A/32/PV.101 General Assembly

The Assembly will consider first the report of the Special Political Committee on agenda item 55 concerning UNRWA. The report is contained in docu- ment A!32!351. 7. I shall now call upon those representatives who wish to explain their votes on any or all of the six draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political Committee in para- graph 19 of its report. Representatives will also have an opportunity to explain their votes after all the votes on this report have been taken.

My delegation's position on what are now draft resolutions A, B, C, D and F in document A!32!351 was explained in detail in the Special Political Committee as recorded in paragraph 18 of docu- ment A!SPC!32!SR21, paragraphs 4 and 22 of document A!SPC!32!SR.22 and paragraph 5 of A!SPC!32/SR.24. 1 9. In explanation of my vote, however, I should like to repeat and elaborate on our position as set out in paragraph 18 of document A!SPC!32!SR.21, regarding draft resolu- tion A. We abstained in the vote on that draft resolution in the Committee and we shall do so again today because the interpretation of General Assembly resolution 194 (Ill) contained in the draft resolution does not correspond with Israel's interpretation. Moreover, Israel is unable to accept the figures for Palestinian Arab refugees as shown in UNRWA records and has strong reservations about the defmition employed as to who is a refugee. 10. Besides that, there have been significant political developments since General Assembly resolution 194 (Ill) was adopted in 1948, including the liquidation of the Jewish communities in Arab lands and the massive migra- tion of Jews from those countries to Israel. Those develop- ments, covering more than two decades of turbulent history, are taken into account by Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which inter alia call for a negotiated settlement of the refugee problem-Jewish and Arab. It is Israel's position that the problem of Arab a.v.d Jewish refugees in the Middle East can only find practical solution within the framework of the de facto population exchange which has already taken place. 11. The present draft resolutions restrict our vision to just one of the refugee problems connected with the Arab-Israel 12. From my own first-hand experience, which I must tell members was shared by hundreds of thousands of Jews in Arab countries, I know the trials and tribulations of persecution and humiliation, of deprivation of human rights, property and belongings, and finally of expulsion. During the Farhud, that vicious anti-Jewish pogrom in Baghdad in 1941, my family was exposed to great danger. My mother was kidnapped. A few years later I myself was imprisoned and brutally tortured. Eventually I was able to flee, crossing the Iraqi border, on foot and without papers. I arrived in Israel penniless, and in the early 1950s directed transit camps for tens of thousands of Jews from Arab countries. There my family and I lived with them. I saw those people, housed in makeshift huts, without water, without electricity, exposed to rain, wind and even flood. Professional people were helpless; they did not have their licenses or any other certificates with them. Those had been tom to shreds by Arab officials in certain Arab countries when they left. 13. As I stand here and explain my delegation's vote on the draft resolutions, it is important that we reassess some of the events which created the refugee problem. 14. Thirty years ago, from this very rostrum, my former countryman Mr. Fadil Al-Jamali, the then Iraqi Foreign Minister, made serious threats against the Iraqi Jews, thereby joining other. Arab States in intimidating the million Jews then living in Arab lands and exposing th~m to violence and massacre. 15. Jamali's threat was part of a premeditated policy. As testified by Sir Alex Kirkbride, at the time acting British Ambassador to Amman, in his recently published memoirs, Iraq's Prime Minister at that time, Nuri AI-Said, had gone to Amman to seek Jordan's approval for the deportation to Israel, through Jordanian territory, of the "majority of Jewish communities of Iraq". The Iraqi scheme was to bring Jews over "in army lorries, escorted by armoured cars" and to force them to cross the Jordanian-Israeli frontier. 16. Who were the Jews exposed to the brutal Iraqi and other Arab schemes ofexpulsion, and where are they now'? Who has absorbed them, and what about their legal rights and claims'? What mention is made of them in the draft resolutions? 17. For 3,000 years there was a permanent presence of large Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa. Their history is richly inscribed through their cultural achievements and creative contributions to all avenues of human endeavour. Through their long and active involvement, a thousand years before the Arab conquest and 25 centuries before the birth of the modem Arab States, the Jewish people acquired no small share in the intellectual and material substance of the area. The Jews extended help and friendship to the Arabs at the birth of Islam and helped them achieve political independence in modem times. 19. To this .very day, that period ofsuffering has left deep scars on the Jewish refugees from Arab lands. The major difference between them and the Arab refugees from "Palestine" is the extent of the fmancial aid and other assistance they received from their respective brethren. Draft resolution A deals with assistance to Palestinian Arab refugees. But, of the $1.3 billion contributed by the international community from May 1950 to date for the Arab refugee~, less than 6 per cent, or $77,386,000, was contributed by Arab Governments. On the other hand, the Jewish refugees from Ar"b countries never relied on international charity. Isr2~1, with the help of Jews from all over the world, gave shelter to those victims of Arab persecution. It open:~dits gates for every Jew, young or old, fit or ailing. It gave these refugees shelter, new lives and dignity. We and our children have now tasted real freedom. Our human rights are protected, and we enjoy civil liberties. We vote and are elected. We shall never let ourselves be hostages to fortune again. 20. Draft resolution C calls on Israel to return to the camps in Gaza refugees who have been enabled by Israel to work and buy new homes outside the camps. Those refugees will never agree to go back to the dreadful conditions they experienced in the camps. But, I must add, the same applies to Jewish refugees from Arab lands. The memories of the humiliations and dispossessions, and of the prisons and hangings in public squares, together with the plight of the remnants of Syrian Jewry, today make a mockery of so-called invitations from some Arab Govern- men~s to Jews to return. 21. Arab Governments should realize that the rights of the Jews from Arab lands, their material interests and their legal claims now form a central element of the conflict and parallel the Palestinian Ar~b refugee problem. This has been understood by certain Palestinian Arab spokesmen. Speak- ing about the cruel trial the Jews have undergone in Arab countries, Sabri Jiryis wrote in the Lebanese daily An Nahar on 15 May 1975: "No need to relate now the way by which they accomplished the dislodgment of the Jews from Arab States from their countries, where they lived for cen- turies, expelling them in the most ugly manner, aft~r confiscating their property or seizing control of it at the cheapest price. It is impossible to justify the matter by saying that it was the past regimes in the Arab world, aided by the imperialist Power which worked in coordina- tion with zionism who did it ... The historical results ensuing from such an operation cannot be wiped out by such simple pretexts ... There is no need to say that the problem of those Arab Jews and their transfer to "Israel is not merely theoretical, at least as far as the Palestinians are concerned. It has a very practical repercussion on the future of the Palestinian problem."2 2 Quoted by the speaker in Arabic. "... the total area of the West Bank is 5,000 square kilometres, which cannot accommodate 3 million [palestinian] people. But the area of Israel is 20,000 square kilometres, and it can." Let me respond that the territory in Arab countries which we, a million Jews from Arab lands, were forced to evacuate is much broader than the "20,000" square kilometres of the State of Israel. Charity begins at home; and if the Syrian President and other Arab leaders think that Arab refugees need some territory, let the Arab countries with their vast expanses extending from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, over twice as large as Europe, avail themselves of the space evacuated by Jews in those countries. 24. The Arab world can no longer avoid its responsibilities towards the million Jewish refugees who fled their various countries, and their offspring, who number another million. In order to present their claims, the Jews concerned have founded the World Organ}zation of Jews from Arab Countries, whose Co-Chairman it is my privilege to be. It is their rights and their claims-natural, historical and legal- which it is our duty to reserve for redress within the framework of a fmal peace agreement between Israel and the Arab States. 25. As other members of my delegation have pointed out, this debate has become largely irrelevant in the light of the historical process begun at Jerusalem and continuing in Cairo tomorrow with the opening of the preparatory conference for Geneva. The American-Israel working paper of 5 October 1977 has laid down that "the solution of the problem of the Arab refugees and of the Jewish refugees will be discussed in accordance with terms to be agreed upon". " 26. Israel has contributed its part by absorbing the Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Let the Arabs do the same for their brethren refugees. Each wave of refugees, Jewish or Arab, should dwell peacefully among its own nation and thus help form the bridge of peace and understanding between Israel and the Arab countries. With that vision before us, let us work for a negotiated peace in the Middle East, the source of so many civilizations and the potential cradle ofso much more. 27. My delegation will accordingly abstain in the vote on draft resolution A and vote against draft resolutions C and E. We also request recorded votes on draft resolutions A and C.

