advanced in the course of its deliberations, that the Committee submits its recommendations on the modalities for the implementation of the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. * Previously issued as annex l of Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-second Session, Supplement No. 35 (A/32/35). ~~ II. TH~ RIGHT OF BETURN The natural and inalienable right of Pa.Lest i ni an s to return to their homes is r-ecoscn.i.z ed bv resolution 194 (III), whi ch the General As s emb.Ly has reaffirmed 21~:1ost eVel"Y 2-"2ar sinee its adoption. This ri:};ht 'TA.S also unanimously reeognized b~r the Seeurity Couneil in its resolution 237 (1967); tlL~ time for the urgent impleGentation of these resolutions is long overdue · 66. 67. IIithout prejudice to the right of all Palestinians to return to their homes) lands and prooer-ty , the CommLt.t ee eonsiders that t.he pr'ogr'amme of implementation, of the exercise of this right may be carried out in two phases: l'hase one The first »hase involves the return to their homes of the Palestinians disr..l,"-ced as a result of the '°retr of June 1967. The Commi t t ee r ecommends t.hat : 6(3. (i) The Security COlIDCil should request the inLmediate implalentation of its resolution 237 (1967) and t.hat; such implementation should not be related to any other condition; The :"esources of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) an(jor of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine R2fu~ees in the Near East, suitably financed and mandated, may be enployed to assist in the solution of any logistical problems involved in the resettlement of those returning to their homes. These agencies coulc1 also assist, in co-operation ,·rith the host countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization, in the identification of the displaced Palestinians. (ii) Phase hm 69. The second nhe.se deals tri.t.h the return to their homes of the Palestinians d.i spLac ed betwee; 1948 and 1967. The Committee recommends that: (i) vnlile the first phase is beinc implemented, the United Nations in co-operation ï-rith the fJtates directly involved, and the Palestine :Giberation Organization as the interim representative of the Palestinian entity, should proceed to make the necessary arrangements to enable Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967 to exercise their right to return to their homes and property, in accordance with the relevant United Hations resolutions, particularly General Assembly resolution 194. (rr 1; Palestinians not choosinc to return ta their homes should be paid just and equitable compensation as provided for in resolution 194 (rrr). (ii) -14- III. THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE .A1\fD SOVEREIGNTY 70. The Palestinian people has the inherent right to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. The Committee considers that the evacuation of the territories occupied by force and in violation of the principles of the Charter and relevant resolutions of the United Nations is a conditio sine qua non for the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights of Palestinians to their homes and property and with the establishment of ao. independent Palestinian entity, the Palestinian people will be able to exercise its rights to self-determination and to decide its form of government without external interference. 71. The Committee also feels that the United Nations has an historical duty and responsibility to render all assistance necessary to promote the economic development and prosperity of the Palestinian entity. 72. Ta these ends, the Committee recommends that: (a) A time-table should be established by the Security Council for the complete withdrawal by Israeli occupation forces from those areas occupied in 1967; such withdrawal should be completed no later than l June 1977; (b) The Security Council may need to provide temporary peace-keeping forces in order to facilitate the process of withdrawal; (c) Israel should be requested by the Security Council to desist from the establishment of new settlements and to withdraw during this period from settlements established since 1967 in the occupied territories. Arab property and aIl essential services in these areas should be maintained intact; (d) Israel should also be requested to abide scrupulously by the provlslons of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and to declare, pending its speedy withdrawal from these territories, its recognition of the applicability of that Convention; (e) TI1e evacuated territories, with aIl property and services intact, should be taken over by the United Nations, which with the co-operation of the League of Arab States, will subsequently hand over these evacuated areas to the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people; (f) The United Nations should, if necessary, assist in establishing communications between Gaza and the West Bank; (g) As soon as the independent Palestinian entity has 'beeu established, the United Nations," in co-operation with the States directly involved and the Palestinian entity, should, taking into account General Assembly resolution 3375 (XXX), make further arrangements for the full implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, the resolution of out standing problems and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region, in accordance with aIl relevant United Nations resolutions; (h) The United Nations should"provide the economic and technical assistance necessary for the consolidation of the Palestinian entity. -15- . 1.,. w.:J1 r"~I.:"I.J.".:.:.. Jol.; ~I ~I Ü" ~ ~I -Ma~oellui'" .~· JI> J".....JI W · r!'-ll ·\00;1 ~.J ~..;.,:ll .J".., .:o~1 Ü" -.....:JII'"~I .:0;".,:.:..)& J.-JI ~ · ~ .J.,I A.JJ'..~ .) ~I r-'< -.....:JI l'"~I : JI .,.:fI .,1 ·~~.~~~«~§.~~t8.~~m~~~~oeft~~B~~~oeM8 ·. DOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained nom books1ores and dïstribu10m tbroughout the world. ConllU1t your bookstoi'e or write 10: United Naü'ODS, Sales Sectioe, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PBOCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES L. publicatiOll8 des Nations Unies IIOnt eJi ""ente dans les librairies et les agences cWpoûtaires du monde entier. Informez-voU8 auprils de votre libraire ou adressez-voU8 l : Natioua Unies, Section des ventes, New Vork ou Genève. KAB DOJD''IIIT. H3JlABRH OprAHB3A~HOB"I»EARBEJUlYX JIAIlHli H3.qaIIBJI OpraBH3aqaa O&I.ImBBeBBlo1X ~ J!loaoeo KynBTlo B KBBlICBIoJX Kara~e!IBIoIX 3BR&X B AJ'eB'l'C'l'IIa.x BO Beex paêOBax KSpa. 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