A/33/PV.67 General Assembly

The general feeling that has prevailed during the debate on the question of Palestine is one of disappoint- ment which it is difficult to overcome or to dissipate because of the confusion in international public opinion that is fostered by certain parties. 2. However, it is clear from the statements that have been made that no Member State has been categorically able to call into question Palestinian rights, whether they are called legitimate, national, inalienable or indefeasible; whether they are qualified by conditions or reservations; or even whether they are denied by an aberration of the mind 'which finds no justification in international morality or legitimacy. All that basically matters little, as the Pales- tinian people are more than ever determined to assert those rights by all the means available to them and those who support them have undertaken clear commitments to that effect. 3. We can play with semantics, we can hide behind sterile and narrow legal arguments, we can argue over doubtful formulations and we can, it seems, seek a balance, which because it is academic is no less precarious. This does not change any of the basic facts of the problem, namely, that it is the right of the Palestinian people alone to defme their rights, to recover them and to exercise them in whatever framework they will select; and that only the establishment of a democratic and secular Palestinian State as demanded by Chairman Yasser Arafat on 13 November 1974,1 can set our minds at rest and put an end to the Palestinian question with which, unfortunately, we have had to live for three decades. 1 See Officiol Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-ninth Session, Ple1U1ry Meetings, 2282nd meeting. NEW YORK 4. If it were otherwise, we should have to admit that vis·a-vis this disinherited people we were practising an outmoded paternalism-a paternalism which we must aban- don if we believe that the Palestinians should not be sacrificed to games of power politics and interests that never reveal themselves. 5. But we shall be told that the United Nations has been asked on several occasions by various sectors to come to the assistance of the Palestinians. 6. Well, what exactly have we done for 31 years? Should we take pride in the fact that the United Nations has had to bow to unnamed pressures exercised by certain States and circles and deprive a people of its territory by obliging it to share that land with foreigners whose alleged historical title disregards those who have a far older and more authentic claim? 7. How can we explajn, we who are so concerned about respect for human rights, that it took us 22 years even to pay lip-service to the right to self-determination of a people? Must we draw the conclusion that the Palestinians, and the Palestinians alone, deserve to have their human rights reduced to what is called today their "basic ne2ds" and that international charity should suffice to bring them to reason and to maintain them submissive and grateful to the end oftime? 8. Why do we continually refer to the frontiers of 1967-which, by the way, arc not legal-and forget that in 1947, when the iniquitous partition'of' Palestine took place we only made a reference to a future delimitation? Can we illow this delimitation to remain the prerogative of one P:irty without the assent of the other, and thus, under cover of a posteriori recognition, reward aggression and faits accomplis? 9. What follow-up acticn can we take on the recommenda- tions of th~ Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People {see A/33/35 and Co".1/ Rev.I, paras.55-58/, when the Security Council is para- lysed by a sir.gle veto and, despite requests from the General Assembly, consultations in the Council have not led to anything in the direction of the baIance_d and global solution advocated by the tutelalY Powers which are . accomplices? 10. Have we forgotten that the situation in the Middle East has its origin is' the Palestinian question, and that to make the solution of the latter depend on a "just and lasting" solution in the whole area is really putting the 'cart before the horse and satisfies only a kind of false logic, which by dint of self-hypnosis, has become blind to reality? 12. The exercise is dangerous for those who wish to reconcile the irreconcilable but is, in any case deadly for the Palestinian people, who must count on themselves alone, as the confidence that they had placed in "the international community has been betrayed on more than one occasion. 13. It is regrettable to note that, despite our collective efforts, despite the dedication of the Secretary-General, despite the conscientious and objective undertaking by the Conunittee, under the leadership of its Chairman, Mr. Medoune Fall of Senegal, to whom I pay a special brotherly tribute, we have to make such bitter statements. It is difficult to get rid of certain prejudices, and, for some of us, those prejudices are fed by a deep guilt complex vis·a-vis the Jewklt people. 14. For centuries that people suffered from discrimination and alienation in a so-called civilized European society. A home was found for them; the abusive establishment of a State was tolerated; and it was thought that they were freed from the physical and moral ghetto to which they had been condemned. But, instead of doing aU this at home, it was desired to off-load all the problems arising from these acts of belated repentance on the Palestinians as if, by a transposition explainable by the egocentric nature of societies, the Pa!estinians had to be the new scapegoats, the rejects, in a world shaped by those who had never freed themselvl-s from temptations to domination, oppression and exploitation. 