A/39/PV.94 General Assembly

In previous years, the General Assembly has taken note of the report of the Secre- tary-General on the work of the Organization. This document has been referred to with great interest on several occasions in the course of this session. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the Assembly wishes to take note of the report of the Secretary- General [A/39/1]. It was so decided (decision 391413).

May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the report of the International Court of Justice covering the period from 1 August 1983 to 31 July 1984 [A/39/4J? It was so decided (decision 39/414).

I call on Mr. Said Kafe Madi Soilihi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-opera- tion of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, to introduce draft resolution A/39/L.42. 4. Mr. Said Kafe MADI SOILIHI (Comoros) (inter- pretationfrom French): The Assembly is meeting here to discuss for the ninth consecutive year this painful problem which is a matter ofconcern not only to the people and Government of the Comoros but also to the international community as a whole. I refer to the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte. 5. Every time the Assembly has had to consider this question we have tried to show, by citing specific facts, how this problem, which arose because of an injustice and a flagrant violation of both internation- al law and internal French law, had been trumped up by rather subtle procedures in order to destroy the unity of our country and preserve special interests. Tuesday, 11 December 1984, at 11.05 a.m. NEW YORK 6. I should like to describe the situation once again to the Assembly and provide it with some points of information to shed some light on this debate. 7. In this Assembly and in all other international and regional organizations in which this matter has been discussed, we have always stated that Mayotte is, and cannot but be, Comorian land. France, during its 130 years in the Comoros, never questioned or challenged the unity of the Comorian archipelago; in fact, it did the opposite. 8. Basing themselves on history, successive French Governments, on many occasions, emphasized the need to respect the territorial unity of a country whose homogeneous people share the same language, the same culture and the same religion-something which is quite rare. Thus, this unity is not, as some would try to claim, based on artificial grounds or administrative convenience. Rather, this unity de- rives from the common history of the sister islands that make up the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros: the islands of Anjouan, Grande-Comore, Mayotte and Moheli. 9. It is therefore clear that all French laws and administrative arrangements adopted during the co- lonial period recognized the unity of the Comorian archipelago. The French law of 9 May 1946, to begin only with that one, states that the archipelago is "a territory enjoying administrative and financial au- tonomy"; and in its explanatory statement it indi- cates clearly: "it is the Muslim religion which gives the archipelago its strong unity, reinforced by a single language, Swahili". 1O. The legislators would not have proceeded in such a way unless nature had bequeathed to us this unity, which was thus reaffirmed and consolidated by the law which granted internal autonomy to the Comorian archipelago on 3 January 1968. 11. When France was led to recognize the desire of the Cornoros for independence, agreements were signed in Paris on 15 June 1973 between representa- tives of the French Government and representatives of the local government of the Comoros. Those agreements provided, among other things, that a referendum would be organized in the Comoros and that, if the majority of the population made a choice in favour of independence, the overall results, for aIL of the four islands as a whole, would have the effect that the Chamber of Deputies on that date would be granted the powers ofa constituent assembly, and the President of the local Government Council would be granted the competence and prerogatives of Head of State. 12. That provision faithfully reflects the emphasis placed on the undeniable unity of our archipelago on the eve of its self-determination, and it was support- ed by solemn statements made by the highest French authorities at the time. 27 L . national territory. , et me recall here that at the time when our ' ,. . c0l;lntry was being subjected to this injustice, several 32. ~s we have alread);' said, .It IS.not a question of voices were heard in France strongly condemning reversmg the roles, m this specific ~ase of concern to these actions and protesting against them. For exam- us. We are not asking for !he addition to our country pIe, the deputies of the French Socialist Party in the of ,?ne part of French tc::rntory; rather;. we are simply opposition a! the time, submitted to the C~nstitu- asking for the restitution of part of o~r national tional Council of their country on 13 December 1975 ternt?ry under the sacred law .of the m violability of an application condemning. the law relating to the frontiers inherited ,fro~ the tImes. of colonization, ~onsequencesofself-determination for the Comorian 33: As we have said time and again, the solution to Islands. They quite rightly expressed the opinion that this problem IS not to be found in the repeated the French law recogmzmg the sovereignty of the organization of referendums that have been con- Cornorian State over only three islands of the demned .and rejected In advance and declared illegal archipelago, but not over the island of Mayotte, was by the international community as a whole. The unconstitutional.I shall quote a few arguments from solution can come only from honest and sincere that application m order to shed more light on this dialogue and agreement between the two States, question. It stated: France and the Cornoros, in accordance with the "We consider that this law is contrary to the relfvan\ recommendations and resolutions of inter- Constitution for the following reasons: whenever na IOna .orgamzations, the legislature or the executive has acted, it has 34. As far as ~e. are concerned, we have always done so on the basis that the archipelago of the expressed ,?ur willingness, .m that spiri t, to reach a Comoros was a single territory , .. Thus, it is Just and SWIftsolution to this problem. It is high time quite clear that the French Republic has never for ~ur VOIce to be heeded. And we justifiably called into question the territorial unity of the consider that the ~ooner this is done the better if we Cornoros archipelago while international public 'hsh to avoid tragic and regrettable situations s~ch as ~pmlOn has constantly felt that the four Comorian t ose that .we, witness! alas, in other parts of the islands were a single territory dependent on and world. It .1S mdeed imperative to prevent such administered by the French Republic under the sltuatl(:m~ m order to mamtain the atmosphere of conditions set forth in articles 72 et seq. of the tranquillity which does prevail in our region Constitution." 