A/35/PV.89 General Assembly

We shall now consider the report of the Fifth Committee on agenda item 95, on the Joint Inspection Unit [A/35/723]. 14. The Assembly will take. a decision on the draft decision recommended by the Committee in para- graph 5 of that report. The Committee adopted the draft decision without objection. May I consider that the General Assembly also adopts it without objection?

The General Assembly will now consider the report of the Fifth Committee on agenda item 101 (b), concerning the financing of UNIFIL [A/35/667/Add./]. 16. The Assembly will take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended by the Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. First I put to the vote draft resolution A. A recorded vote has been requested.

As a result of consultations, including consultations with the President of the Economic and Social Council and with the Secretary- General in his capacity as Chairman of the Admin- istrative Committee on Co-ordination, I submit to the Ge.neral Assembly the following candidates for ap- pointment as members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term beginning on I January 1981: Mr. Moustapha Ould Khalifa (Mauritania) and Mr. Mil- jenko Vukovic (Yugoslavia). May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to appoint those candidates? It was so decided (decision 35/317). J The delegations of Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Egypt Fiji, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Qatar, Sierra Leone and Uruguay SUbsequently advised the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour of the draft resolution. • Resumed from the ,;Ath meeting.

I call upon the representative of Mexico who will introduce the draft resolution on agenda item 20. 20. Miss CABRERA (Mexico) [interpretation from Spanish]: The delegation of Mexico has the honour of introducing on behalf of Bulgaria, Honduras, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Thailand Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania and on its ow~ behalf draft resolution A/35/L.30/Rev.1 and Add. 1 on the Third United Nations Conference on the La~ of the Sea. 21. The progress achieved at the ninth session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which took place in July and August of this year is recorded in document A/CONF.62/WP.I0/Rev.3 of 22 September 1980. The efforts that were made at that session and the very clear political will that was dis- played by various groups of interest made it possible to reach agreement on difficulties that in the past appeared to be virtually insurmountable. For that reason the Conference now has before it a draft Con- vention, and it is nearing the final stages of its work. It is now necessary to preserve that political will and to redouble our efforts in order to achieve the goal we all so ardently desire. ?2. The draft resolution is a procedural one. It is intended to approve the convening of the tenth ses- sion of the Conference and the holding of an inter- sessional meeting of the Drafting Committee on the basis of the recommendations of the Conference concerning the dates of the session, its length and venue. Operative paragraphs 2 and 3 apply in this respect. 23. The Group of 77, as previously, will meet three days ~efore the tenth session opens. Therefore, in operative paragraph 4 of the draft resolution we r~commend that the Secretary-General should pro- Vide the necessary facilities for meetings of that Group as well as for those of other groups which may desire to have informal consultations. 24. In operative paragraph 5, the Assembly requests the Secretary-General to prepare a study identifying the future functions of the Secretary-General under the draft convention and the needs of countries, especially developing countries, for information advice and assistance under the new legal regime: that study to be submitted to the tenth session of the Conference. As this paragraph indicates, the study in question, the purpose of which is to provide the Con- ference with relevant information, will have to be considered by the Conference itself, and the Con- ference will take any decision it deems fit on the basis of the information that study contains. 25. In operative paragraph 6 the Assembly sug- gests to the Secretary-General that special efforts be made to promote the widest possible public awareness of the achievements of the Conference. This is of extreme importance in view of the progress that has been achieved and the possible adoption in the near future of the draft Convention.

Let me begin by expressing the deep sorrow and grief of my delegation at the passing of the President of the Conference on the Law of the Sea. His leadership was outstanding, and his presence will be deeply missed as we near the end of the Conference. 31. It is a source of great satisfaction to my delega- tion that the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, has, after many years of intensive negotia- tions, entered into its final and decisive stage. Never before has the international community been so close to the completion of such an elaborate and many- sided piece of international legislation. In this respect I should like to observe that it is of great importance that the concept ofthe "common heritage ofmankind" with respect to the exploration and exploitation of the deep sea-bed has been embedded in a clear way, albeit not in the best possible way, in the draft con- vention. 32. A few thorny questions remain to be solved at the tenth session of the Conference, next year. As in the past, the Netherlands is prepared to co-operate in a constructive manner in the search for generally acceptable solutions in order that the convention on the law of the sea may be signed in Caracas in the autumn of next year. 1 1 33. But we should not focus our attention only on the completion of the negotiations and the adoption of the text of the convention. At this time it would seem wise to start preparations for the period between 1 1 J1