1S. The sufferings of the Palestinian people and the injustices to which they were subjected went for naught once one had performed the salutary act of contrition. We are at present witnessing a similar situation in Zimbabwe; Namibia and South Africa, in which those who have the rights have to bend before the demands of the usurpers and of those who claim to come from a superior civilization. 16. These are outmoded policies of another era, a time when triumphant colonialists were still able to dominate peoples according to their own interests. It is unthinkable that by devious means and by hollow declarations of principle, such policies should be given any semblance of justification. 17. Is it any surprise, then, that Israel, supported by those who have never rejected their colonial past, should indulge in the luxury of pursuing an even more repressive and backward kind of colonidlism? 18. The acts nf the Zionist authorities affecting the occupied territories ~md the future of their people remind us strangely of the reactions Qf the colonial Powers at the time when the national independence movements were emerging. They wish to control all that ~n be controlled, restrict whatever can be restricted, deny whatever can be denied, and repress whatever can be repressed-all in 19. It remains to be detennined-although we know already-who is encouraging Israel in its policies. What interests are at stake which persuade people to follow the demons of colonialism and latent racism? I think those who have spoken before me have already given the answer: temporal zionism is considered an essential element in the maintenance and promotion of imperialist capital. At any rate, the responsibility is still the same. 20. The Western conscience is apparently salved, according to its own principles-which are not necessarily ours-but to the detriment of a people who for some 50 years has had the misfortune to believe the promises of opportunists. 21. We are disarmed because that is the will of certain Powers. The United Nations is playing little more than a secondary role, despite the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security, which some States, such as Israel, confuse with their own security. 22. The Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, even though it was called for by a majority of States-and not the least among them-cannot be convened by reason of the diktat of a single party. And initiatives to change the appearance of the Palestinian pr~blem are proliferating. 23. The Democratic Republic of Madagascar, for its part, reaffirms the three following principles. 24. First, the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and, as such, has not only the absolute right but also tLe obligation to be the spokesman for the opinions and positions of the Palestinian people. 25. Secondly, the rights of the Palestinian people, as affirmed in United Nations resolutions, are non-negotiable. 26. Thirdly, we recognize that the Palestinians have the right and the duty to reject any solution, whatever its origin, that does not clearly recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establish- ment of their own independent State. 27. So it all boils down to what is called the PalesHnian entity, a conditio sine qua non for seeking a solution to the Middle East problem as a- whole. 28. The matter remains controversial, since it depends upon the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, t9 whom we are so jlttached, as I indicated at the outset of my statement. 29. Although on 13 November 1974 President Yasser Arafat informed the General Assembly ofhis organization's intention to establish a democratic and secular State in Palestine, much has' been done to give different interpreta- tions to that statement to satisfy the requirements of certain alliances; tt. ensure, against all odds, secure and recognized borders for Israel; and to postpone, thereby, the evacuation of the occupied territories. 31. The injustice and absurdity of that idea is so flagrant as not to deserve comment. 32. In conclusion, since we now know that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is subject to the political and constitutional limita- tions imposed upon it, we have the right to demand that all the injustices of which the Palestinian people have been the victim be d'enounced; that their legitimate struggle to free themselves from a neo-colonial situation should be recog- nized; that the so-called concerned Powers and the interests that are really involved should show greater objectivity and understanding; that political, mmtary or partisan plots for which the Palestinians must pay the price should cease; that the necessary balance 1).llOUld be re-established between rights and obligations to guarantee the maintenance of true justice unfettered by the strategic requirements of a world in which freedom is measured in terms of an outmoded ideology; and that the Palestinian people should be given their rightful place so that they may in all dignity recover their freedom. That is the price of true peace and security in the area.