In the Special Political Committee, my delegation stated that it would vote in favour of the draft 29. The Palestinian people were driven out of their land through fear and acts ofintimidation and found themselves obliged to go to the neighbouring Arab countries, including my own, in 1948. It is with that fact in mind that my delegation approaches those draft resolutions. That is why we support the renewal of the mandate of UNRWA and its continuation·for another three years. 30. We should like to express our gratitude to the former United Nations Commissioner-General, Sir John Rennie, for all the services he rendered to our Palestinian brothers. 31. At the same time we should like to congratulate the new Commissioner-General, Mr. Thomas W. McElhiney, on the confidence shown in him, and to state that the Syrian Government is ready to co-operate with UNRWA to the fullest possible extent. 32. As to what was said by the representative of Israel, in a statement that went beyond the agenda item before us, I shall confme myself-in accordance with the decision just taken by the Assembly-only to explaining my vote and to taking note of the results of the vote. 33. The representative of Israel spoke of the persecution of the Jewish community in my country. We wish to repudiate all those allegations. He referred to a publication which in fact shows that everything he said was entirely without foundation. We can prove to the Assembly that all citizens in Syria are on a footing of absolute equality. I am sure that my colleagues, the representatives assembled here, will see that this is irrefutable proof that nothing said by the representative of Israel has any foundation in fact. 34. Two days ago I learned of what was published in Ha'aretz on 6 November 1977. This publication, as the Assembly knows, is an Israeh newspaper. I am quoting Ephraim Sephla, a 42-year-old film producer who emigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel in 1971 and who subsequently established himself in the United States. He published a book attacking Israel, in which he claims, just as he did in an interview here, that Israel is corrupted through and through, including the army. He also claims that"Israel lives on charity, and refugees are exploited there in order to collect funds. He says in his book Farewell to Israel that about 200,000 children, born ofmixed marriages from parents coming from the Soviet Union, have been deprived of all their rights. They are the blacks of Israel. He added that he married a non-Jewish Russian actress and that his daughter could join the Israeli army, but was not 35. The representative of Israel spoke of the current initiatives with a view to peace. I should like to dwell on that for a moment. I would add that in all the various discussions held in the Committees of the General Assembly, in particular the Special Political Committee and the First Committee, among others, my delegation tried to make it clear that Syria has welcomed, welcomes now and will always welcome all approaches or meetings under United Nations auspices with the participation of all parties concerned with the conflict, including the Palestine Libera- tion Organization [PLO]. The representative of Israel, as well as this Organization and an parties interested in the Middle East problem, know our position with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian question. 36. I shall confine myself to indicating here the principle that all approaches must be made under United Nations auspices and in accordance with United Nations resolutions taken all together as a whole, and not on a selective basis. We welcome all efforts made by the United Nations, or under the United Nations flag, to settle the present conflict, whether in terms of the withdrawal by Israel from all occupied territories, or of the Palestinian problem as a whole and in terms of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian Arab people, their self-determination, their return and their right to establish their own independent entity. 37. I shall stop here because I do not wish to go beyond the limits of the discussion, since we are not having a general debate, but merely explaining our votes. If the representative of Israel had something to say, he could have spoken in the Special Political Committee rather than speaking on such issues here.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the six draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political Committee in paragraph 19 ofits report on agenda item 55 [A/32/351]. Draft resolution A is entitled "Assistance to Palestine refugees". A recorded vote has been requested.

