A/32/PV.91 General Assembly

We concluded the debate on agenda item 30 at the previous meeting. I shall now call on those representatives who wish .to explain their votes before the vote on the two draft resolutions containad in documents A/32/L.39 and Add.1 and A/32/L.40 and Add.l.

This Assembly has once again taken up the question of Palestmii, a recurring subject which, in the view of the Spanish delegation, is always of exceptional importance in relation to the solution of the conflict that for so many years has beset the Middle East. 3. My delegation wishes once again to recall that, until a just solution is found to the problem of Palestine through the attainment by its people of their inalienable rights, a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved. For that purpose withdrawal from the territories occupied by force is essential. As the report of the Committee states, with the return of the Palestinians "... to t..1teir homes and property and with the estab- lishment of an independent Palestinian entity, the Pales- tinian people will be able to exercise its rights to self-determination and to decide its form of government without external interference." [A/32/35, para. 70.j 4. Respect for the right to existence of all the peoples of the area within secure and recognized borders will meet the third condition for the solution of the conflict of this sorely beset region. s. My delegation considers that it is important that we should not frustrate the hopes now arising. We do not believe that solely by solving one of the problems I have mentioned we shall thereby settle the Middle East r,nflict; we might unnecessarily lengthen a praces '.vluch, to re-establish peace, must necessarily take into account each and every aspect of the problem. We continue to believe that the early convening of the Geneva Peace Confere~lce NEW YOlK on the Middle East is increasingly urgent-with the pre- sence, naturally, of the Palestinian people, who, as we said a few days ago [81st meetingj, have already decided who their representatives should be. 6. Therefore my delegation will vote in favour of both draft resolutions.

In our statement on the question ef Palestine at the 85th plenary meeting, on 29 November, the Chinese delegation a1r~ady expounded in a comprehensive way the Chinese . Government's position on the question ofPalestine and the Middle East. Based on our consistent position of fmnly &1pportillg the just struggle of tl!e Palestinian and Arab people, the Chinese delegation will vote in favour of draft resolutions A/32/L.39 ~nd A/32/L.40. 8. Operative paragraph 2 of draft resolution A/32/L.39 refers to the recommendations contained in the reports submitted by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People last year and this year. We deem it necessary to state that the Chinese delegation is in favour of thos.~ portions of the recom- mendations which reaffmn or conform to General As- sembly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3376 (XXX). More- over, in accordance with our consistent principled position, the Chinese delegation wishes to state our reservation ::"'. regard to operative paragraph 6 of the said draft, which mentions the Geneva Peace Confer~ .ce on the Middle East.

The delegation of Ecuador wishes to repeat here the views it has held regarding the question of Palestine, and particularly those that touch upon draft resolution A/32/L.39, which corresponds to resolution 31/20 of last year. 10. May I recall that th, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, when speaking in the general debate before the Assembly this year, said on the question of Palestine: "The tension in that part of the world has been most acute and has lasted for too long; the chances that this situation will degenerate into a major conflict increase with each passing day. Occupation by force does not create any rights; therefore the territories held must be returned promptly, and the work done to establish Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab zones must be undone. At the same time there must be full recognition of the State of Israel, created by the United Nations, just as the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, independence and sovereignty and to an effective geogra- pbicallocation must also be recognized." [9th meeti'ng, para. 17.} 11. The position of Ecuador is unalterable concerning the concept that all occupied Arab territories must be restored. That concept is in keeping with the basic principles ofour foreign policy. Furthermore, Ecuador advocates the right of the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLOJ to participate on an equal footing at the Geneva Conference, in keeping with the appropriate United Nations resolutions. My country recognizes that a solution to the Palestine question based on justice is indispensable if we are to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 12. However, we are witnessing tense moments in the development of most promising events regarding a possible solution of the problems affecting that region, and we therefore feel that it is the duty of the international community to give a positive and welcome response, one of understanding and not one of rancour, to the admirable initiatives that have been taken between the major pro- tagonists toward£ the comprehensive solution to which we all aspire. Therefore, in order not to interfere in the very delicate negotiations that are being carried out in the Middle East at present and which have a direct bearing on the question of Palestine, Ecuador will abstl'n in the vote on draft resolutions A/32/L39 ~md A/32/L40.