May I ftrst of all express my delegation's gratitude for the efforts of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. That Committee has understood the dimensions of the Palestinian ,problem; indeed, it has declared that the problem is at the heart of the Middle East crisis. We endorse the recommendations the Committee submitted to the General Assembly, which reafftrm, on the one hand, the impossibility of achieving a just and durable peace in the Middle East unless the Palestinian people can exercise their national, inalienable rights to return to their homeland and to enjoy self- determination; and, on the other, the need for the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from all occupied Arab territories, including Holy Jerusalem. My delegation wishes, in this connexion, to commend the efforts of the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Fall, as well as "the contribution made by Mr. Gauci, its Rapporteur, and to thank both of those gentlemen for the very valuable report that they have submitted to us today. 34. The Palestinian people, like all other peoples of the world, have a legitimate and inalienable right to indepen- dence and national sovereignty, and the United Nations has reafftrmed and recognized that right. That afftrmation is not contained solely in General Assembly resolutions of recent years. It goes back over a period of 30 years to when the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (Il) of 29 November 1947, which clearly and unequivocally provides for the right of the Palestinian Arab people to an independent State of Palestine to be established on an area of at least 46 per cent of the Palestine envisaged in the Mandate. But despite this, the fact remains that that 35. Israeli greed has been revealed; the Zionist conspiracy has become even clearer; aggression has been stepped up and we have witnessed further annexation of land and the expulsion of the inhabitants, as well as the destruction of numerous peaceful villages-all this so that Israel may achieve its unlimited expansionist aims in establishing a Jewish State. This has now become evident to the ititer- national community, especially after the leaders of Israel clearly stated that they coveted all of Palestine, and even Territories beyond the boundaries of Mandated Palestine. 36. After four wars of aggression, Israel today occupies 64 per cent of the territory ofPalestine and a large segment of Egyptian and Syrian territory as well. Israel has never concealed its intentions vis-a-vis the occupied Arab terri- tories. It has promptly annexlid Holy Jerusalem and tried to Judaize it, compelling this Organization and other inter- national bodies to adopt· numerous resolutions that de- nounce the legality Qf such expansionist Israeli practices, which are also in contradiction with the Charter of the United Nations and the international agreements applicable to armed conflicts. 37. Instead of complying with the international will, Israel has continued to flout international conventions and resolutions. Israel has continued to establish settlements, expel more Palestinians and imprison many Palestinians without investigation or trial, subjecting them to the most odious means of torture and herding them into concentra- tion camps. Such practices have been condemned by the Commission .on Human Rights and the International Com- mission of Jurists. In a press report published in Wash- ington the day before yesterday" a group of A:,:..;!ican lawyers stated that Israeli violations in occupied Arab territories are aimed at annexing the West Bank and Gaza and linking them with the destiny of Israel. 38. Israeli leaders have themselves admitted that, in order to cany out its criminal expansionist plan, Israel has established 113 settlements since the war of June 1967, and another 51 settlements were established after the October 1973 war. That activity has continued and has extended to areas in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, while today Israel pretends to seek peace. 39. Israel pursues a policy of colonization and of the establishment of settlements in order to Judaize the •occupied territory and eliminate the Palestinian aspect of the Middle East question; the true intentions of Israel with regard to the aspirations of the Palestinian people are best revealed in the statement made by Moshe Dayan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, to The New York Times on 20 June 1978, and I quote: "Arrangements for self-determination in the occupied Arab territories are not transitional but permanent and will not lead to the establishment of a free and independent State of Palestine." 41. The entire international community agrees that the question of Palestine is at the heart of the Middle East problem and that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable and must be respected if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved. This year alone numerous resolutions have emanated from various international organizations and forums reaffirming those principles, including the resolu- tions of the Ninth Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Dak&r in April 1978 {see A/33/151, annex 11. the resolutions of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, held in Khartoum in July t978 {A/33/ 235 and Co".l. annex 11.. and the resolutions of the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Counhies. held in Belgrade in July 1978 {A/33/206, annexIllj. 42. Israel must accept reality and cope with it; it cannot disregard the reality of the Palestinian problem. The right of that people is not inferior to that of any other people as regards freedom and self-determination, because there can be no just, eqUitable and 11:'-sting peace unless the justice of the Palestinian cause is recog01zed. 43. Peace in the Middle East cannot be just if it implies the elimination of the main interested party. We hope that the international conununity and the United Nations wiil implement fully an the relevant resolutions so as to establish peace and justice and avoid the dangers that threaten international peace and security, the dimensions of which we are all aware.