Draft resolution B is entitled "Assistance to persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 hostilities". The Special Political Committee adopted draft resolution B unanimously. May I consider that the General Assembly also adopts draft resolution B?

Draft resolution C is entitled "Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip". A recorded vote has been requested.

Draft resolution D jc:o entitled "Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East". The report of the Fifth Committee on the adminis- trative and fmancial implications of that draft resolution is contained in document A/32/431. The Special Political Committee adopted that draft resolution unanimously. May I consider that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution D?

Draft resolution E is entitled "Population and refl.lgees displaced since 1967". A re- corded vote has been requested. 4 The delegations of Afghanistan, Colombia, the Congo, Japan, the libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Venezuela subsequently infonned the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour of the draft resolution. S The delegations of Afghanistan, Colombia, the Congo, Japan and Venezuela SUbsequently infonned the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour ofthe draft resolution.

Tht General Assembly will now .:onsider the report of the Special Committee on agenda item 57, entitled "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories". The report is contained in document A/32/407. 45. I shall now call on representatives wishing to explain their votes before the vote.

The . draft resolutions adopted by the Spec!:ll Political Com- mittee on the basis of the report of the Special Committee of investigation are offensive to Israel and slander our country, to such an extent that it is my duty to affirm once again and in public the position of my delegation on their subject. 47. My delegation wishes to declare that the Special Committee of investigation and the United Nations General Assembly have for the past nine years been involved in the slandering and vilification of Israel in L~e 3ervice of the war policy of the Amb States against IsraeL TIns ill-intentioned campaign has today ~ached a new height. 48. Judging from the report of the Special Committee [A/32/284], the Arabs living in the territories administered by Israel are constantly being harassed, find their property expropriated and plundered, are arrested and imprisoned without good reason, are judged in unfair trials and are subjected to abominable and unspeakable torture during their period of detention. That is exactly what is reflected in draft resolution C. 49. This deceitful and disgusting picture is the one that Arab war and hate propaganda wishes to give of Israel, utilizing to that end the well-known automatic majority, the Special Committee of investigation and the means of public information available to the Secretariat of the United Nations. 50. The United Nations has thus been transformed into a tool for the propagation of perfidious anti-Semitism remi- niscent of the worst aspects of Nazi propaganda and of anti-Jewish propaganda in the Soviet Ullion. No one can in good faith be indifferent about such ta,:tics, which are a very serious matter both in terms of the means used and 01 their consequences. The Special Committee's accusations are quite ir'lprobable, because they are completely incon- sistent with the open character of Israeli society. 51. Israel is an open democracy. What does that really mean? It means that it ha) judicial institutions of a high level that give everyone withQut exception a possibility of recourse and thereby of permauent control over !he actions of the administration, of the police and of the army. There 52. That means that contacts between the Jewish popula- tion and the Arab population of Israel with the outside world are not subject to any control. In particular, the Arabs of th~ territories are in constant touch with the entire Arab world. From 1967 until today, more than 6 million Arabs have crossed the Jordan River in both directions. 53. This means that persons with the most varied political opinions and affiliations ranging from the extreme right to the extreme left can express themselves freely, even against the very foundations of the State. It means that the central and municipal powers rest on elections by secret ballot. It means that the Arabs living in the territories enjoy perfect freedom and can, without fear, express even their adverse views on Israeli television. It means that the Israeli Government is one of the few Governments in the world that allows representatives of the Red Cross to speak regularly and without witnesses with the detainees of their choice. 54. How can one imagine that in such circumstances what has been attributed to the Israeli administration can be true? How could anyone be so naive as to allow the alleged victims of such mistreatment and torture to move around and to circulate freely? This is really absurdity. 55. The enemies of Israel wish to impose on public opinion a very elementary view of things commensurate with the lowest common denominator of intelligence. The picture is very simple; unjust and illegal occupation of the territories by Israel, rebellion on the part of the population, and the cruellest form of repression on the part of the occupier. This picture, or these slogans, in no way correspond to reality. 56. I shall never tire ofsaying that the territorial situation that exists today has not sprung up from nothing. It is the result of three wars against Israel, in 1948, 1967 and 1973. The situation will be resolved, once and for all-as everyone knows-only through peace negotiations cor,ducted within the framework of Security Council resolutilJns 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and only when secure and recognized borders are established. 57. Refusal to recognize-Otms on the part of the Committee and of the General Assembly constitutes a flagrant violation of those resolutions, and that is inadmissible. 58. These negotiations, members may be assured, will not be conducted between Israel and the General Assembly of the United Nations, but between Israel and the Arab States. I believe that it is obvious that, if that ware not the case, the 1974 and 1975 agreements between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Syria would never have seen the light of day. 59. While waiting for peacp., and despite the provocations to violence from many quarters, in particular the recom- mendations voted by the United Nations, Israel, while 60. The economic, demographic, social and cultural de- velopment of the territories since 1967 has been consider- able, even impressive. My delegation described it carefully and honestly in the Committee and I shall not revert to it now. E'Jerybody in Israel knows and everybody in the territories knows that this development is not in itself an answer to the problems raised by the various political allegiances which exist. Nevertheless it represents a major contribution to the well-being of the inhabitants, their freedom of thought ~md their guarantee of a decent and productive life until peace is finally established in the area. 61. The general picture of the territories is one of prosperity and security guaranteed by the constant vig- ilance of the Israeli administration with the inhabitants, regardless of their feelings and their political attitudes, not wishing these to be disturbed or diminished in any way. This desire for stability, this basic wish not to be involved in tragic events such as those in Lebanon, is generally felt by the population of the territories, who have already had the painful experience of living through the wars of 1948 and 1967 suffered by Israel. 62. I have said that the Committee acted with repre- hensible partiality; I demonstrated that in the Committee precisely and unanswerably, and there was no answer. Whether in the manner in which it gathered and presented information from the Israeli press, in its analysis of the Red Cross reports or in its description of legal procedures ill Israel, the Committee's report, as I have shown, is nothing but a collection of tendentious falsifications. 