I now put to the vote the draft resolution as just amended. The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial implications of this text is contained in document A/35/718, and Members will have discovered from

Let me suggest at the outset that there is no need for us to go back into the far reaches of antiquity in the history of the Middle East to understand why that troubled area has expe- borders. By force of arms it has conquered and oc- cupied one Arab territory after another; and to add arrogance to defiance, it has spread Jewish settle- ments in those conquered territories and by so doing has shown nothing but bad faith. 77. And yet cynics will argue that peace in the Middle East does not hinge on the resolution of the Arab- Israeli conflict. They will tell us that even if Israel were to agree to the creation of a Palestinian State, 80. No, we want Israel to exist in peace with its neighbours; but for peace to prevail in the area Israel will have to rise above the ethnocentric politics of exclusivism and accept that its own future and secu- rity in the Middle East lie not in the monolithic ideology of zionism but in the recognition and acceptance of the aspirations of the Palestinian people. 81. The choice for Israel is, in our view, between the perpetuation of a state of conflict in the Middle East and the creation of a Palestinian State in the area, a State which will have to commit itself to peace- tul coexistence with Israel, just as Israel would have to commit itself to peaceful coexistence with that State. The Camp David peace accord might have been a step in the right direction, but so far it has left the Palestinian question virtually untouched. It is clear that the Palestinian people are not interested in half- solutions to their problem. They want a home of their own and they want to exercise their right to self- determination, not as an appendage of another State, but in a State of their own in which they will be able to decide their own future in peace and freedom. 82. The people of Israel are reputed to have an acute sense of history. The sad memories of their recent past could not have vanished so quickly. Is it not the Jewish people that, like the African people, 90. The imperialists have tried to infiltrate the area and consolidate their bases. They plan to create instability and tension in the area, to maintain and consolidate an imperialist presence and infiltrate the Middle East in new ways and by new means. The imperialists have encouraged Israel's militaristic and aggressive tendencies by arranging for the Camp David agreements and increasing the United Sate military presence by sending in aircraft carriers "\ establishing an espionage network. The United [ has recently carried out military manoeuvres, e couraged wars and set peoples against one another. It has escalated the conflict in southern Lebanon and encouraged the separatist tendencies in Lebanon, violating its unity, sovereignty and Arab character. Furthermore, the imperialists and their leader, the United States, are trying to exploit the problems between Iran and Iraq. The United States has created hotbeds of tension, threatening the peace and stability of those two countries and in the entire world. 91. In my country we have complete faith in the struggle of our people against the dangers of zionism and reaction. That struggle is part of the world-wide struggle for peace. We are convinced that, with their will and determination, the peoples of the world will be able to cope with the imperialist forces. We are convinced that the Palestinian people will win a final victory over racism, occupation and Zionist expan- sionism and against the plot that goes by the name of "autonomy", as well as other forms of collusion. 92. In conclusion. while we support the efforts of the United Nations and the non-aligned countries to reduce tension, support the just cause of the Pales- ~89], that being the general setting, it is not difficult to understand the added complexities surrounding the problems in the region. Some recent developments have aggravated the tension and instability already existing in the area, thus causing the attention of the whole world to be focused still more intensely on the Middle East. Parallel to those developments, the situation in the Middle East has considerably de- teriorated over the year under review as the con- tinued policies and practices of Israel have increasingly darkened the prospects for peace and stability. 102. In his annual report on the work ofthe Organiza- tion [A/35/l], the Secretary-General has also under- scored this grim reality by devoting a full chapter to the Middle East problem and emphasizing that the situation in the Middle East "continues to dominate the affairs of the international community and remains central to the political and economic stability of the world" [see A/35//, sect. IV]. Furthermore, it cer- tainly is no coincidence that the international com- munity has been constantly occupied by a series of Security Council meetings dealing with one or another aspect of the Middle East question as well as by the seventh emergency special session of the Assembly, on the question of Palestine-once again, all in the course of the year under review. 103. My Government's position, as has been stated on several previous occasions in several different organs of the Organization-the last of which being only a few days ago, on 3 December-remains un-

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item. The representative of Israel wishes to speak in exercise of the right of reply. I call upon him.