Yesterday in this hall [88th meetingJ ( expressed the hope that the General Assembly would rise to the challenge offered by the current moves towards peace. Instead, by proposing to endorse the two draft resolutions before us, the Assembly is allying itself firmly with the forces ofrejection and refusal. 14. History will recall that, when the Middle East stood for the fust time in 30 years on the verge of serious and direct negotiations, this Assembly chose to ignore those opportunities and reaffrrmed a series of hostile recom- mendations which blatantly disregard the sovereign rights of a Member State. History will recall that, when practical moves were being taken to bring the parties to the negotiating tables in Cairo and Geneva, the Assembly this week chose to avert its eyes and to consider draft resolutions which ignored the very concept of negotiations. 15. Indeed, it appears that even the sponsors of the customary anti-Israel draft resolutions here have become aware of the irrelevance of their own hollow condem- nations, for they have now resorted to setting up per- manent institutions in place oftheir paper resolutions. 16. Not content with the existence of United Nations anti-Israel committees, which already cost the world Organ- ization annual sums of money whichit cannot afford, they now propose to set up within the Secretariat a Special Unit on Palestine whose sole purpose will be to churn out hatred and vilification of Israel. The total cost to world taxpayers 17. There is no precedent whatsoever for the establish- ment of such a Unit within the United Nations. Special units do not exist, and have never existed, for any other question of this kind on the agenda of the General Assembly. What is more serious is that the establishment of such a unit, at the behest of the PLO, seriously prejudices the impartiality of the Secretariat itself. That body, which has a role to play both in relation to the peace-keeping forces of the Middle East and in reconvening the Geneva Peace Conference, will lose its standing as an honest broker and forfeit any positive role it might have played in bringing the parties together. 18. This is a most serious development in the process of the destruction of the standing of the United Nations. Moreover, if these draft resolutions go through, Israel will use all the means at its disposal to highlight the fact that the United Nations has become an outlet for anti-Israel propaganda on a world-wide scale. We shall make every effort to ensure that the message will not be lost on those who contribute the bulk of the Organization's budget. 19. Despite the obstacles which this Assembly continues to place in the path of peace, and despite the bitter condemnations heard in this hall, Israel remains ready to enter into immediate negotiations with all its neighbours with a view to a"chieving a just and ~asting peace. In the context of those negotiations, we remain committed to the need to solve the question of the Palestinian Arabs within the framework of a final peace agreement. 20. The issue at stake today is the United Nations itself, for there has never been a clearer test of its own founding principles-the commitment to international peace and co-operation. The choice before this Assembly is to rise to the challenge and promote the extension of the dialogue begun between Israel and Egypt or to ignore the current moves towards peace and thereby condemn itself to irrelevance-which it is, I regret to say, in the process of ~oing. 21. The vote on this issue will clarify the true attitude of various countries towards peace in the Middle East. Those who are opposed to the current process of negotiations in the Middle East will very naturally vote for the draft resolutions; those who favour the current new atmosphere of negotiations will refuse to support these biased and counter-productive draft resolutions.

The Mexican delegation has on various occasions openly recognized that one of the main problems in the way of a solution to the Middle East question is to fmd an adequate solution to the situation of the Palestinian people, one that must be found without affecting the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all the States of the region, including Israel. 24. Finally, we should like to say that this vote in no way alters the abstentions that my delegation cast on resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 31/20, mentioned in the preamble of draft resolution A/32/L39.