Once more, dUring this session. we are cOl1sidering a question that we all conside1l' to be the greatest injustice of the century: that is, "he question of occupied Palestine and the cause of a peoplr which has been deprived of its r@hts and expelled from its Aand. At the close of each session of the General Assembly we hope that next year, at the next session, new horizons will be opened up and we shall be able to fmd a way out of the impasse, and there will be the necessary forward thrust towards a peaceful solution_ But each time that we meet to discuss this and the results of the previous year's activities we fmd that we are caught in a vicious circle and see that the way forward is definitively blocked. 46. If that were not the case, the Israeli leaders would have long since recognized that the Palestinian question is at the heart of the Middle East problem and they would have realized that one cannot go on living forever on the basis of a fait accompli. 47. At a time when the Middle East has once again become the focal-point of the world's concern and a center of interest to both its supporters and opponents, it may be relevant to reaffirm that real and lasting peace cannot be established in the region unless a just and comprehensive solution is found for the problem of Palestine. The problem of the Middle East is a single whole, inextricably inter- linked, and it cannot be broken down into bilateral contentions between Israel and each Arab country in- dividually. Israel must recognize that fact and accept it. 48. The General Assembly has been affirming this fact since 1974 in various resolutions, particularly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3376 (XXX). Those resolutions were supported by many countries, some of which were hesitant because of the pervasive biased Zionist publicity and because they did not place the conflict in its proper perspective, namely that of colonialist imperialism and the occupation of the territory of others by force. 49. The report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has been submitted by its Chairman, Mr. Fall, who is well.known for his wisdom, objectivity and intellectual honesty. We wish to thank Mr. Fall and all the other members of the Committee for the very valuable work they have done. In its report, the Committee states th~t there is indeed a Palestinian reality, whatever the Israeli authorities may think and however much they might wish to disregard the facts. The Pales- tinian peop1g are not at aU, as the Israeli leaders claim, a "handful of refugees" seeking food for their surviv21. The whole world has recognized that they ~have their own national identity and distinctive personality and they are trying to live in dignity,'"to recover their usurped land and their lawful rights, including the right to self-determination and to establish their independent, sovereign country, free from interference in their internal affairs. 50. There is no need to repeat here that the General Assembly since its thirty-frrst session approved and adopted the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. We are therefore all involved in these recommendations and are responsible for seeing that they are implemented. 52. The United Nations haG a direct historical respon- sibility in this matter. In 1947, it adopted its resolution on the partition of Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine. It is an irony of fate that Israel. the first country to owe its existence to the United Nations, is the only one that continues to reject the resolutions and recommendations, of the General Assembly and the Se- curity Council, although those resolutions are only meant to restore the rights of the rightful owners of the land, Thus Israel defies the most basic principles of humanity and of the entire world conununity. It is time that Israel recog- nized that obstinacy will get it nowhere. 53. The events in the Middle East prove that expansionist policies. the establishment of settlements on the territory of others and the concealment of the real nature of the problem. the oppression of the Palestinian people, t~e refusal to recognize the PLO. will not serve Israel s interests. Four wars have not given-and will not give-Israel stability and security. Four wars have not guaranteed-and will not guarantee-the success of Israel's plans. This myth of secure borders means nothing, no matter what Israel repeatedly says on the matter. for peace cannot be based on oppression. usurpation and aggression• 54. There is no need to recall here that "time is not on the side of peace" in the Middle East. A lot of time has been wasted on destruction. bloodshed and the loss of innocent lives. All this has been a result of Israel's refusal to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. I very much fear the effects of any further delay, for that will mean maintaining the Palestinian people in a state of oppression and the Middle East in a ~tate of tension.which could lead to an explosion at any moment. threatemng the peace and security not only of the region but of the whole world. 55. It is clear that Israel must recognize that although the Palestinian State does not yet exist; for reasons with which we are all familiar. the Palestine people do exist; they are there; they' have been alive and well for centuries. The history of the Palestinian people proves their unshakeable will. Despite all the wars and attempts to eliminate them. they continue to struggle bravely. heroically. to regain their natural and legitimate rights. 56. We hope that the struggle they are conducting today to recover their usurped land will be transferred to the 57. It is high time for our Organization to adopt the position required by existing conditions and compel Israel to respect the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law. in order that there may be a just and lasting peace. They must respe.ct the freedo~ ofall the people in the region and, most particularly•the nghts of the Palestinian people so that that people may live in peace .and dignity. As regards the PLO and Arab ~ount~es in general. they have many times expressed theIr deSire to establish peace and stability and to negotiate on an equal footing to seek a just and lasting solution. They have shown flexibility and understanding of the facts and of the real situation. and they do not seek war and aggression. Their efforts have all been directed towards reconstruction. 58. Political activity should begin with total withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories and the guarantee of all the rights of the Palestinian people. including their ~ight. to return to their homelal\d. the right to self-deternunation and the right to establish their independent State, whi~h should lead us to recognize the right of the PLO to exercise and play to the full its role on the international political scene. This is a principle which Israel-sooner or later- should accept and understand. To refuse that principle means to delay the attainment of peace. Experience has shown that terror, violence and other methods to which recourse has been had to solve this problem have produced no tangible results. It is possible to try to establish a just and lasting peace without recourse to war. We must try therefore to see to it that this question no longer remains at a dead end. 59. We must recognize that this demands a new approach, a fresh impulse, a greater leap forward. But this can only be achieved if there is a general c~nvergence of will and, particularly, if Israel faces the facts. 60. Tunisia respects the principle of flexibility in its approach to this problem. and the. conviction that it is Ollr right and duty to stand at the side of the Palesti."lian and other Arab peoples and support .them in their just and heroic struggle. That is Tunisia's attitude. and .our Minister for Foreign Affairs said this in his statement before the General Assembly on 9 October last [27th meeting]. He confirmed Tunisia's support for the Palestinians and its understanding of the underlying facts of the problem. He confirmed that there could be no peace in the area which was not a general peace. based on the following principles: first. the recognition of the inalienable rights-ef-the Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to establish an inde- pendent State; secondly. participation in peace negotiations by the PLO. the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. on an equal footing with all the other interested parties; and. thirdly, the inadmissibility of the annexation and occupation of territory by force. which means that Israel must withdraw completely and uncondi- tionally from all occupied territories. 61. Such is our vision of a just and lasting peace; such is our vision of a peace that would be to the detriment of no party.