In my remarks at the opening of this debate [86th meeting], I addressed myself to the real dimensions of the manifold conflicts throughout the Middle East and to their implications for international peace and security. I pointed briefly to a number of the most serious trouble-spots, in- cluding the war in the Persian Gulf between Iraq and Iran, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the mili- tary stand-offbetween Syria and Jordan, the disruptive effects of domestic instability on the external behaviour of States in the region, the destabilizing effect of a certain super-Power seeking to advance its impe- rialistic aims in the region, and the reckless conduct of Arab petro-hegemonists who parlay their oil wealth for arms, which in turn are used against other States both within the region and beyond it. I also observed that there could be no serious discussion of the Middle East without consideration of those aspects, and invited the Assembly to rise to the occasion instead of letting this debate become another pretext for another concerted attack on my country. 112. The ensuing deliberations were dominated by speakers who, in a grotesque manner, deliberately ignored the situation in the Middle East in its full and proper sense. In fact, we were treated to a parody of a debate on the subject so frivolous that it scarcely merits a response. 113. My own remarks were immediately followed by a representative who apparently saw fit simply to recite the summary of his country's statement in the debate held last week on the question of the Pales- tinian Arabs. And that, with minor changes of nuance and emphasis, was the way it was throughout virtually the whole of the present debate. All the real problems of the Middle East were simply shoved under the carpet, or, if I may change my metaphor, were left as inconvenient and embarrassing skeletons in the closet. 114. There is, however, one aspect of this debate that I must address myself to, and that is the crudely anti- Semitic tone which pervaded a number of the state- ments made. The crudest anti-Semitic slanders were uttered by the representative of the Palestinian Arab State of Jordan. This of course is by no means the first time that Mr. Nuseibeh has revealed his warped mentality and embarrassed the Assembly by drawing almost word for word from such notoriously anti- Semitic works as the so-calledProtocols ofthe Learned 118. I have warned of the danger of the Organiza- tion's becoming a world centre for anti-Sernitism on a number ofoccasions, most recently at the 64th meeting of the Third Committee, on 21 November of this year. Nowadays, it is fashionable to avoid direct attacks on Jews and the Jewish people. Instead, anti-Sernites now attack zionism and Zionists. In the Organiza- tion, a new code word-anti-zionism-has gained currency. But anti-Semites throughout the world understand its meaning full well, and the attempt in the Organization to bestow respectability upon "anti- zionism" has in practice only encouraged anti- Semitism in various parts of the world, including the so-called enlightened countries, as the events of the last few years-indeed, months-have clearly shown. 119. There used to be a time when some repre- sentatives here claimed that they were not anti-Jewish, but merely anti-Zionist. That cover has long been blown by the statements of the Nuseibehs and their ilk-to the lasting shame of the Organization.