35. The people and Government of the C . That is a very clear, unequivocal position. aTrhe aw~re of the rightness and justice of thei~cl~r~s ere IS no argument whatsoe th t I . 2~. Even today, some statements made by the their determination that the ver a cou d shake highest French authorities on similar problems or on to regain their territorial intest~~g~le trex E;lre waging the question of Mayotte recognize explicitly our This year again they '11 gn y 11a egitrmate one. unityand the good grounds for our position. Thus, constant and un'animou:~ great y appr~clate the speaking of .Chad, the Head of State of France, Mr. denced by the United N ti upp~rt that .wIlI be evi- Francois Mitterrand, stated: resolution now before th aGlons 1111adopting the draft e enera Assembly, endors- enc~, which have called for respec~ for the unity and Constitution of the French Republic that takes place terntonal integnty of the Comorian archipelago. within the context of respect for the choice of the Mr. Lusaka (Zambia) resumed the Chair. populations involved. French legislation cannot but 93. We fully appreciate the concern of the Govern- take these requirements into consideration. Thus, my ment of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros Government is endeavouring, and will continue to at the lack of progress in seeking a solution to the endeavour, to gear its actions towards ensuring an problem and the fact that the situation has not equitable and lasting solution to this question. changed since the admission of the Comoros to 100. The PRESIDENT: The Assembly will now membership of the United Nations in 1975. This vote on draft resolution A/39/L,42. A recorded vote concern was reflected in the communication of the has been requested. Secretary-General of the Organization of African A recorded vote was taken. Unity, addressed to the Secretary-General of the In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, United Nations [see A/39/518, para. 3]. That com- Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, munication indicated that, despite the many high- Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei level contacts between the Governments of the Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burun- Comoros and France and the direct talks between the di, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Came- Heads of State of the two States, there has been no roon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, significant progress concerning the problem. Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa 94. Nevertheless, in spite of this, we feel that there Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Democratic Kampu- is room for optimism with regard to achieving a just, chea, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, negotiated solution to the problem of the Comorian Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, island of Mayotte. Our hope is based, first, on the German Democratic Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, genuine desire demonstrated by the two parties to the Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, problem to continue the dialogue and to make efforts Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ivory in order to achieve such a solution. That was Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's evidenced in the notes verb ales from the Govem- Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab ment of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia,' Mal- and the French Government addressed to the Secre- dives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, tary-General [ibid., paras. 4 and 5]. Secondly, our Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicara- optimism is based on the promise that France has gua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua already made in the wake of the referendum held on New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, 22 December 1974 for self-determination of the Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome Comorian archipelago. That promise is to respect the and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, unity and territorial integrity of the Comoros, to Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, which were added the statements by President Mit- Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, terrand in which he affirmed his attachment to the Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ugan- idea of the integration of the island of Mayotte with da, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoras. Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Emirates, 95. The delegation of Egypt hopes that the sincere United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, intentions and efforts of both parties will be trans- Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, lated into concrete results in the near future, results Zambia, Zimbabwe. which will preserve the unity and territorial integrity Against: France. of the Comoras by restoring its sovereignty over the Abstaining: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Island of Mayotte, so that the people of that country Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Federal Republic of, may devote their efforts to development and pro- Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxem- gress. bourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, 96. Mr. de La BARRE de NANTEUIL (France) Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and North- (interpretation from French): My delegation regrets ern Ireland, United States of America. that, once again this year, the question of the island The draft resolution was adopted by 122 votes to 1, of Mayotte appears as an item on the agenda of the with 21 abstentions (resolution 39/48).2 General Assembly session. France can only oppose the draft resolution that has been submitted, owing in particular to paragraph I of that text. 97. However, we hope that a just and lasting solution can be found to this question, and the draft resolution relating to it quite rightly recalls the expression of the will of France for there to be such a solution. My delegation also considers it essential to pursue a constructive dialogue with the Islamic (b) Report of the Secretary-General Federal Republic of the Comoros. The bonds of friendship and co-operation that unite our two countries should help us in this endeavour. 98. France, for its part, intends to continue to develop all economic, social and cultural bonds between Mayotte and the Comoros in order to promote a rapprochement among the islands of the archipelago.