For the delegation of Guyana it was very appropriatc that the General Assembly should have resumed, in 1974, substantive consideration of the question of Palestine. In taking such a step, the Assembly gave recognition that was long overdue to the fact that it had to address itself directly to the issue of Palestine if any meaningful progress towards a fmal Middle East settlemc'ilt were to be made. An important and timely shift in perspective had therefore been made in relation to the previous approach of the Assembly-of viewing the Paiestinian question as the human righ~s aspect of the Middle East question rather than as the political core of the question. 65. This correct analysis of the Middle East question created the right conditions under which the Assembly could take such initiatives as would facilitate the search for a lasting peace in the Middle East. In this regard, a significant development was the establishment by the Assembly in 1975 of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. This Com- mittee was assigned the responsibility of drafting a pro- gramme of implementation that would enable the Pales· tinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self· determination without external interfer,ence, the right to national independence and sovereignty and to return to their homes and property from which they had been driven. 66. Two years ago the Committee submitted recom· mendations providing for an Israeli withdr.lwal from the occupied territories·by 1 June 1977, and a phased plan for the return of Pakstinians to their homes [see A/33/35, annexj. The recommendations laid down a positive pro- gramme of action and were based on United Nations resolutions, thus providing the Organization with I.•• oppor- tunity of making real progress towards the elusive goal of an over-all Middle East peace settlement. Regrettably, although those recommendations had been endorsed by the General Assembly, as they were again last year, opposition in the Security Council has stalled their implementation. The Committee has, in its report this year, resubmitted its recommendations, justifiably describing their solidity as "undiminished by the passage of time" [A/33/35, para. 55J My delegation shares this point of view. We also agree with the Committee's position that: "events over the past year have again i.'1dicated the urgency of a solution" [ibidj and that, had a start been made on the implementa- tion of the recommendations, conflict in the area might have been avoided. 67. My .delegation wishes to pay a tnDute to the Com- mittee on the excellent work it has been doing under the wise and dedicated chairmanship ofAmbassador Falt1t has played .an important role in focusing the attention of the 68. Two days ago this Organization held for the first time a special meeting to commemorate the International Day ot Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On that occasion we paid a tribute to the courage, steadfastness and resilience of the people who, despite years of indifference and neglect, are now recognized as a principal party in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It was fitting, then, that my Foreign Minister should underline the centrality of the Palestinians to efforts for the achievement of such a settlement when, in his message to the Com- mittee, he said: "Over the years, Guyana has consistently maintained that at the heart of any search for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the complex Middle East situation lies the Palestinian question: i.e., the recovery by the Palestinians of their inalienable national rights." 69. While we recognize the central role of the Palestinians in the search for a Middle East peace, we must once more mention that they are only part of the prescription that enjoys almost universal recognition as the basis for a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement. This pre- scription consists of three principles, which were reiterated by my Foreign Minister in his address to this Assembly on 5 October last. They are: '- "... Israeli withdrawal from all Arab lands occupied since 5 June 1967; the restoration of the national rights of ... the Palestinian people, including their right to a home- land; and the right of all States in the area to Jive within mutually recoenized boundaries." [23rd meeting, para. 191.1 70. But these principles will be of no. value in tenns of ushering in an era of lasting peace and stability in the area Wlless they are strictly and scrupulously observed by all concerned, and in this context a'special responsibility rests with Israel, which this Assembly has condemned on so many occasions for its continued disregard of the purposes and principles of the Charter and of the provisions of Assembly resolutions'having as their aim the establishment of a secure peace based on the principles just expounded- among them, I repeat for emphasis, the restoralion of the national rights of the. Pal~stinian people, including their right to a homeland. 71. The Special Political Committee has recently con- cluded consideration of two very important aspects of the Middle Eastquestion which bear directly upon the question of Palestine: UNRWA and the -report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Terri- tories [A/33/3561. These deb&tes have served to draw attention once again' to the intransigent obstructionist attitude on the part of the Israeli authorities and to reaffIrm the concern which the international community feels at the consequent endangering of the chances of peace in the region. 73. My delegation would like to reiterate our continuing support for the people of Palestine under the leadership of their authentic repre~ntative, the PLO, in their just struggle for the recovery of their national rights. We expect that whatever decision results from these deliberations will maintain the people of Pales~ine in the very forefront of our preoccupation and draw us that much closer to the peace which we aB long for in that region. As has been observed on so many occasions, time is not on the side of peace in the Middle East.