It is my understanding, on the basis of consultations with all concerned, that,

We shall now resume our consideration of agenda item 24, relating to the ques- tion of Palestine. Members will recall that the debate on this item was concluded at the 80th plenary meeting. There are five draft resolutions which have been submitted under this item, namely, A/35/L.38 to A/35/L.42. 123. I call on the representative of Senegal, who wishes to introduce these draft resolutions. 124. Mr. SARRE (Senegal) [interpretation from French]: I should like, on behalf of the sponsors, to introduce the draft resolutions contained in docu- ments A/35/L.38 to A/35/L.42. 125. Draft resolution A/35/L.38 deals with the substance of the Palestine question. It is in all respects a follow-up to Assembly resolution ES-7/2. The preamble reaffirms the basic resolutions on the ques- tion of Palestine, including resolutions 181 (11) and 194 (Ill) which, as members are all aware, are fun- damental texts on the question of Palestine. The sponsors feel that they are completely valid and of great usefulness in the search for a solution to the question of Palestine. In the operative part of this draft resolution the Assembly expresses its concern that no solution to the problem of Palestine has been achieved and reaffirms the fact that the solution of this problem will require, inter alia, the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. It also reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and endorses the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights ofthe Palestinian People. The draft resolution condemns Israel for its non-compliance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution ES-7/2 and requests the Security Council to convene in order to consider the situation and the adoption of effective measures under Chapter VII of the Charter. The sponsors were led to recommend this provision in view of the impasse in the Council regarding the implementation of the rights of the Palestinian people. * Resumed from the 80th meeting. 127. Draft resolution A/34/L.40 deals withthe work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. It expresses the appreciation of the Assembly to the Committee for its remarkable and fruitful efforts and authorizes it to continue all efforts to promote the rights of the Pales- tinian people, in full conformity with the Charter of the United Nations. The sponsors believe that the Committee has demonstrated its usefulness to every- one, and as long as its purposes have not been achieved the Committee's mandate should be renewed. 128. Draft resolution A/35/L.41 refers to the ac- tivities of the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights. It requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Special Unit continues to discharge the tasks detailed in General Assembly resolutions 32/40 Band 34/65 D. The Special Unit, which has worked with dedication in assisug the Committee in its task, should, in the opinion of the sponsors, continue its mission. Con- trary to certain criticisms, the Special Unit has done very useful and serious work, which has afforded a large sector of world public opinion a broader aware- ness of the question of Palestine. 129. Draft resolution A/35/L.42 deals with the city of Jerusalem. The international community as a whole rejected the enactment by Israel of the basic law on Jerusalem and in that regard the Security Council has adopted resolutions 465 (1980), 476 (1980) and 478 (1980) censuring Israeli action in the occupied terri- tories, including Jerusalem. The draft resolution reaffirms the resolutions previously adopted by the Security Council and also affirms that the enactment of the basic law by Israel constitutes a violation of international law. In operative paragraph 3, the Assembly declares that legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of Jerusalem are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith. It should be recalled on this occasion that the international status of Jerusalem is defined in reso- lution 181 (11), which declares the Holy City a corpus separatum . If it has not been possible to apply that status, it is because of the attitude of Israel since 1967, 130. As members will have noticed, all these draft resolutions are in conformity with the spirit of the Charter and the pertinent resolutions of the Orga- nization on this matter. Their purpose is to restore peace and stability to that region. That is why the sponsors feel that their adoption would mark an important step in the search for ajust, comprehensive and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.

I call on the representative of Malta, who wishes to introduce an amendment to draft resolution A/35/L.38.

Several delegations have made representations to me, as Rapporteur of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, with regard to some of the provisions of the draft resolution on the question of Palestine, which has just been so ably introduced by the representative of Senegal. These observations relate in particular to operative paragraph 1 of draft resolution A/35/L.38. 133. It is felt that that paragraph requires some further clarification. I realize that time is pressing and that this is a delicate matter, but I feel that the sense and purport of that paragraph would be clarified further if after the words "22 November 1967" we were to replace the present text by the following: "does not provide for the future and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, the attainment of which is the essential prerequisite for a just solution of the question of Palestine" . I have taken the liberty of giving the text to the sec- retariat. 134. I have the text of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) before me and, without diminishing its importance, its value, its timeliness and its relevance, I believe it is clear and generally recognized that in fact it does not provide adequately for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. In that sense, there- fore, the addition that I am proposing is justified and puts matters in their proper perspective. 135. I consequently trust that the sponsors of the draft resolution and the members of the Assembly may be disposed to consider favourably the amend- ment that I have proposed, and in these circumstances it would perhaps be useful to consider a postponement of the vote in order to allow for the necessary con- sultations to take place and for delegations to receive the necessary instructions in time. 136. I believe that on the question of Palestine it is essential that the quasi-unanin.ous consensus on the rights of the Palestinian people should be adequately reflected in the vote this year.

The representative of Malta has introduced an amendment to operative