I would like to ask the representatives here to do what for some may be a difficult task. I want them for a moment to put aside what all of us hear endlessly in this Hall: the slogans about the "Palestinian people" and their r~asons. And yet the theme of "homelessness" per- Palestine, both its western and its eastern parts, both SIStS, having been repeated endlessly-not without Israel and Jordan. This was underscored time and success-as a powerful weapon in the Arab political again, as at the PNC's eighth conference in Febru- arsenal against Israel. ary-March 1971: ' 115. Over the years, however, Arab propagandists "In raising the slogan of the liberation of Palestine discovered that their claims about "usurped territo- and presenting the problem of the Palestine revolu- ry" and "homeless refugees" do not withstand criti- tion, it was not the intention (If the Palestine cal examination. Before knowledgeable audiences, revolution to separate the east of the river from the the embarrassments of chronology and causality, west; nor did it believe that the struggle of the such as we have just seen, could not be waved away. Palestinian people can be separate from the strug- They were compelled to resort, therefore, to a third gle of the masses in Jordan." and final argument. Brandishing the ever-popular 122. Given the current embrace between the PLO slogan of "self-determination", they asserted that the and Jordan, PLO leaders are naturally reluctant to "Palestinian people" have been denied their "legiti- publicize this long-standing claim. But their candid mate rights" and that one of those rights that has statements in the past are, I suggest, revealing. Shafiq been denied-so it is claimed-is the right to a Al-Hout, the PLO's United Nations spokesman, for "homeland". Significantly, the slogans of "Palestin- example, is quoted by Zeid Refai, in "Hussein of ian self-determination" and "legitimate rights"- Jordan: My War with Israel", as saying this in 1967: and, by the way, who could object to phrases like "Jordan is an integral part of Palestine, just like that?-were introduced into common currency only Israel." And Arafat said in 1974: "Jordan is ours, after the defeat of the Arab attempt to destroy Israel Palestine is ours, and we shall build our national in 1967. entity on the whole of this land." 116. It is an uncontested fact that during the 19 123. Now, some would expect the Jordanians to years ofthe Hashemite occupation of Judea-Samaria, contest this. Not at all. On 2 February 1970, Crown the Arab leaders, the Arab media and Arab propagan- Prince Hassan, addressing the Jordanian National da said next to nothing about a "homeland" or Assembly, said: "Palestine is Jordan, and Jordan is "legitimate rights" in Judea-Samaria. When "Pales- Palestine. There is one people and one land, with one tinian rights" were spoken of, it was always in history and one destiny." And King Hussein-also, reference to Israel behind its 1967 lines, and the significantly, before another Arab audience-said on message was crystal-clear: Israel was to be destroyed Egyptian television on 10 October 1977: "The two for those rights to be obtained. peoples are actually one. This is a fact." 117. It is noteworthy that, under the British Man- 124. On 24 September, 1980" it was Marwan al- date, it was the Jews of the country who called Hamoud, former Jordanian Minister of Agriculture, themselves Palestinians. The Palestine Post, the who insisted: Palestine Philharmonic and the Palestine Brigade "Jordan is not just another Arab State with regard which fought against the Nazis were all Jewish. There to Palestine but, rather, Jordan is Palestine and were thus Palestinian Jews and Palestinian Arabs, Palestine is Jordan in terms of territory and although in those days, as we might recall, the Arabs national identity .... Though we are all Arabs, did not emphasize a distinct Palestinian nationhood our point of departure is that we are all members of but always stressed their being part of the larger Arab the same people of the Palestinian Jordanian nation. nation, which is one and unique, and different 118. This deep-rooted identification with the Arab from ~hose of ~ther ~ra~ Stat~s.", , nation did not diminish over the years. Yasser 125. King Hussein.jigain; In af,l interview grven to Arafat, head of the PLO, has said: "The question of an Arab newspaper In Pans, said on 26 December 1982, noted: "As a leading Jordanian social scientist has written, 'The Jordanians and Palestinians are now one people, and no political loyalty, however strong, will separate them permanently'." 127. And finally, and most recently, on 6 Novem- ber 1984, King Hussein told the Kuwait paper Al Anba, "Jordan in itself is Palestine." 