The Palestine problem, which in our view is the core of the Middle East issue, was inherited by our Organization as early as 1947, that is to say., during the first years of the existence of this Organization, through the adoption of General Assembly resolution 181 (11), which sought the creation of two States in Palestine. 75. Since then, the tragic plight of t~.e valiant people of Palestine has endured, on the one hand, and their resolute efforts to achieve self-determination have continued for more than 30 years, on the other. The Palestinianproblem, in spite.of the many important developments towards the international recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, still remains an incessant source of suffering and. wrongs. There ~an certainly be no durable peace in the Middle East without justice, and justice requires the recog.,ition and exercise of the national rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self- determination and to establish a State of their own. 76. After many years, during which the issue of Palestine was considered exclusively within the context of a refugee problem, its basic political dimension has fmally been admitted and defmed in various resolutions by the General 77. General Assembly resolution 3236 (XXIX) is of historic importance in this regard. This resolution, while confirming the rights of the Palestinian people to self- determination and to return to their homes, emphasizes at the same time that the Palestinian people are one of the main parties·directly concerned in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The General Assembly elaborated further on this question and, in its resolution 3375 (XXX), decided to invite the PLO, as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, to participate in all international efforts relating to the Middle East on an equal footing with the other parties concerned. Turkey supported these resolutions. Our support in this regard has been based on the universal recognition of the right to self-determination and on our respect for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. 78. With a view to translating jnto action the provisions of those resolutions and in order to draw up a programme for the implementation of the Palestinian rights enumerated in General Assembly resolution 3236 (XXIX), the General Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Turkey is pleased to be a constituent member ofthat Committee and to contribute to the valuable efforts undertaken by it to ensure the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. That Committee has already recom- mended a programmes which was endorsed by the General Assembly in 1976 and 1977 during its last two regular sessions. 79. In spite of the difficulties encountered in the imple- mentation of the Committee's recommendations, already_ endorsed by the General Assembly, we believe that those recommendations have made a significant impact in focus- ing attention on the necessity of a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. It was in this context that the General Assembly decided last year, by its re~olution 32/40 B, on a programme for the observance, fer the first time, of an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which we commemorated only a few days ago at a solemn meeting of the Committee: This occasion pr.ovided another opportunity for focusing the attention of the international community on the in~lienable rights of th~ Palestinian people and giving the widest possible publicity to the facts relating to those rights. This occasion also provided further evidence of the reaffirmation of international recognition of the fact that the Palestinian problem is indeed the essence of the Middle East question and that the solution of One without the solution of the other is not possible. 80. As has been stated on several preVious occasions in different organs of this Organization by the Turkish delegation, and as was also declared in the me~age addressed by my Foreign Minister, Mr. Ok~iin, to the Chairman of the Committee, Turkey frrmly believes that a just and lasting settlement of the Middle East question can be found only by taking into consideration the legitimate rights of the Palestinian Arab people, including, I repeat, their right to decide their own future and to have their own homeland. 82. I should also like to add here. however. that a constructive conclusion of the debate on this question in the General Assembly should constitute an important contrib~tion to the search for a comprehensive soluticil io the Middle East problem. 83. The Turkish Government's view regarding the prin- ciples and fundamentals of a just and lasting solution in the Middle East has been most recently expressed by my Minister for Foreign Affairs in his statement at a plenary meeting of the present session of the General Assembly [19th meeting}. I should like to conclude my remarks on this question by repeating those principles once again. 84. In our view. a political settlement in the Middle East should·be based on the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. It must end the occupation of all Arab territorie!l. including Jerusalem, which Israel has maintained since 1967. It must take into account the legitimate and inalienable national rights of the Palestinians. including their right to establish a State of their own. It .must safeguard the independence. sovereignty and security of the recognized frontiers of all the countries in the region. Furthermore, the PLO. the only legitimate representative of the people of Palestine. must participate. on a~l equal footing with the other parties concerned, in any negotiations for a just and lasting settlement in the Mi~dle East. Turkey will continue to support and welcome any peace initiative which conforms to the foregoing principles. 