63. In its analysis of the Sunday Times articles-which, incidentlY, constitute its main, indeed its only, evidence- the Committee completely disregarded the statement of Mr. Tschifelli, the official delegate of the Red Cross in Israel, who formally denied the existence of the practice of torture in Israel. He said: "There may be individual examples of ill-treatment. But systematic torture, authorized and approved by the Israeli administration-no, we have no evidence ofthat."6 That is what Mr. Tschifelli said. Is that not decisive, since he and his colleagues conversed with the detainees of their choice, without witne:i:ses? 64. The Committee has chosen to ignore the fact that the Sunday Times journalists themselves emphasized that the events to which they were referring had taken place during the first half of 1974, that is, more than three years previously. It omitted to mention that the two journalists, despairing of explaining the contradiction between them- selves and Mr. Tschifelli, had expressed their readiness to accept that his statement was true as far as the period beginning with 1974 was concerned. 6 Quoted in English by the speaker. 66. Incredibly, the normal procedures, the traditional procedures of the Red Cross when dealing with possible complaints by detainees, were presented by the Committee as evidence of collusion between the International Com- mittee of the Red Cross and the Israeli authorities. I wonder what the Committee thought when it read the communique of 6 December, a we~k ago, announcing the new arrangements between the Israeli authorities and the Red Cross, under which arrests for sec'urity reasons will henceforth be communic· t to the Red Cross within 14 days and not within 18 to :>\1 days; the delegates of the Red Cross will be able to visit detainees at once, without witnesses, and have them examined, if they wish, by Red Cross doctors, also without witnesses, a."1d in certain speci~l circumstances those visits can take place within less than ·14 days of the arrest. 67. The Israeli authorities informed the Red Cross of these new measures shortly before the recent visit to Israel of a large Red Cross delegation to make contact with the new Government of Israel. 68. These developments, whJch are reported in document A/32/429, are clear proof that Israel has nothing to feal from an honest investigation. Will these developments too be presented by the Committee as a new form of collusion between Israel and the Red Cross, or will the Committee yield to the evidence and fmally abandon the shameful role of slanderer which it has chosen to play? Furthermore, the members of the Committee are not even shamed into pretending to be objective, because their countries have not only broken diplomatic relations with Israel but regularly sponsor the United Nations resolutions which are the most openly hostile to Israel. 69. It is certainly high time that the Committee and the Assembly accepted the plain fact that nt] one can hon- ourably attempt both to be a venomou~ adversary and to appear as an impartial judge. 70. The Committee 'mew perfectly well when it was writing its report that :tt only had information provided by the enemies of Israel, including the two Israeli lawyers, Felicia Langer and Lea Tsemel, both militant Communists in -close contact with the PLO and the second even belonging to the Revolutionary Communist League and identified publicly with the aim of destroying Israel and zionism. 71. All the persons who gave the Committee information' had, in fact, made contact only with Arabs who are members of the PLO, or are linked with it or are members of the Palestinian National Front, the military wing of the Communist Party in Jordan, Judaea and Samaria. The informants had all made full use of the complete freedom of movement and contact which exists in Israel, but every single one of them had deliberately refrained from ap- 73. There remains the question of the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,7 on which the position of my delegation is known. I shall not, therefore, revert to it. But it is essen tial to reiterate that, as far as the personal status and the freedom of the inhabitants of the territories are concerned, the Governmen t of Israel accords them far greater rights than are provided for in the Geneva Convention. 74. The Geneva Convention permits the use of capital punishment; Israel has never imposed capital punishment in the territories, despite the atrocity of some of the crimes committed there_ The Geneva Convention does not provide for access by the local population to the courts of the administering Power; Israel allows the population of the administered territories access to Israeli courts for legal actions against individuals, or against the Government of Israel or any of its officials, including the military officers in the administered areas. There is no provision in the Geneva Convention on faciliities for the local population to move out of the territories; Israel facilitates such movement in both directions, including movement to the Arab countries which consider that a state of war exists between them and Israel. In particular, it facilitates pilgrimages to Mecca. 75. The Geneva Convention says nothing about trade with other countries. Israel promotes such trade, including trade with Arab countries. 76. The Geneva Convention accepts the jurisdiction of the military tribunals of the administering Power. Israel goes further and requires that the chairmen of the tribunals should have been lawyers for at least six years, members of the Bar and fully qualified. In addition, the civil and religious tribunals are composed of local judges; they continue to function in those areas and apply the civil and religious laws which were in effect earlier. 77. The Geneva Convention does not provide for any elections. Under Israeli administration free and democratic elections by secret ballot have taken place on two occasions for municipal and local councils. During the last elections in 1976, for the first time women participated in the vote. I would ask, does the Assembly wish, by strict application of the letter of the fourth Geneva Convention, to have the rights of Arabs in the territories reduced to the level of that Convention? 78. Is it not clear merely from what I have just said that the draft resolution before us is absurd? 79. I do not understand why the Arab States and their friends are dissatisfied with the fact that the Arabs in the 7 United Nations, Tre4ty Series. vol. 75 (No. 973), p. 287. 81. In the meantime, the United Nations has no choice other than peace. That is its mission, that is its justification for being. To calm people's minds and to encourage negotiations is the course that must be followed by the United Nations. It would be betraying its mission if it were to encourage hatred and arouse conflict. 82. I said clearly in Committee that my delegation was prepared to support a decision to carry out a serious comparative study of the status of human rights in all Member States. I reiterate that commitment. 83. We are not in an imaginary world; we are in the real world. Israel is not living on one planet while other States live on another planet. We are all here on earth together and indeed we are very close to one another. There are a good many countries which have set themselves up as the judges of Israel, who dare to judge Israel; yet one need only mention their names to evoke automatically the worst violations of human rights. I am sure that they would be ready to pounce on me if I named them. Is this not reason for more moderation? 84. My delegation will vote against the three draft resolutions submitted to the General Assembly for all the reasons put forward today and for those put forward in our statements of 14, 23 and 29 November. 8 We believe that it would be pointless to revert to the matter of the Quneitra farce, about which everything has been said, I believe, and duly recorded in Committee. 85. My delegation protests against the exploitation of the United Nations for the purposes of a psychological and venomous propaganda war against Israel. We condemn this discrimination a,ld slander against Israel. We deplore the fact that, while there are great hopes for peace arising in the Middle East, the General Assembly continues to persist in a course of action contrary to mutual respect and to peace. My delegation appeals to responsible-mincted States to dissociate themselves through their votes from these regret­ table and offensive aberrations. 86. I ask that the vote on each of the three draft resolutions be a recorded vote.