During the debate on the question of Palestine [88th meeting} the Albanian delegation expressed the points of view and the position of its Government on that issue, as well as on the paths to be followed in order to achieve a just and lasting solution. 26, As the General Assembly is about to vote on draft resolution A/32/L39, the Albanian delegation would like to reaffirm that the Albanian people and th~ People's Socialist Republic of Albania staunchly support i:he just cause of the brotherly Palestinian people in this heroic struggle for the restoration of all their national rights to a homeland and the liberation of all the territories occupied by the Israeli Zionists. 27. The Alba.nian delegation would also like to state the follo~ingwith regard to draft resolution A/32/L.39. 28. This draft resolution does not differ basically from resolution 31/20 adopted last year. My delegation did not participate in the vote on that resolution, which was adopted on 24 November 1976. We also explained the reasons which had led us to take that position.l 29. That is why we do not consider it necessary to go into detail once more with regard to all the reservations my delegation had on resolution 31/20. We should like to emphasize that we have the same reservations with regard to draft resolution A/32/L.39, on which the Assem~lywill be taking a decision. 30. The Albanian delegation lVill not participate in the vote to be taken on draft resolution A/32/L.39.

My delegation has time and again emphasized the need for Israel to withdraw from Arab territories taken by force. 32. For a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, in our view the following factors are to be taken into consider- ation simultaneously: first, the recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people; secondly, the recognition of the right of Israel to exist within secure aud recognized boundaries; thirdly, Israel's willingness to negotiate with 33. My delegation holds the view that the parties con- cerned--the Palestinians and the Israelis-must recognize each other and start negotiations on the settlement of the question of Palestil"e. This is essential for a peaceful and amicable solution of the problem. 34. My delegation largely accepts the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People [A/32/35}. However, the report, as in the past year, fails to take into considerationthe reality of the existence of the State of Israel, and some of the recommendations cannot be implemented without recog- nizing this fact. Hence, it does not demonstrate a realistic approach to the whole question. 35. Therefore, draft resolution A/32/L.39 lacks balance. We have always held that any solution of the question of the Middle East must take due cognizance of the rights of the Palestinian people as well as those of the State of Israel. Hence, we shall abstain in the vote on that draft resolution. 36. Mr. OTEGUI (Argentina) (interpretation from Span;~h): The Argentine delegation will vote in favour of draft resolution A/32/L.39. 37. The vote that we shall cast in favour of that text must be taken as the clear expression of the position which has becoine traditional for the Argentine Republic. 38. Ever since 1947 until the present day we have both voted and spoken in favour of a negotiated solution of the disputes in the Middle East that will. take into account the rights of the Palestinian people with equanimity and justice. 39. However, we must point out that some of the recommend:itions contained in the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People do not appear to be viable to us, because they were drafted at a time when it was impossible for the members of that Committee to foresee the present developments in the history of that region.

Yesterday, when the Fifth Committee took a decision on the administrative and fmancial implications of draft resolution A/32/L.40,2 my delegation voted in the affirmative on the understand- ing that the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights would be a part of the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs. My delegai:ion would like to emphasize its view that the Special Unit should be established within that Depart- ment and accordingly we shall vote in favour of the draft resolution. 41. As far as draft resolution A/32/L.39 is concerned, we should like to reaffirm our consistent position on any peace conference in relation to the question of Palestine and the Middle East. 2 Ibid., Thirty-second Session, Fifth Committee, 54th meeting and ibid., Fifth Committee, Sessional Fascicle, corrigendum. 43. As we have explained here on numerous occasions, we reserve our position if. that respect and reject the afore- mentioned Security Council resolution. We also reserve our position on the Geneva Peace Conference and reject that proposal, which is based on the Security Council resolution, because we believe that it is a total contradiction of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Here we would like to recall that the Palestinian people, represented by the PLO, did not accept that Security Council resolution. The P~lestinian people voiced their rejection of the resolution. 44. Secondly, dispite our positive vote on that draft resolution, and having stated our reservations, I should like to -say that we do not believe that the methods proposed by the Committee for the realization of peace in the Middle East and for resolving the Palestinian issue which appear in the draft resolution are the only ,possible means available. We believe that there are other ways ofattaining that goal. 45. If the General Assembly at its thirty-second session is unable-due to reasons which are many and various-in any way to reaffIrm the objective elements which support the struggle of the Palestinian people to recover their inalien- able rights, we still hope that the international organization may yet fInd even more effective methods of punishing the aggressive Zionist entity and of providing additional support for the struggle of the Palestinian people.

In view of the somewhat extra- vagant explanation of vote that has just been given, may I be permitted to remind this Assembly that in our report last year, in which the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People were frrst elaborated, and which have been retained this year, we pointed out in paragraph 58: u.••• that the recommendations [of the Committee] • . • constitute a contribution within the framework ofthe United Nations and would complement efforts towards the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region."3 47. I think it should be fairly obvious that the recom- mendations are not directed against any positive moves towards a solution, nOE" are they directed against any particular Member of this Organization.

The Assembly will now take decisions on the two draft resolutions before it, both of which are entitled "Question ofPalestine". 3 Ibid., Thirty-first Session, Supplement No. 35, para. 58. .4 The delegation of Malawi subsequently informed the Secretariat that it wished to leave its vote recorded as an abstention•

We shall now vote on draft resolu- tion A!32!L.40 and Add.I. The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and fmancial implications of that draft resolution is contained in paragraph 12 of document A/32/403. A recorded vote has been requested.

I shall now call on those represen- tatives wishing to explain their vote after the vote.

The Uruguayan delegati",n wishes to explain its vote on the draft resolutions on which the General Assembly has just voted. 53. With regard to draft resolution A/32/L.39, my delega- tion abstained in the vote, bearing in mind the fact that recently the road towards negotiations has been opened in the search for a possible solution to the very complex and difficult situation we are discussing. In order to support the negotiations already under way, we also wish to repeat our recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to independence and sovereignty, in accordance with the terms of the Charter of the United Nations. 54. To turn to draft resolution A/32/L.40, apart from ~he reasons I have just cited, Uruguay does not consider it appropriate to suggest the creation of this new Special Unit on Palestinian Rights, ",hich might affect the due im- partiality with which the Secretariat ought to perform its duties. That explains our abstention and our conviction that the mandate to be entrusted to this new Unit should be left to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. 55. In taking this position, we are only reiterating the line of conduct which has been followed by Uruguay for many years and which was defmGd from this rostrum by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of my country, Mr. Alejandro Rovira, in the course of the general debate this year, as follows: 5 Idem. "In any examination of the over-all problem of the Middle East, account must be taken, on both political and human grounds, of the fate of the Palestinian people, and formulas must be found within the framework of the peace r.egotiations which will secure their legitimate aspirations. "We believe that those directly interested should, as soon as possible, negotiate appropriate and just under- standings based on the principlesofinternational law with a view to finding a comprehensive solution to this question, so that finally a fully adequate peace agreement can be achieved in this area." [ 13th meeting, paras. 198-200.]

The views of the Irish delegation on the draft resolutions on which we have jus1; voted were conveyed in the course of the debate on this item by the Permanent Repre~':'n~tive of Belgium, speaking yesterday, 1 December, on behalf of the member States of the European Community [88th meeting]. In the course of that statement reference was made to the mandate of the Committee on the Exercise of the Imilienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which tends to isolate one aspect of the settlement in the Middle East. My delegation abstained in. the vote on resolution 3376 (XXX) for that reason, and har; done likew~.e today in regard to draft resolution A/32!' L.39. 57. The Palestine issue is of course an essential element in any peace settlement to be concluded in the area of the Middle East. Ireland's position on that issue is set out clearly in the statement iflsued by the heads of Government of the member States of the European Community on 29 June. My delegation believes that such a peace settle- ment must, inter alia, take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. We all know that develop- ments which give rise to hope that progress can be made towards a peace settlement have taken place in recent months. We feel that at this }uncture it would hardly be opportune to single out and highlight one element of this extremely complex situation, or to create a Special Unit in the Secretariat which would deal exclusively with this element. Our view is reflected in our negative vote on draft resolution A/32/L.40.

The Jamaican delegation voted in favour of draft resolution A/32/L.39 which has just been adopted by the General Assembly. 59. At the thirty-fust session of the Assembly my delega- tion expressed some reservation about elements of balance in the recommendations submitted by the Committee on the Exercise of the inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.6 My delegation wishes now to reiterate our concern because we believe that the various aspects of the Middle East situation are closely interlinked, and any proposals