8S. Mr. S'fEPHANIDES (Cyprus): Addressing the Ceneral Assembly on 5 October 1978. the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Mt. SWros Kyprianou, stated in regard to the problems ofthe Middle East and Palestine the followin.g: "With regard to the very sensitive region of the Middle East, we reiterate our rum support for the objective ofa just and lasting settlement of all aspects of the Middle East conflict within the framework of the relevant United Nations. resolutions. The Palestine Liberation Organi- zation should fully participate in the efforts aimed at a solution based on the United Nations resolutions and on the establishment of a Palestinianhomeland. as well as on recopition ofthe rights oiall States in the region to exist in peace and within recognized boundaries." [22nd meeting, ptI7tI. 26./ Mr. Lihano (Colombia) took the Chair. 86. On 29 November, in a message to the Secretary- Genenl of our Orpnization. the President ofCyprus stated the fonowing: 87. The Assembly has before it the report of the Com- mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. As one of its members Cyprus fully supports the Committee's recommendations. I take this opportunity to add a word of praise for the Chairman of the Committee. the representative of Senegal, Mr. Fall. for the outstanding leadership he continues to provide in the Committee. 88. The sad history of the question of Palestine is well known to everybody in this Assembly, therefore I need not deal with this aspect of the problem. I would_omy add that. on the basis of the historical record, the conclusion is inescapably drawn, as the representative of India has already stated earlier in this debate, that: "... until the goal of independence is achieved. the United Nations remains the trustee of the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determj· nation and to a nation-State of their own." [62nd meeting, para. 107./ 89. Today. despite repeated United Nations resolutions. the situation on the ground continues to be one of illegal occupation of Arab lands, with the uprooted Palestinian refugees stjJl prevented from returning to their ancestral homes and lands occupied since the 1967 war and from exercising their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. 90. Furthermore, we are witnessing in the occupied Arab lands the practice, in contemptuous- disregard of the relevant United Nations resolutions, of a policy of establish- ing illegal settlements as abhorrent in its contravention of international law as that practised by the aggressDr in the invaded areas of my country. It is a sinister pursuit aimed at changing by force the age-old demographic composition of the occupied areas. . 91. That is the situation, and the immediate question arising is this: under international law and the norms of the Charter of this. Organization. could the passage of time make the continuing occupation of somebody else's land less objectionable? If the answer is in th2 affirmative. it would seem to me that we would then immediately contravene ~d negate the C~rter and the principles on which the whole edifice of this Organization is fonnded. If the reply is in the negative. then; again, it would :ieem to me that we-and in particular the Security Council-will have no justification for any more toierance or reluctance to act expeditiously with a view to putting an end to such illegal occupation and the practices as I have just re- ferred to. 92. There can be no doubt that the interests of all members of the Security Council, indeed of all States 93. Before concluding, I wish to associate my delepation with the remarks of the Rapporteur of the Comrr_... ~e on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Pa.)stinian People, Mr. Gauci, to the effect tJ1at "... unless the rights of the Palestinian people are safeguarded, permanent peace and security for all States and peoples in the Middle East will not be achieved." [59th meeting, para. 70./ 94. It is our fervent hope that this year effective action will be taken towards a just solution of the Palestinian problem in the interests of advancing the cause of inter- national peace and security.

Is it a coincidence that the debate of the policy of apartheid of f !~! South Afric~n Govern- ment has been followed by a debate on the question of Palestine? For my delegation, this fact is quit~ significant a:1d not at all fortuitous. The question of apartheid like that of Palestine reveals the timelessness of resistan~, of the noble and sacred struggle of peoples deprived of their inalienable rights, among them those to existence and to homeland, waged throughout history and all over the world against oppressors up to the day of fmal 'tictory and the recovery of their dignity. 96. In both cases brotherhood in oppression, strong because of the same complicities, is constantly being strengthened, made more specific, developing in the eco- nomic, military and nuclear fields, and expressing itself with the same arrogance and scorn about United Nations resolutions. 97. Again in both cases the situation results from the tensions in the region which constitute a grave threat to international peace and security. .- 98. The question of Palestine now before the General Assembly, together with that of apartheid, is one of those questions which have so preoccupied the United Nations since 1947 as to give rise to searching questions as to the capacity of the United Nations to fulfIl the great hopes which its creation aroused in all peoples struggling against all forms of domination and oppression. 99. For more than 30 years the decolonization process in southern Africa has been blocked by the action of certain interests that confirm the racists of Pretoria in their misguided stubbornness. Despite a few break-throughs the same is true of the situation in the Middle East, which is also blocked for virtually the same reasons. 100. There is nothing more impressive than the number of debates which the General Assembly and the Security Council have devoted to this question and there is nothing more impressive than the number of decisions and resolu- tions adopted outlining, sketches of partial or global 101. As we know, this question goes back a long way. On the other hand, what is new and most important politically is the readjustment in the thinking and the conduct of Governments in respect of the current approach to the problems involved in bringing peace to the Middle East. The General Assembly took a wise and realistic decision to place that problem not on the periphery but at the very heart of any process aimed at establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. . 102. It is high time for that readjustment, and it is understandably surpriSing that this was not realized earlier, as it would have made the debate a lot more illuminating as the question of Palestine is at the root of the very dangerous situation that has prevailed in the Middle East for over 30 years and that underlies the conflagrations that exist there. . 103. It is with great interest, therefore, that my delegation studied the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palesti~ianPeople, so well chaired by my coJ}eague and friend, M(doune Fall, the ambassador of Senegal. I should like to take this opportunity to expm~c; my admiration for the competence and devotioll with which he has dischaIJged his very delicate and reSponsible duties. 104. This report, published in document A/33/35 and Corr.l/Rev.l is a realistic, balanced and cle¥ document because, with a view to the settlement of the problem of Palestine, it lists all the elements for a just and peaceful and hence lasting settlement ofthe Middle East problem. 105. I should like to emphasize that the activities and recommendations of the Committee contained in its report are very relevant and germane and are in full accord with the te:ms of reference of the Committee as laid down in General Assembly resolution 3376 (XXX) of 10 November 1975 and resolution 32/40 A dated 2 December 1977. We believe that the General Assembly should approve this document, thus encouraging the Committee to forge ahead in the mission entrusted to it; to act in such a way that the people of Palestine may fmally exercise all their inalir-nable rights. 106. As I said earlier, the question before the AssembliY_is a long-standing one. The position of Cameroon in this regard is well known as it has been stated on numerous occasions from this rostrum and in other international forums. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, Mr. Jean Keutcha, stated the following: "The Palestinian problem' is the very core of the Israeli-Arab conflict and, in addition to the complete implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the solution of that problem implies the participation in all negotiations on the subject of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, their genuine representative, and the exercise of all their rights, including their right to a homeland." [18th meeting, para. 172./ 108. That also implies the effective participation of the PLO as a directly interested party in Ciny process for the peaceful ~tt1;ament ofthe Middle East problem. 109. Cameroon holds that such a settlement must incor- porate all these cardinal principles if an era of peace and co-operation is to reign in that region, which in the space of less than three decades has been beset by three most deadly and devastating wars. HO. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): I call now on the representative of the PLO, who wishes to speak in response to some of the statements made here. Ill. Mr. AQL (Palestine Liberation Organization): My delp.gation feels authorized by the overwhehning majority of this august body, which was subjected yesterday to a harangue by the Israeli;representative, to say a few words. 112. Usurping this platform to pose as a lecturer in international morality, the Israeli representative had both the audacity and the temerity to pass on the dictum of a Zionist, racist credo to this Assembly and its Members, both individually and collectively. That dictum did not condemn any particular resolution advpted by this As- sembly, or any specific aspect of its work: it rather encompassed the totality of the Assembly's work. its resolutions and recommendations and even the modalities·it has so far adopted on the Palestine problem. 113. A State like the State of Israel. which was founded on violence, and continues to live by violence, cannot by its nature bring itself to come to terms with the international consensus on the Palestine problem as expressed and reaffirmed by the General Assembly. It is therefore only natural that the Israeli representative should defy and even try to distort the work of this august body. although the State he represents, whatever legitimacy it claims. was created by a resolution of this same bo'dy. 115. However, what is comforting in this regard is that the heroic struggle of our freedom fighters is having a telling effect on our Zionist adversaries, similar to the effect that all liberation movements ha,ve had on colonial occupation and racist Powers. 116. As for the statement of the United States represen- tative {65th meeting]. my delegation would like to make the following observations: Hrst, there was nothing new that one could discern in that statement. except for a rhetorical acknowledgement of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The attempt to circumvent the cen- trality of the Palestine problem and the representativeness of the PLO is an exercise in futility. Secondly, the statement adopted the Israeli view that the deliberations and resolutions of this Assembly are ideological and emotional. United States policy, therefore, continues to ignore the basi~ on which a just setHement of the Palestine problem could be reached, disregarding the wishes and resolutions of the overwhelming majority of this Assembly. Thirdly. the United States position on the Palestine problem continues to emanate from a strict adherence, in letter and spirit. to the annexes to the second Sinai Agreement,2 whereby the United States Government undertook to co-ordinate its policies on the Palestine problem with the Israeli Government, thus enabling the Israelis to exercise a veto power in this respect. Fourthly, although there has been no change in the antagonistic American attitude towards our inalienable rights, which this Assembly upholds and recognizes. we admit there has been a noticeable improvement in the drafting of the United States position. Simultaneously, the PLO. as well as the large majority in this haH, has improved its detecting abilities which will protect us from the edphoria. the sloganeering and the false hopes which the United States Government promises to fulfil.