Before explaining my vote on the three draft 88. My delegation, having stated in the Special Political Committee that we voted in favour of the draft resolutions contained in document A!32!407 and presented by the Rapporteur of the Special Political Committee, would like to state in explanation of our vote that we whole-heartedly support the contents of the report of the Special Com- mittee condemning the atrocious Israeli practices in oc- cupied Arab territories, on the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in Golan, in Gaza and in Sinai. Since the UNRWA mandate has been extended my delegation requests that a broader investigation of these practices be undertaken. Within that framework my delegation supports the contents of the report of the Swiss expert and the technical team working under him / Aj32j284, annex III who evaluated the material damage caused in the deiiberate destruction of the martyred town of Quneitra by Israeli occupying and aggressive forces. 89. In the Special Political Committee my delegation stated that it was leaving it to the three-member special Committee to undertake the necessary study to evaluate the damage and destruction whether or not that task fell within their terms of leference. We would like to see a complete and comprehensive report on all material and other damage in Quneitra and other occupied parts of Syrian territory. We support the international will which considers the three-member Committee qualified at this time to perform the international task entrusted to it, faithful!}', with honesty and in strict impartiality. 90. israel, as is clear from the statement just made by its representative, claims that the destruction of Quneitra was the result of military operations that occurred during (he occupation. In my statement to the Special Political Committee I said that the town of Quneitra was 95 per cent destroyed and that the destruction was deliberately planned by the occupying Israeli forces. 9I. I provided evidence which reveals the full respon- sibility of Israel in this matter, the last of which was what one of the Israeli soldiers wrote in Hebrew on a wall of the cemetery in Quneitra: "You want Quneitra? Here you have it in ruins." It is as ifhe had wanted to make of this town a tomb and a symbol of the most total destruction. 92. The representative of Israel after that dares to say that the destruction of Quneitra was a farce. How far can he go? In the Special Political Committee I gave proof and showed pictures of the destruction of Quneitra during its occupation before the withdrawal of Israel from the town. Many representatives here belong to countries which have suffered from the scourge of war. Many of them have witnessed the damage and destruction caused by war when .aids have taken place. But those who visited Quneitra after it had been handed back to Syrian Arab forces and liberated by them were staggered at the sight of such destruction, because actually it was not just destruction 93. That is the civilization, the democracy, in which the Israeli representative takes such pride. If Israel is considered to be a democratic country and if Is~ael proclaims itself the paradise God has promised to his Chosen People, then why is it that Israel does not open its doors to the three-member Special Committee, saying: "Come in, investigate and the Government of Israel will assist you." Why does not Israel open its doors? Why is it trying to place so many obstacles in the way of that three-member Committee? Why? Because Israel fears the truth, for who likes to confess his crimes? Who would ever agree to say that he is a thier? Who would ever admit that he had committed such violations or engaged in such practices? Who would agree to place these facts-which would brand the Israeli entity with such crimes-before an international Committee wlUch has been established by the United Nations and which expresses the wiII of the international community? One rr.ust be senseless to act in such a way. " 94. The presence of Israel in the Palestinian Arab terri- tories is the result of an imperialist plan mentioned by Theodor Herzl himself in his book The Jewish State. Herzl, when he asked the Sublime Porte, during Ottoman rule, for a document authorizing the establishment of Israel, said: "For our part, we shall do nothing to arouse fear or suspicion on the part of the Sublime Porte". He also said: "What we want from the Turkish Government is a document emanating from the sovereignty of His Majesty the Ottoman Sultan. When we have obtained this docu- ment and if it contains all the general and necessary legal guarantees. we can then embark on large-scale coloniza- tion and guarantee the Turkish Government profits commensurate ",ith the granting of this document." That is the document mentioned by Herzl himself in his book, which caused the presence of Zionist settlers in the victimized Palestinian Arab territory. 95. The tripartite Committee has as its chairman a distinguished jurist from the Republic of Senegal, Judge Ousmane Goundiam of the Supreme Court. Its members include Mr. Borut Bohte. Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law of Ljubljana University in Yugoslavia, and also Mr. L B. Fonseka. Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka. 96. This Committee-and that is the belief of my delega- tion-fmding the doors closed is hindered from entering Israel to investigate its practices. but this Committee is the only opening through whose reports the United Nations can find out about the occupied Arab territories and the sufferings of the Palestinian Arab people arising from the imperialist. colonialist and racist invasion to which it was 98. Israeli practices from all standpoints, in terms of their objectives, their methods and their repercussions for the future, constitute political crimes. Since the international community is represented by the Special Political Com- mittee and by the General Assembly, and since the international community selected the three-Member Com- mittee to undertake an investigation into Israeli practices, partic!Jlarly those affecting Arab human rights in the Golan and Quneitra-I mention Quneitra once again-my delega- tion must bow to the will of the international community, and appreciatc;s the reactions of the international com- munity, based on the United Nations Charter, the provi- sions of international law and declarations on the subject of human rights. Even if the international community is not in a position to implement Chapter VII of the Charter with regard to Israeli practices an~ the continuance of occupa- tion and aggression, my delegation will not lose hope that the situation will improve in the future. 99. In conclusion, I would state that, as was revealed by the Niirnberg trials, political crimes must be punished in the same way as the Nazi and Fascist crimes. The international community must find the appropriate means of punishing the crime of the Zionist occupation and aggression against Arab land. We must remain confident. We must persevere in our convictions and have faith in the efficiency of the three-Member Committee, and we shall await the results of its investigation. The caravan moves on, and shall continue to do so.

The General Assembly will now take decisions on the three draft resolutions grouped under the heading "Report of the Special Committee to Investi- gate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories" and recommended by the Special Political Committee in paragraph 15 of its report [A/32/407J. 103. We turn first to draft resolution A. A recorded vote has been requested. 9 The delegations of Colombia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela sub- sequently informed the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour of the draft resolution.

I call on the representative of the USSR who wishes to speak in exercise of his right of reply at this point. Against: Israel. Abstaining: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Federal Republic of; Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America. ;)raft resolution B was adopted by 96 votes to 1 with 37 abstentions (resoluti(Jn 32/91 B).IO

We now turn to draft resolu- tion C. The decision of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial implications of this draft resolution is contained in paragraph 11 of document Aj32j434. A recorded vote has been requested.

The Isr.aeli representative, speaking in explanation of his vote on agenda item 57, has once again, as he did in his statement before the Special Political Committee, slandered and made insinuations against the Soviet Union. 108. The delegation of the USSR considers it inappro- priate and beneath its dignity to answer the substance of the cynical slander of the Israeli representative. 109. We should simply like to point out that this is not the fust time that Israeli representatives have had recourse to such insinuations, which have just one purpose: to divert the attention of the General Assembly from the substance of the question under dis~.asion, the question of the constant and flagrant violation by Israel ofliuman rights in the occupied Arab territories, the question of the policy and practice of the Israeli authorities aimed at the annexation of the occupied Arab lands.

The General Assembly will now consider the report of the Special Political Committee on agenda item 123, entitled "Establishment of an agency or a department of the United Nations for undertaking, co- ordinating and disseminating the results of research into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena". The 11 The delegation of Sri Lanka subsequ~ntly informed the Secretariat that it wished to have its vote recorded as having been in favour of C.e draft resolution. The deleglitions of Colombia and Venezuela subsequently informed the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as abstentions. The draft recommendation was adopted (decision 32/424).

I call upon the representative of Grenada, who wishes to explain his position on the decision just taken.

The Grenada delegation wishes to place on record that it is pleased that the General Assembly has adopted the report of the Special Political Committee [A/32/430j, It wishes to express its sincere thanks to those delegations, particularly the delegation of the United States, which had to modify their stand so that the draft recommendation of the Special Political Com- mittee could be adopted by consensus and now be endorsed by the General Assembly. 113. The Grenada delegation has bent over backwards to accommodate the many and varied suggestions of delega- tions, and so the second draft resolution [A/SPC/32/L.20j contained in the report is far more modest in scope than the original [A/32/142. annex Ilj. which sought the establishment of an agency or a department of the United Nations for undertaking research and co-ordinating and disseminating the results of research into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena. 114. My Prime Minister, Sir Eric M. Gairy, is very clear in his mind as to why he proposed this new item for discussion and why he thinks it is important for mankind. As has already been stated, Grenada feels that the question of scientific research into unidentified flying objects must essentially be an integral part of our attempts to solve the SOCIal, economic and political problems of the world, and certainly Grenada's interest in the well-being of the world community in part motivated introduction of this item. It is by no means an attempt to give singular emphasis to a topic which, in the view of many, deals only with the hypothesis of the possible existence of intelligent life beyond the limits of our earth's plane. Rather, it is an attempt to get the world community as a whole to develop some perspective regarding the relationship between the planet earth and other worlds in outer space and between earthmen and other, alien, intelligent beings. 115. Cost was not the main consideration in our modi- fying the draft re30lution becauSE the action intended by the draft resolution would have cost approximately $16,000, as estimated by the Secretariat-a minimal fman- cial outlay when put side by side with estimates for some other action proposed during the course of this session of the General Assembly. 116, What my delegation took note of was the genuine lack of information on the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects which many nations, especially the small ones, had on which to base a proper judgement of the dralt resolution. It is not that they do not regard the question of 117. My delegation cannot but make passing reference to the messages from the President of the United States and from the Secretary-General contained in the two Voyager spacecraft launched from earth not too long ago and designed to pass close to Jupiter and Saturn, and possibly Uranus and Neptune. The message from the Secretary- General, which is worth repeating, reads as follows: "As the Secret~ry-General of the United Nations, an Organization of 147 Member States who represent almost all of the human inhabitants of the planet earth, I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet. "We step out of our solar system into the universe seeking only peace and friendship; to teach if we are called upon; to be taught if we are fortunate. "We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of this immense universe that surrounds us, and it is with humility and hope that we take this step." 118. This item put forward by Grenada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Eric M. Gairy, has aroused world-wide interest and has received much publicity in leading newspapers of the world, in particular those of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. And I am not speaking of 10 lines hidden in the pages of a newspaper, but rather of several columns that attract the attention of readers. The item enjoys prominence and is no longer treated as a laughing-matter. 119. Columnist Richard Thomas in the British newspaper The Evening News of Friday, 25 November, had the following to say: "In Britain, UFOs are probably treated with more official scepticism and secrecy than in any other country. France has officially recognized them for the past three years-as have Brazil and Argentina. But in Britain the official attitude is 'We won't believe them until someone proves they exist. And until someone proves they exist we won't investigate further'. "It is an approach that has angered a lot of respected experts. 'It is absolute rubbish to say that UFOs don't exist,' says Charles Gibbs-Smith, 68-year-old official Government air historian and honorary companion of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Mark you, these are not my words. Grenada would never for one moment use that type of language towards any friendly country. I am quoting from what appeared in the British newspaper The Evening News of 25 November. The article continues: "The Government's attitude has provoked angry out- bursts from authorities on UFOs like Charles Gibbs- Smith, who said: 'I know for a fact that Jodrell Bank tracks UFOs on its radar as a routine measure these days,' he alleged. 'Officials admit the truth in private. The truth is that the British Government cannot be bothered.' "Charles Bowen, the 58-year-old editor of The Flying Saucer Review, states: " 'There have been sightings from knowledgeable pro- fessional people such as pilots and policemen and no one is going to tell me they are all wrong. There is something there and we should investigate it.' "Mr. Bowen claims he has been told by a well-known British airline pilot he refused to name that British pilots were under strict official instructions not to talk publicly about UFO sightings-a fairly regular occurrence. "In an attempt to break the secrecy, Charles Bowen is now in the middle of helping Manchester ufologist Jenny Randall set up a nationwide network of independent investigators who will look into reports objectively. 'We welcome any information no matter how far-fetched it sounds'." That is not my language but is what appeared in the British Evening News of 25 November. As I said and repeat, lest I be misunderstood, Grenada would not speak in such language to any friendly Government. But perhaps it illustrates the point that in the minds of many unidentified flying objects exist. We believe that we should bring these matters to the attention of the General Assembly in order that we may also be able to hear the views of others on this subject. 120. History will prove that our Prime Minister, Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, was inspired to introduce this new item, that Grenada was inspired to sponsor the draft resolution which is now being forwarded to Governments for their consideration, and that the thirty-second session of the General Assembly was inspired to approve this morning the report of the Special Political Committee. 121. In the event that members might wish to know a little more of Grenada, I should like to say that Grenada hosted the seventh regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in June of this year, that it captured the Miss World title of 1970; regarding climate, it has summer all year round; its people are warm and friendly and have a deep respect for God; its leadership is strong. The country itself was formed by nature's own hands, thus providing an atmosphere conducive to lofty AGENDA 12 Report of the Economic and Social Council (continlled)* REPORT OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE (PART Il) (A/32/265/ADD.l) 123. Mr. DHARAT (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Rapporteur of the Second Committee: I have the honour to present part Il of the report of the Second Committee on agenda item 12 [A/32/265/Add.l]. 124. In paragraph 38 of its report the Second Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of 10 draft resolutions concerning assistance to the Comoros, Djibouti, Tonga, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Botswana, Lesotho, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles, respectively, all of which were adopted by the Committee without a vote. 125. It further recommends, in paragraph 39, the adop- tion of a draft decision on assistance.to Angola, which was also adopted by the Committee without a vote. Pursuant to rule 66 of the nfles of procedure, it was decided not to discuss the report ofthe Second Committee.

The positions of delegations with respect to the 10 draft resolutions and the draft decision recommended in the report of the Second Committee to the Assembly are reflected in the relevant summary records of the Second Committee. 127. I shall now call on representatives who wish to explain their votes on any or all 10 draft resolutions and on the draft decision recommended by the Second Committee in its report on agenda item 12 in document A/32/26S/ Add.I. Representatives will also have an opportunity to explain their vote after all the votes on this report have been taken. 128. Miss ZOURABICHVILI (France) (interpretation from French): My delegation will willingly participate in the consensus on the draft resolution I concerning assist- ance to the Comoros, as we did in the Second Committee; but we cannot associate ourselves with paragraph 3S of document A/32/208/Add.1.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the 10 draft resolutions recommended by the Second Committee in paragraph 38 of its report in document A/32/265/Add.1. 130. Draft resolution I is entitled "Assistance to the Comoros". If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution. * Resumed from the 83rd meeting.

Draft resolution III is entitled 141. The PRESIDENT: I shall now call on those repre- "Assistance to Tonga". If I hear no objection, I shall take it sentatives who wish to explain their position. that the General Assembly adopts that draft re')olution.

Draft resolution IV is entitled "Assistance to Mozambique". If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

Draft resolution V is entitled "Assistance to Sao Tome and Principe". The report of the . Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial impli- cations of that draft resolution is contained in document A/32/446. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

Draft resolution VI is entitled "Assistance to Botswana". If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

Draft resolution VII is entitled ..Assistance to Lesotho". If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

Draft resolution VIII is entitled "Assistance to Cape Verde". The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial implications of that draft resolution is contained in document A/32/446. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

Draft resolution IX is entitled "Assistance to Guinea-Bissau" The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and fmancial implications of that draft resolution is contained in document A/32/446. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolutian.

We come now to draft resolu- tion X, entitled "Assistance to Seychelles". The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial implications of that draft resolution is contained in document A/32/446. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the General Assembly adopts that draft resolution.

I now invite the representatives to turn to the draft decision recommended by the Second Committee in paragraph 39 of its report IA/32/265/

On behalf of the delegation of Cape Verde, I should like to express my sincerest appreciation to all those countries who were sponsors of draft resolution VIII in document A/32/265/Add.l, entitled "Assistance to Cape Verde". I should like to say how pleased we are that that draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. This shows that the international community is aware of the diffi- culties that we are experiencing at this stage of national reconstruction, made more difficult by the devastating drought which has been afflicting our country for the past nine years, and its consequences in all areas, and is prepared to give our country the assistance in many forms which we need to create the conditions which are needed for progress and for the well-being of our people. 143. One of the essential points in the resolution is the one which decides to include Cape Verde in the list of least developed countries. The unanimous decision of the General Assembly in this connexion shows that the General Assembly feels that our inclusion in the list is quite justified. 144. The mission of the Secretary-General which is to go soon to the archipelago.. will have an opportunity to see exactly what our situation is and will confirm, I am quite convinced, the decision of the General Assembly. REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE (PART I) (A/32/397) 145. Mr. BELYAEV (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Repub- lic), Rapporteur of the Fifth Committee (interpretation from Russian): I have the honour to present to the General Assembly part I of the report of the Fifth Committee relating to the Committee's consideration of the question "Agreement between the United Nations and the Interna- tional Fund for Agricultural Development" under agenda item 12, entitled "Report of the Economic and Social Council", in document A/32/397. In paragraph 11 of that report, the Fifth Committee recommends that the General Assembly approve the draft resolution which was adopted in the Committee on the basis of consensus. Pursuant to nl1e 66 of the nlles of procedure, it was decided not to discuss the report ofthe Fifth Committee.

The Assembly will now take 3 decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report [A/32/397]. The draft resolution is entitled "Agreement between the United Nations and the Intemational Fund for Agricultural Devel· opment". The Fifth Committee adopted that draft resolu- tion by consensus. May I consider that the General Assembly also adopts that draft resolution?