128. The declarations of the Arab leaders them- selves confirm what both history and logic' tetl us. The area of Palestine is indeed the territory of Mandated Palestine, decreed by the League of Na- tions and comprising the present-day States of lsrael and Jordan. It is absurd to pretend that an Arab in eastern Palestine who shares the language, culture and religion with another Arab some 10 miles away in western Palestine, an Arab who is often his dose relative, if not literally his brother, is a member of a different people. Indeed, as we have seen. the PLO's officials and Jordan's rulers are the first to admit this. 129. Those who accept the notion of a Palestinian people must therefore wonder: how many Palestinian Arab peoples are there? Is there a western Palestinian Arab people and, just across that narrow stream known as the Jordan River. an eastern Palestinian Arab people? How many Arab States in Palestine does Palestinian self-determination require? Clearly, in eastern and western Palestine there are only two peoples, the Arabs and the Jews; and, just as clearlv, there are only two States in that area, Jordan and Israel. The Arab State of Jordan, containing some 3 million Arabs, does not allow a single Jew 10 live there. It contains four fifths of the territory originally allocated by the predecessor of the United Nations. the League of Nations, for the Jewish national home. The other State, Israel, has a population of a little over 4 million, of which one sixth IS Arab. It contains less than one fifth of the territory originally allocated to the Jews under the Mandate. 130. The claim of self-determination, then, is mis- leading, for the inhabitants of Jordan-s-which, inci- dentally, Hussein's grandfather, King Abdullah, wanted originally to call the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine-are largely Palestinian Arabs, and within that population, western Palestinian Arabs are the majority. It cannot be said, therefore, that the Arabs of Palestine are lacking a State or their own, the ultimate expression of self-determination. The de- mand for a second Palestinian Arab State in western Palestine, and the twenty-second Arab State in the world, is merely the latest attempt to push Israel back into the hopelessly vulnerable armistice lines of 1949. 131. Individuals and Governments have been swayed by the superficial plausibility of the PLO's well-financed propaganda campaign. And within this "Very body one should not underestimate the reluc- tance of some to challenge a received idea. especially when it is sponsored by the Arab and Soviet blocs, But the trut h matters. It mattered in 1938 when Hitler's prating of self-determination for the Ger- mans of the Sudetenland W<lS echoed by much of the world's press and governrnen l. The resulting enor- mous pressure, it mar be remembered. forced the Czechs to cede the Sudctenland, an area that was 134. But in direct negotiations, the Jewish State of Israel and the Palestinian Arab State of Jordan should make everv effort to settle the main issues between them. The main issue between them is basically a border dispute. The final drawing of that border, *the cessation of the state of war. the achieve- ment of a peace that will allow for free movement or people and goods in both directions-all this will follow. 135. But. in addition to the delineation of borders, there is a problem of determining the ultimate status of the residents of Judea-Samaria. both Arab and Jewish. This, too. is a matter for careful face-to-face negotiations. which we have repeatedly called for and would welcome. Israel wants to end the military administration currently in place in Judea-Sarnaria as soon as possible. and that dav will he hastened when Jordan. without pre-conditions, will ccrne to the negotiating table. But let mesay that some of the comments I have heard about rhi!> subject are ludicrous beyond belief. This is the most benign military administration in history, in which the residents of the area have the full use of the law courts to press their claims against the authorities. Many have done so. and many have done sosuccess- fully. And the Camp David accords make ample provision for the transition from a military adminis- tration to a civil polity in which individual and community rights will be fuH)' secured, 136. It is important to make one point clear. There is little doubt that. no matter hO'..' the borders are drawn, a significant number of Arabs will continue to live side by side with their Jewish neighbours In Israel. It has long been recognized that being a mi~orit~ is l!C!t necessarilya traged>'. All nations have their mmonues. The traged" is to be everywhere a minority. This was precisefy the Jewish. situati.on before the creation of the State of Israel. The Jewish people did not possess 21 Jewish States; nor did they already possess one Jewish State in Palestine and were merely demanding yet another. As for the Ara.b rejectionists, they employ a reverse logic. For them, It IS a tragedy that Arabs should be a minority any- The meeting rose at 1.15 p.m. NOTES 'See N381132 and Corr. 1 and 2, annex, sect. 1, para. 72. 2Thedelegations of the Dominican Republic and Guinea-Bissau subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution.