A/41/PV.83 General Assembly

35.  QUESTION OF PALESTINE (a) REOORT OF THE mMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALEST IN!AN PEDPLE (A/41/3 5) (b) REOORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (A/41/2l5) (c) DRAFT RESOWTIONS (A/41/L.38 to A/4l/L.40) Mc. AL-KAWARI (Qatar) (interpretation from Arabic) ~ The repeated • consideration by the General Assembly of the question of Palestine and its repeated adoption of resolutions on that question are not futile exercises. Indeed, perseverance in discussing this question and attempting to reach solutions on its various aspects is a moral and historical duty of our Organization. The Palestine question is the paramount example of the negation of all the principles and purposes of the Charter - from the right to self-determination and the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force to the fundamental human rights of which the Palestinian people, both individually and collectively, are de pr ived. !'1oreover, the continued failure to reach a just solution to the Palestine question is an abnormal si tua tion which poses a threat to peace and security in the Middle East region and the rest of the world. Hence, the united Nations has the duty not to close its eyes to this question for even one minute but, rather, to persevere in its efforts to find a S'C"lution that "·;ill restore all the usurped rights and ensure respect for the principles of the Charter, thereby making it possible for internationa..l. legality to prevail. The position of the United Nations in particular and the internation.'il com~unity in general on the Palestine question and the way it should be solved i& no longer a secret to anyone. There has been one resolution after another, and the manifestations of support by the it~ternational eoanunity and world pUblic opinion have shown that the J?alestlnian people indeed have the support of the world cotmlunity • The most recent manifestation of that support was the North American Regional Symposium for Non-Governmental Organizations, which was held from 11 to 13 June 1986 and attended by about 50 nOlt-'governmental organizations connected with the United Nations and representing enlightened public opinion in North America. The Symposium adopted an important declaration which expressed the concern felt by the North American non-gOl1ernl1lental organizations at the failure to implement General Assembly resolution 38/58 C, calling for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the auspice3 of the O\i ted Nations. In the Symposium's view, the proposed Conference Is the best means for reacning a just solution to the Palestine question. The declaration adopted by the Symposium referred to the decision adopted by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held in Geneva in August 1983, on the need to convene the International PeaOEl Conference with the participation of all parties, inclUding the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. TM declaration ab.:o contained specific guidelines and valuable principles for solving the problem, if there is good faith and & genuine desire to solve it. (Mr. M-Kawar i, Qatar) R!!cent manifestations of the international community's support for the rights of the Palestinian people include the various resolations and reconmendations adopted by the united Nations fifteenth eemina~ on the Palestinian question which was· held in Nairobi on the topic "The inalienable rights of the Palestinian people" from 18 through 22 August 1986. If the conceptual framework which, in the opinion of the international collllunity can be used to solve the Palestinian question is so Yer~ clear, what is there to ~event the translation OC the concept into a practical solution, and what, 118y we ask, stands in the way of reaching a just and canprehe..lSive solution that will be acceptable to all? The reaeon for the failure which dogs the footsteps of the united Nations in this respect is indeed clear. It is the non-implementation of OIi ted Nations resolutions as a result of the expansiooist, racist ideology of the Zionist movement which is hostile to the united Nations and which rejects its resolutions. That explains Israel's frantic effor ts to liquidate the Palestinian question, the usurpation of land by force, the tranSformation of the demographic situation in the occupied territories, the encouragement of Israeli terrorist gangs and, finally, the nuclear terrorism that was recently exposed as a form of coercion practiced by Israel against the Palestinian people and the Arab countries which support Palestinian rights. All this is ab~dantly clear to everyone. My country supports the struggle of our brothers, the Palestinian people, who have not faltered in their struggle to restore their national legitimate rights. we stand alongside this mil!tant people and their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (Pro) in all their attempts to arrive at a just solution of the Palestinian problem by any means available. In this, we are guided by our belief that the right of peoples to self-determination, freedom and independence is a lofty ideal cherished by the international col'lll\unity and stated (Hr. Al-Kawar i, Qatar) clearly and forcefully in tbe thited Nations Charter. It has been reaffirmed in United Nations resolutions, especially the resolution which includes the Daclaration on the Pr inciples of International Law concern il19 Friendly Rela tions and Co-operation among States in accordance ~!ith the Chaeter of tne united Nations, Which includes a reference to "••• any forcible action which depr ives peopl.es ••• of tneir right to self-determination and freedom and independence. In their actions against, and resistance to, such fordble action in puu'iuit of the exercise of their right to self-determination, such peoples are entitled to seek and to receive support in accordance with the purposes and pr inciples of the Charter." (resolution 2625 (XXV) annex, para. 1 (b» The time factor has become so crucial that no efforts must be spared to resolve the Palestinian q~estion as soon as possible. The international commul1ity c.-~nnot simply stand by and watch the deterioration of tl'le situation in the Middle East owing to inability to arr be at a solution of the Palestinian question. we hope that all the obstacles which have prevented the convening of the international peace conference called for by the united Nations will be removed. Mc. Al-SABBAGH (Bahrain) (interpretation from Arabic) ~ Each year we gather here at this time to debate the question of Palestine in the General Assembly and to affirm the legitimate right of the Palestinians to establish their own State on their national soil. The fact that four decades have elapsed since this question was first included in the agenda of the General Assembly at its first session has served only to affirm its legitimacy and the need to rescue it from ob 11v ion, indi f;fer ence and doubt. The international community has oondemned the fact that the self-determination of the Palestinian people has been ignored and that the PalestiniM people have (Mr. Al.-lawar i, gatar) b~,Jn denied theit legi titlBte rights, including the right to return. Here I Should like to refer to the Istaeli refusal to illplement paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 194 (Ill) adopted on 11 DecenOer 1948, for it is that paragraph which recognizes the riC]ht of the Palestinian people to return to their homes. The ca~ of the Palestinians, the misery and deptivation they suffer as well as the oppression and suppression of unarmed PalEStinians by the Israelis in the west Bank and the Gaza Strip ute the result of Israel's failure to implement that paragraph. Israel has extended its acts of aggcession to enco~ss Leba.'!\on, syr ia, TWlisia and Iraq in violation of their sovereignty and ttleir terd torial integti ty so as to consolidate the policy of focce adopted by Israel. Human rights have been flagcantly Violated in the occupied Acab and Palestinian tecritories, and indeed no longer exist there. An end must the:efore be put to Israel's p)licy based on the acquisition of terri'i:or:y by for:ce and to i1;s expansionist setUement schemes. we pay tr ibute to the strug9le of the P2!lestinian people for freedom and the restoration of their usurped rights, for the cause of the Palestinian people is the cause of an Arab people displaced from their country by force and intimidation. lbt only their land but also tllei: freedom has been usurped, and they have experIenced exile, displacement, murder and destrQctb,e raids wherever they have gone. Yet we are confident that the historic ri9hts of the Palestinian people ",ill not be forgotten but will continue to exist just like that heroic struggling people, who will inevitably establiSh their own State ')rl theIr national soil. Israel continues to flout United Nations resolutions and to deny the basic rights of the Palestinian people, and its occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Stc ip, the Galan Heights and sOlJthern Lebanon o:»ntinues. The international communi ty strongly condemns aggressive I sraeli practices in the occupied (Mr. Al-sabbagh, Bahrain) territories and has P':epeatedly reaffirmed its support for the legitimate rights of and solidarity with the Palestinian people. Poooe-10'ling peoples look forward to a just and laa ting peace in the Middle East which C8MOt, however, be achieved except I thrOUgh the solution of the core of that conflict, namely, by granting to the Palestinian people all their inalienable and legi timate rights, including the right to r etur n to their homes and to ach ieve their national independence through the establishment of their independent State, in accordance with the princiPles of the Charter and 'the relevant resolutions. The attainment of the desired comprehensive, lasting solution would certainly cenu ibute to the relaxation of tension and violence and to &ecurity and proe:~1erity in our region. Aware of its cHrect re~ponsibility for the lMintenance of international peace and security, the united Nations has made consistent efforts to achieve a just solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of the resolutions adopted by the S9curity Council and the General Assembly. (Mr. Al-Sabbagh, Bahrain) Yet Israel has violated the Charter and ignored those resolutions, by refusing to grant the Palestinian people their rigbt to self~etermination, refusing to withdraw its troops from the occupied Arab territories, and by carrying out all its other illegal pr:actices such as the declaration of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and its persistence in the establishment of Jewish settlements in the west Bank and the Gaza str ip. Its intransigence has led to the failure of all the peace efforts directed to solving the Palestinian question. By all those actions Israel is violating the provisicns of the Charter, the resolutions of the United Nations and the rules of international law. The solution of this question accordingly calls for joint international efforts in order to maintain international peace and security. Last year we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the united Nations, and the Whole war ld joined in those celebraticns. One of the tragic aspects of the question of Palestine is the fact that it is a6 old as our Organization. This distressing paradox becomes all the clearer as we are struggling to keep this question alive in the conscience of the international (:ommunity. Yet we should not allow desperation or frusb:ation to thwart our efforts. If the credibility and prestige of the United Nations is to be maintained, the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be restored in accordance with the aims of the United Nations and of its Cnarter, and the aims of the universal Declaration of Human Rights • It would be useful here to recall the pa~tition plan. On 29 November 1947 at the l28th plenary meeting of the General Assenbly, the AsselTbly recommended to Britain, in its capacity as the State responsible for the Mandate over Palestine, and to Menber States, the implementation of the future system of government in Palestine. It recommended partition, establishing a JewiSh State and an Arab (Mr. Al-Satbbagh, Bahrain) State. The General Assembly requested the Security Council to implemont that recommendation. The partition resolution 181 (11) calls for the establishment of a Palestinian Arab State. The Jewish State was actually established and acceded to membership of the United Nations on 11 May 1949, in ~ccordance with that resolution.* The United Nations bears special responsibility for the solution of the question of Palestine. The Gene~a Declaration of 1983 on Palestine and' the Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights adopted by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, have both affirmed the vital and essential role of the united Nation~ in the establishment of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. Accordingly, the United Nations must fulfil its historical and legal responsibility by conYening the International peace Conference on the Middle East with a view to reaching a just solution to this chronic problem, a solution that would restore to the Palestinian people their legitimate historical rights. Mr. CESAR (Czechoslovakia): ~le fact that this year's session of the General Assembly is again taking up the question of Palestine eloquently illustrates the reality that this pressing issue, constituting the key to the problems of the Middle East, has not yet been re&olved. In the late 1940s the United Nations witnessed the emergence of the question of Palestine and it is in duty bound ~ for.mally, morally and p()litically - to discharge its mandate in full and to do its utmost for a just solution of this acute problem. The tragedy of the *The Presid~nt took the Chair. (Mr. Al-Sabbagh, Bahrain) Palestinian people has been going on for too long alrelldye yet those who deny the Palestinians their fundamental national and human rights hope 1n vain that time is working for them and that by using military force and repression they may ultimately succeed in breaking the will of the Palestinian people to strive for a free life in their native country. The vast majority of the United Nations Member States are convinced that lasting and equitable peace in the Middle East is an unrealistic illusion as long as the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are disregarded. We consider it a very positive fact that the cwerwtlelming majority of States in the world now understand that stable and lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved wi thout a just sett~~ment of the question of Palestine. At this year's sassion. too. extensive documentation has been made available to our Organization, deillOostrating the strong political will of the vast majority of. the U'1ited Nations Member States to do everything within their ~wer to assist in achieving a peaceful and just solution of the Palestin ian prd>lem. At the same time. however. those documents give convincing evidence of the fact that several States have been striving. through direct or indirect channels, using their military ~wer and considerable economic potential, to liquidate the question of Palestine by means of annexation and colonization of the occupied territories and sustained purposefUl ~licies aimed at dep: lYing the Palestinian people of their national identity and of the possibility of independent development. Efforts l'imed at eliminating the Palestinian resistance movement, and especially the Palestine Liberation organization. are an integral part of such policies. The horrifying facts about the Violence, imprisonment, harassment. de~rtations and other forms of pressure gathered by the Special Conmittee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the OCcupied Territories attest to the urgent nature of the demand to eradicate the intolerable cooditions in which the (Mr. Cesar. Czechosl09akia) Palestinian people have to live. The report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People states that despi te repeated appeals by the Committee, the security Council has still not acted on or implemented the recol1lDendations of the COI'!IDittee "owing b) the atti tude of a permanent memer" (A/4l/35, para. 4). It does not requirtt any special political imagination to add to the text the name of that member: it is the united states, mese all-round military, ecooomic and political support for Israel manifests itself here in the United Nations, inter alia, by misuse of its right to veto in defence of Israel against resolutions of the security Council. (Mr. Cesar, CzecboslOll'akia) Israel's attitude to the 90lutlo~ of the question of Palestine remains unchanged, thus making it impossible to adlleve any progress. Regrettably, the united States Virtually identifies itself with this attitude, persistently denying the 'right of the Palestinian people to the establishment of their own State. Its real aim is to help Israel retain its dominant posttion in the Middle East and strengthen its military and economic power, because it is still counting on Israel as the main supporter of its Middle East policies, which have not departed from its hegemonist and imper ialist goals. The etruggle of the Palestinian people for their national rights is a serious obstacle to the achievement of thMe goals and objectives of the united States and Israel. That b why they would like to de pr ive the Palestinians forever of their right to a homeland and to return to their original homes, to condemn them to eternal: exile or to a life as subjugated citizens prevented from enjoyi!l"l~ equal rights in their own country. The whole history of mankind until nQli has shown that lawlessness, "ppression and inequality are not the foundations on which relations among nations and peace in the world can be built. This is all the more true at the present time, when the poli tical and legal consciousness 0 f na tions and of all mank10u has reached a fairly high level. This is confirmed by the very existence of our Organization and by the principles underlying its establishment and governing its activiti~·s. Wi thin our Organization, there is an absolutely clear understanding of the urgent need to solve the question of Palestine in a just manner. This is the great hi.storical responsibility of the united Nations towards the Palestinian people, whose tragic fate is casting a shadow O'Ier the entire international community. It: is high time that Israel got it clear in its own mind how it intends to secure its further exis tence within the community of nations of the Middle East and to ensure (Hr. Cesar, Czedtoslovakia) peace and security for its own development. It should realize that it will never achieve these goals by trampling upon the rights of the Palestinian people, subjecting them to oppression or pursuing a pt._icy of s~engt:h in relation to the Arab countries. $;uch a policy will never bring ~ace and security to the Middle East. The report submitted to us rightly sta tes that "this situation will prevail as long as the Palestinian people is prevented from exercising its inalienable rights to self-determip~tion,natiOnal independence and soyereignq' ••• and as long as the Palestinian and other Arab territories remain occupied". (A/4l/35, para. 5) The solution of the Palestiniari question must be comprehensive and just. It is our opinion that only the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, in accordance with General Assenbly resolution 38/58 C, with the broad participation of the countries concerned, including the Palestine Liberatinn Organization, can lead to a lasting peace and to the creation of conditions for the exercise of all the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. We have welcomed the proposal to establish within the framework of the Security Council a preparatory conunittee for the international conference on the Middle East. This initiative, put forward from this rostrum by the z.-J.nister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet union during the general debate, has our full support. We insist that Isr.ael should unconditionally abide by all the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council that call for the wi thdrawal of its occupying forces from all the occupied Pales ....inian and other Arab territories. We consider it very importcmt for the settlement of the present situation that the United States should discontinue its all-round military, political and economic support for Israel, wi tho'Jt which I srael could not pursue its current policy in respect of Pale;-;tine and the Mi ddle East. (Mr. Cesar, Czechoslovakia) The Czechoslovak delegation is convinced that it is wi thin the p3wer of the United Nations 1:0 live up to its responsibility towards the Palestinian people and to secure the exercise of their inalienable national right to self-determination, national indep!ndende and sovereign ty, as well as to retur n to their homes and property and to provide for their physical protection. This requires that all Members of t.he United Nations display an a-:tive political will and use all their political influence to enforce the implementation of the resolutions adopted by our Organization with the view to solving the question of Palestine. CzechoslO\1akia fully supports the just struggle of the Palestinian people to acnieve their inalienable national rights and it will continue to support all efforts aimed at attaining this goal and reaching a canprehens ive and equi. table settlement in the Middle East that will safeguara the legitimate interests of all nations and States of the region. Mr. IIJQ(E (German Democratic Republic): It is 10 years ago that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People, of which the German Democratic Republic is a member, submitted its first rep3rt to the General Assenbly. By establ ishing that Coltlllittee, the General Asserrbly acted in accordance w1 th the recognition that, wi thout implementation of the national rights of the Palestinian people, peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East on the one hand, and, on the other, with the demand of the overWhelming majority of States to seek a just solution to the problem of Palestine and, thus, to the Middle East oonflict as a whole. This is also underlined in the report of the United Nations secretary-General on the work of the Organization, which states: "There is now a wide measure of agreement that peace in the Middle East can best be achieved through a comprehensive settlement that would cover all aspects of the conflict( including the question of Palestine." (A/4l/1, p. 3) (~Ir. Cesu, Czedloslovakia) The conflict which has been smouldering for many dacades not only brings untold suffering to the peoples of the Middle Fast and, in particular If to the Palestinian people, but also furthu endangers international peace and security. The Conrni ttee has wor ked wl tn CIOnmi tment and in a responsible way under the guidance of its Chairman, the Permanent Representative of Seneejal, Arrbassador MassaDba sarre, to whom we should like to express our appreciation for his work. tn conformity with its mandate, the Committee has submitted proposals designed to implement: the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, that is, its right to self-determination wi1:t',out foreign interference, its ri9ht to national independence and sOI7ereignty, its right .to return to its homeland, as well as the right to compensation. (tolr. Bucke, German Democratic Republic) Manifold activities, ranging from regional seminars and symposiums to journalists' er.counters and conferences of noo-goverolOP.ntal organizations, have been undertaken with a view to mobilizing world pUDlif; opinion and motivating those vested with political responsibility to meet the interests of the Palestinian people. A highlight was the 1983 G eva Int&national Conferenc~ on the Quesdon of Palestine, which adopted the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and the Prograllll\e of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Pights, which were approved the same year by the overwhelming major ity of States in the General Assembly. These documents are oriented towards the decisions of the united Nations and the requirements of our time. What matters nOtl is the immediate and joint action of all responsible forces who are seriously concerned about the well-being of the Palestinian people and about wor ld peace, with a view to implementing those decisions and, above all, resolution 38/58 'c of the General Asserrbly, and thus to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution. Despite long-standing efforts, it has not been possible so far to achieve concrete results with regard to the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Pales tin ian people. If the q ues tion is the real iza tion of the pr inciples of modern international law, as also enshrined in the Charter of the united Nations, the impression arises that a doUble standard is operating. The rigllt to self-determination, for instance, which the peoples claim in a completely natural and justified way, is still denied to the Palestinian people. S~ch is the policy pursued by those imperialist forces which try to keep States and peoples under their tutelage, to declare entire regions their spheres of influence and to force what they call their ideals upon the world at large. Those who desire peace and security and are genuinely concerned about human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot remain indifferent to the destiny of the Palestinian (Hr. Hucke, German Democratic Republic) pelople and must not allow any furtrler delays in the settlement of the question of Palestine. It is high time to implement at last the rights of the Palestinian people. This means, in particular, that the Palestinian people should be ensured the right to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State of its own. Under various pretexts, Israel Is trying to justify its sustained acts of aggression and to disguise the sources of tension in the Middle East. SUch efforts a"i:e, however, nothing but a futile attempt to distract attention from its responsibility and to portray the victims as the guilty party. There is also an intention to discredi t toe national liberation movement as a whole and to exclude the Palestine Liberation Organization (PU», the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, from a peace settlement. It should be recalled that, since 1974, tne PLO ha,; been an Observer at tne sessiof.ls of the General Assenbly, has ta i(en an active par t in the COlII'I\i ttee on the Exercise of toe Inalienable Ri ghts of '.. tne Palestinian People, and has maintained official missions, often even wl th diplomatic status, in many countries. What stands in the way of the settlement of this problem is the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and the occupation of foreign territories with the intention of depriVing the Palestinian people of the basis of its livelihood once and for all. The community of states has responded to this situation. Relevant proposals and demands, which are also set out in the resolutions of tile united Nations, have been before us for many year~. It is unfortunately a historical tcuth that a State whiCh was established under a resolution and with the support of the united Nations has constantly disregarded the decisions taken by the world Organization. However, without far-reaChing political, economic and military support, particularly by its "strategic ally", it (Hr. Hucke, German Democratic Republic) would have been impossible for that State to pursue such a course, whieb is directed a9a inst the interests of wor ld peace as well as a9a inst the Sta tes and peoples of the re9ion. Now it is imperative to stop any policy of obstruction so that the united Nations can unreservedly live up to !ts responsibility for solving the question of Palestine. My delega tion wishes to reaffirm here the view of the German Democratic Republic that, because of the various interrelated ';,roblems, the international Middle East peace Conference is the most appropriate way of solvin9 the question of Palestine. All interested parties, including the PLO, should participate in that Conference. The preparatory col1lllittee of the security Council, as proposed by the SOITiet union, could maKe an important contribution towards the convening of the Conference. The German Democratic Republic supports t.he SOviet proposal on the grounds that it is appropriate to mOlTe towards the convenin9 of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East and thus to set in motion the process aimed at safeguarding peace and security for all States and peoples of the region. Since the foundin9 of the world Organization, a successful road, though beset with many difficulties, has been traversed. The 9reat triumph of the peoples' liberation stru991e makes it certain that the Palestinian people, too, will enjoy its ri9ht to self-determination. The German Democratic Republic will play its part in the future, within the framework of the world Or9anization, especially as a menber of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Ri9hts of the Palestinian People, towards achievin9 a comprehensive, just and lastin9 peace in the Middle East. AS in previous years, the German Dem:>ci:atic Republic will support the just stru991e of the Palestinian people and the PLO for the realization of their sOlTerei9n ri9hts. (Mr. Hucke, German Democratic Republric) Mr. KIKOCHI (Japan); It was al1llOst 40 years ago that the General AssellDly, in its resolution 181 (Ill), pr09ided the legal foundation for the formation of two s0\7ereign states in the land known as Palestine. Although one of them, Israel, was established the following year, in 1948, the Palestinian Arabs have not so far realized their legitimate rights and aspirations. This failure has been the cause of untold human suffering and misery; it is the crux of the grave political difficulties throughout the region. OVer the years the question has become inc.reasingly canpIex and its solution ever mote elusive. The United Nations has produced a series of resolutiats, notably, security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which provide a basis for a negotiated settlement. only when those resolutions are implemented and all the parties participate in negotiations can there be real hope for a peaceful settlement. In partic'lar, it is essential that Israel and the Arabs, inoluding the Palestine Liberation organization (POO), establish a dialogue. In the meantime the plight of the Palestinian people continues to be a source of deep concern. In the occupied terri tories Israel's pursuit of its settlements policy continues to give rise to frequent clashes between the occupying author !ties and the Palestinians. And those in Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon are threatened by almost daily shelling in the fighting between rival factions. The seriousness of the situation is reflec~d in the increasing demands made on the United Nations Relief and l'k>rks Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to extend humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian refugee population throughout the ~rea. Japan regards it as essential that both I srael and the Palestinian people make a genuine effort to dispel mutual mistrust and foster the will to coexist. Israel's policy of establishing settlements in the occupied territories and its measures unilaterally to change the status of the occupied Arab territories are a real obstacle to the achievement of that goal. Without in any way condoning Israel's occupation of Arab countries, Japan urges Israel to do its utmost to protect the human rights of the Palestinian people under its control and to administer those territories in a just manner, in accordance with the Fourth Gene.ra Convention, of 1949. (Mr. Kikuc:hi, Japan) Because the question of Palestine lies at the core of the problems throughout the region, I would like at this time to state the position of the Government of Japan on the Middle East problem as a Whole: First, peace in the Middle East must be just, lasting and comprehensi"e. secoodly, such a peace should be achieved through the early and canplete implementation of security Council reqolutions 242 (1967) and 339 (1973), and through recognition of and respect for the Palestinian people's legi tirnate rights, inclUding the right co self-determination, under the United Nations Charter. Thirdly, each and every path towards the realization of such a peace must be explored, wi th careful consideration being given to the legi timate secur ity requirements of the Gountries in the region and to the rights and aspirations of all the peoples in the region, including the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. Fourthly, Japah ;9 of the vie\'l that the Palestine Liberation Organization represents the Palestinian people. Thus, in order to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East, Japan believes it is essential that Israel and the PLO recognize each other's position, and that the PLO participate in the peace process. While efforts to advance the peace process have continued throughout the year, they have not made any apparent progress. The prospects for a settlement in the foreseeable future remain dim. AI though Jordan and the PLO reached an accord last year under which they agreed to work togeth~r for a peaceful settlement, their efforts seem to have reached an impasse. We note that there have been some high-level contacts between the Arab States and Israel, but these too seem to have led nowhere. lndeed, I am afraid that any concerned observer of the situation cannot bu t be discouraged at the absence of any posi tive developments in the peace process during the past year. (Mc. Kikuch~, Japan) It would be a grave mistBllte, howevt:r, to allow our disappointments to sap our determination to bring about a jus~, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the question. Japan helieves that it is the respons ibillty of the international oonmunity t.o p:omote efforts that will Ct"!ate t.~e conditions in which negotiations can take place. All the parties concerned must be encouraged to do their utmost to seek a peaceful solution. In this connection, we wel~me the initiatives taken by the leaders of Egypt and Israel, who have designated 1987 the Year of Negotiation for Peace. We consider their initiatives to be an important expression of determination to overcome difficulties. Furthermore, my Gal7ernment would support the idea of establiShing a kind of international framewor k for a peaceful settlement if this would facilitate the peace process. Japan, for its part, has continued dur ing the past year to seek ways in which it can contribute to fostering conditions that will lead to a peaceful settlement of the problem. Perhaps a more tangible aspect of Japan's efforts to contribute to a peaceful solution is the support it extends to UNRWA. Japan believes that in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees UNRWA is playing a crucial role not only in humanitarian terms but also as a stabilizing factor in the region. Since 1965 Japan has provided to UNRWA cash contr ibutions totalling $69 million and food aid wi th a total value of $42 million. Furthermore, my Government started last year receiving Palestinian trainees for technical and vocational training in Japan, and decided th is year to co-<)pera te wi th UNRWA in its project for the cons truction and equipnent of a new school at Jatash, in Jordan. My Government intends to support this vitally important agency for as long as is necessary. For two generations now the Palestinian people have bor:ne a bitter legacy ef war, oppression and exile. How nuch longer will they have to wait before they can exercise their legitimate rights? The parties concerned must surely recogn ize that (!:!!:.: Rikuchi, Japan) in the current cycle of violence and retaliation all are lasers. The perpetuation of enmity and mistrust (\lIIOng the peoples in the region serves the interests of no one. We earnestly hope that all the parties concerned will continue to make their utmost efforts towards the early attainment of our goal, namely, a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in tr.e Middle East. Mr. DEEN (Malaysia)~ In 1947 the united Nations assumed a responsibility to the people of Palestine, Which it has not discharged. For.. the overwhelming majority of us here in the General Assembly there is no doubt in our minds that unless the question of Palestine is satisfactorily resolved there can be little hope of peace in the Middle East. By definition, a comprehensive solution must include the restoration of all the Arab lands which Israel has acquired through its wars of aggression since 1967 and, equally paramount, the restoration of the inalienable rignt of the Palestinians to self-determination and to their own homeland. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the question of Palestine constitutes the core of the problem in the Middle East. As loog as the problem is allowed to l~nguish there can be no end to the climate of conflict which has hovered over the region for so long and which on several occasions has led the world to the brink l)f disaster. (Mr. Kikuchi, Japan) No one can accuse the Organization of lack of effort, as over the last four decades the United Nations has adopted many resolutions in our search for an end to the conflict. ~any of the resolutions contain elements which can pave the way to peace. ~~wever, Israel has chosen to ignore all the pronouncements of the internat~~nal community and has refused to abandon the path of aggression and force. Israel is being encouraged in its intransigence and onen defiance by the protection and active sympathy of a single major Power, which finds its justification in t~cms of Israel's survival and of absolut~ strategic necessity. It is therefore no mystery that the United Nations has thus far been unable to convince Israel that its best course, and indeed the best course for the security of the world, is a comprehensive settlement that is fair to all, including the Palestinian people. In this RaIl we hear many protestations of commitment to freedom, democracy, self-determination and other lofty principles. We ask those who make such protestations: why, then, should the people of Palestine be denied their right to their own independent homeland? How can Israel and its friends insist on its right to exist when they seek to deny that right to Palestine? How can Israel continue to deny the reality of the Palestinian people? Notwithstanding the partition Qf Palestine and the dispossession of a whole people, in spite of their dispersal and the indignities of having to live as refugees, despite the awesome ferocity of Israel's military might repeatedly unleashed against them, the people of Palestine steadfastly refuse to disavow their common heritage as Palestinians. Indeed, the Palestinian people have proved beyond auestion that they are a people with a history and a culture, entitled to their own nation. The denial of this basic right to the Palestinian people has been, and will continue to be, the crux of the conflict. (Mr. Deen, Malaysi~) Since the adoption of resolutio~ 38/58 C in 1983 the international community has repeatedly urged the convening of the Internatic~al Peace COnference en the Middle East. It is hoped that the Conference, with the participation of all the parties directly involved, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as the sole legitimate represe~tative of the Palestinian people, and members of the Security Council, could lead to a just solution. Israel and its friends, however, continue to obstruct such a Conference. They continue to insist on dir'ect talks. But Israel insists that such talks cannot involve the PLO, disregarding the fact that the United Nations has recognized the PLO to be the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Israel, of course, denies thisJ there are others, it is said, or there are divisions in its ranks. Even in the most established democracies is there ever one single monolithic view? Israel has also attempted to invent a so-called moderate Palestinian leadership which it can negotiate and deal with. Such groups will never have legitimacYJ this device is reminiscent of a familiar colonial practice. It is also said that the PLO must first recognize Israel - and let us bear this in mind - before there can be, not recognition of Palestinian independence, but even consideration of the PLO's participation in any discussion. What this )mounts to is that there should be an explicit recognition by the PLO of Israel before it can be allowed an undefined role in undefined negotiations about an undefined future for Palestine. We do not believe that this is a reasonable or even a serious proposition. Let us ask those supporters of Israel who insi~t on explicit recognition of Israel by the PLO whether they have, by the same token, asked Israel for explicit, or even implicit, recognition of the PLO and of Palestinian statehood? (Mr. Deen, Malaysia) The PLO, which the united Nations recognizes as a legitimate national liberation movement, is constantly portrayed as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that it has repeatedly and unequivocally denounced and condemned terrorist acts. The propaganda machinery which Israel has deployed throughout the world would have us beli~ve that virtually every Palestinian, or anyone at all who re:dsts Israel in the occapied territories, is a terro~ist. At the same time, all Palestinian oamps and settlements, wher~ver they are, become legitimate military targets for Israel. They can therefore be bombed and destroyed, irrespective of the women, children a~d civilians who reside in themJ they disregard the fact that freauently women and children are killed and ~aimed by Israeli bombs and missiles. Who are the real terrorists, we ask? Is it any wonder that Israel's terrorist policies have in themselves spawned a spiral of' violence and terrorism? One needs only to look at Israel's policies in the West Bank and other occupied territories to know that Israel is not unlike any occupying Power. Its policies are calculated to subjugate the pe 7;t"·leJ its intentions are to annex the West Bank and as much Arab land as possible. We have before us again the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Once again the report testifies to Israel's complete disregard for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime continues unabated in its policy of annexation of Arab lands through eviction and a variety of coercive measures. To auote the report: "As in previous years, this creeping annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories was accompanied by measures designed to suppress all forms of resistance and of political, social, cultural and economic expression of the Palestinian people, as well as by acts of violence and provocation by Israeli troops and by armed Jewish settlers against Palestinians." (A/4l/35, para. 20) (Mr. Deen, Malaysia) The report als~~peaks of Israe1's persistence in its policy of confiscating Arab-owned land in the occupied Palestinian territories and of increasing the size and number of its 8ettle~ents. It als~ says: •••• Israel had continued in its policy of Judaization of the occupied PalesT'~ian territories through their gradual economic and administrative incorpation into the Israeli national system and the creation of conditions aimed at forcing r'he Palestinian population to emigrate from their' land.· (A/41/35, para. 19) (Mr. Deen, Malaysia) At the heart of Israel's policy is the objective of denying the very existence of the Palestinian people; hence the diaspora which Israel has forced upon the Palestinian people. in its report, the Committee also expresses its grave concern at the reinstatement of the emergency regulations of 1945, which had first been introduced during the ~~itish Mandate, providing, inter alia, for the deportation of persons, and detention through administrative process without charges or trial. The report states that "This measure was reported to have become the corner-stone of a new repressive policy aimed at cu~bing activities in opposition to the occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories, and had been directed primarily at university students, trade unionists and journalists". (A/41/35, pafa. 21) Under the cover of this measure the Israel! authorities have deported a number of PaleRtinians and detained many more and restricted their movements. The policies of the Israeli authorities appear to have encouraged acts of vandalism and violence against Arabs by Jewish settlers. It has also resulted in the profanation of Muslim holy sites, particularly the Haram al-Sharif and the AI-Aasa mosaue. The list of Israeli practices in the occupied territories is endless, bllt in the interests of brevity I will not elaborate further; the report is there for all to see. Suffice it to say that the thrust of 'Israel's policy is to disperse the Palestinian people further, and to make conditions disagreeable in the hope they will leave and thus f~cilitate Israel's Objective of annexing the occupied territories. In the face of Israel's persistent aggression against and brutalization of the Arab peoples, this Organization must remain resolute. Despite the military might of Israel ann the protection of its powerful friends, we must continue to insist on a just solution based on certain principles, including the restoration of the (Mr. Deen, Malaysia) inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, such as their right to their own homeland, and the restoration of ~rab lands illegally occupied by Israel. The Palestinian people, through ~ts sole legitimat~ representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, must not be prevented from playing a central role in deciding its own future. Mr. ZARIF (Afghanistan): The auestion of Palestine is one of the oldest issues on the agenda of the General Assembly. This problem, which arose as a result of the machinations of world imperialism and its illegitimate brainchild, zionism, is centred on the arrogant denial to the Palestinian people of their inalienable national rights. It constitutes the core of the whole Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East and has occupied the attention of many nations and international organizations in their search for a just solution. Thousands of hours have been spent considering this issue at hundreds of international and regional conferences and gatherings, and dozens of declarations, decisions, communiaues, resolutions and plans of action have been adopted for the sole purpose of achieving a lasting and comprehensive solution, thus putting an end to the prolonged tragedy of millions of Palestinians. None of these efforts, however, has brought closer the attainment of a settlement - or the establishment of peace for that matter. Palestinian territories, together with other Arab lands, still r~main firmly under Israeli occupation. Acts of violence and repression against the Palestinian and other Arab populations of the occupied territories are affecting ever larger segments of those populations, and there seems to be no end to the Isr.aeli policy of acquiring territory by force. (Mr. Deen, Malaysia) The continuation of the plight of the Palestinians can in no way be attributed to a lack of effort on the part of the international community or to the pretext that there exists no realistic and just basis on which a permanent solution could be built. ~he United Nations, inherited the problem of Palestine when it had already assumed dangerous dimensions. Developments since then have greatly added to the tension that has already plunged the region, more than once, int~ all-out armed confrontation resulting in enormous 10s9 of life and property. Conscious of its direct responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the united Nations has remained seized of the situation and has made every effort to bring about a comprehensive and durable peace in the Middle East through a just solution of the Palestinian~problem. In the resolutions of its most important and authoritative organs - the Security Council and the General Assembly - the United Nations has given a clear definition of the nature and scope of the problem. Those resolutions not only reflect the verdict of the international community on the Palestinian issue, but also dr~w the basic guidelines for achieving an acceptable solution to it. It is hiqhly disauieting for peace-loving humanity to note that none of its repeated demands for the restoration of peace in this war-stricken region of the world through the implementation of united Nations resolutions has been complied with hy the zionist regime of Israel and its imperialist mentors. Through gross and repeated breaches of the Charter of the united Nations and in violation of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, Isr"el stubbornly refuses to withdraw its forces and administration from the Palestinian and other Arab territories it has occupied since 1967. In line with their cynical ambition to establish a so-called Greater Israel, the zionist rulers have embarked on the path (Mr. Zarif, Afghanistan) of absorbing the territories of others. Despite the strong warnings of the international community, the Zionist regime promulgated the so-called Basic Law declaring the Holy City of Jerusalem to be the 8 eternal capital of Israel". In the same vein, Israel not only "gfuses to return the vast territories of the Syrian Arab Republic in the Golan Heights to Syrian sovereignty, bat has enacted legislation purporting to annex them permanently to Israel. (Mr. Zarif, Afghanistan, Clear reflection of the same illegal practice can be observed in the occupied territories of the west Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel has persistently continued its policy of proliferating Jewish colonial settlements in those areas. As in the past, further th\Jusands of the indigenous inhabitants were forcefully evacuated last year from their homes and towns or had to abandon them owing to enormous pressure and intimidation by the occupying author ities and the zionist settler s. Land and properties thus confiscated are usually used for establishing new settlements and expanding the old ones or for constructing new military facilities for the occupying forces. Other laWS and regulations enforced by the Israeli authorities, in complete violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, have extended their ominous effects to every aspect of life in the occupied territories. Many local administrations, such as city, town and village councils, have be~n dismantled and their elected officials have been dismissed and replaced by military o~ civilian administrations of the occupying Power. Academic and social institutions, such as schools, universities and trade unions, are repeatedly closed down. Muslim mosques and holy shrines are vandalized and peaceful civilians remain targets of constant harassment by the terrorist groups of settler vigilantes or the police of the occupying Power. These and many other similar practices have remained permanent causes of alarm for the population of the occupied territories and for concerned humanity. The bitter memories of the massacre of innocent Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and the piratical Israeli air raid on Tunis, which resulted in the murder of over 160 people, are still fresh in our minds. If we are to pr:event the recur rence of those bestial and abhor rent actions we must take ser ious steps towards defusing the tension, which is increasing as a result of atrocities col1lll1tted by the Zionist regime. (Mr. Zar if, Atgl\an istan) &lffice it to say that the arrogance of the zionist regime col,lld not have prevailed over the repeatedly exp:essed wishes of the international oolllllunity had it not been defended and encouraged by its imperialist allies, first and foremost United States imperialism. The united States, which has forged a so-called strategic all iance wi th the Zionist r:egime, has been rendering it enormous unconditional political, eoonomic and military support, which has enabled it to perpetrate acts of aggression against sovereign ~rab countries of the area, notably Syria and Lebanon. It is united States imper:ialism that has effectively paralysed the securi ty Council by abus ing the ve to power and pr even ting the adoption of measures that would call to order the outlawed regime of Israel. The perpetual conspiraoies of the united States against international peace and security have again been manifested by its continued nega~il1e response to the repeated oalls of the General Assenoly for the oonvening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East. We strongly condemn that irresponsible attitude towards one of the burning issues of our time. In this coonection we hail the constructive position of the Soviet union and voice our support Ear its timely and realistic proposal concerning the establishment of a preparatory committee oanposed of tne five permanent members of the security Council. wnile expressing appreciation to the secretary-General of the Uni ted Nations for nis endeavours aimed at preparing the ground for the holding of the proposed Conference, we urge him to redouble his efforts in that direction. It is, of course, necessary tllat the Palestine Liberati/)(l Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the people of Palestine, parti'ci~t~ on an equal footing .in that Conference. We reject any attempt to isolate the questionJE Palestine from the rest of the Middle East problem and consider any collusive and par tial deals to have no moral or legal validi ty. Past experience has shOdn th&t only a just and comprehensive settlement ean bring lasting peace to the Middle Eaqc, (Mr. Zar if, Afghanistan) the sine qua non of which is the attainment by the Palestine peoplg of their inalienable legitimate rights. In their struggle to recover their territories and to exercise their national sovereign rights the heroic people of Palestine and the valiant patriots of syria and Lebanon have the full solidarity and support of the Afghan people and Government. It is our belief that the General Assembly will, as in the past, adopt by an overwhelming majority the draft resolutions submitted by the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and some other countries. We urge the support of all nations that cherish peace and justice for those draft resolutions.* Ms. NGUYEN BINH THANH (Viet Nam) (interpretation from French): We are meeting again at this forty-first session of the General Assembly to deal with the question of palestine, which is the history of a martyred people driven from their land by force, a people that has known untold suffering in its exile but has pursued a courageous and indomitable strug9le to recover its fundamental and sacred national rights. Today, the question of Palestine has reached an important stage that calls for even more vigorous action by the international community in the quest for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the problem. Every day we receive new information on the barbarous repression being exercised by the zionist occupation forces in the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories, inclUding Jerusalem, in contempt of every moral and international law. In their attempt to eradicate the resistance of the Palestinian people, the Israeli occupation forces resort to arbitrary arrest, mass detention, deportation, assassination and other action aimed at changing the physical character and demographic composition of the occupied territories. The policy of genocide being carried out by the Israeli zionists *Mr. Dos Santos (Mozambique), Vice-President, took the Chair. (Mr. Zarif, Afghanistan) against the population of the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as th~ir expansionist policy, are gross violations of the norms of international law, the united Nations Charter and other universally recognized instruments. The measures taken by Israel to annex the east part of Jerusalem and the Gelan Heights, its creation of settlements and its acts of repression and terror against the population of the occupied territories have been the sUbject of strong condemnation by the United Nations and the countries members of the Non-Aligned Movement. If Israel can pursue with impunity its brutal, heinous policy against the people of Palestine and other Arab peoples, it is because it enjoys every sort of political, military, financial and diplomatic support from the United States of America, its strategic ally. That support and assistance have made the. latter Israel's direct accomplice. In that connection the position of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was reaffirmed at its eighth summit Conference, in Harare, is explicit. It states in its political Declaration: (Spoke in English) liThe Heads of State or GOvernment condemned the 'strategic alliance' between the United States of America and Israel and emphasized that such an alliance strengthened the aggressive role of the expansionist regime of Tel Aviv that seeks to destabilize the region, and encourages that regime to pursue and escalate its aggression, all of which constitutes a dangerous threat to international stability and to peace and security in the Middle East." (A/4l/697, p. 79, para. 163) (Ms. !guyen Binh Thanh, Viet Nam) (continued in French) By systematically abusing its right of veto in the Security Council, the United States has seriously hindered the efforts of the international community in its auest for a just and eauitable solution to the Palestine auestion. At the same time, it seeks to sow division among the Arab countries, to impose separate agreements, such as the Camp David Accords, in the hope of crushing the heroic atruggle of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples, and with the aim of transforming the Middle East into a bastion of neo-colonialism against the national liberation movements and independent countries in that volatile region. Attempts to impose separate agreements intended to blocking the comprehensive settlement of the Middle Rast conflict, whose central element is the auestion of Palestine, are against the interests of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples, and the interests of peace and security both in the region and throughout the world. Such attempts have no chance of success. The tragic events which followed the Camp David deals have given irrefutable proof of this fact. Those who still nourish illusions about the so-called good intentions of the strategic ally of Israel have had to accept the evident fact that it is impossible to end the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories through separate agreements. The policy carried out by the leading imperialist in the Middle East is an . . integral part of it~ general counter-revolutionary strategy, whose latest expression is the theory of neo-globalism. All plans - from the Kissinger plan to • the Reagan plan, from the Camp David Accord to the shameful efforts now being made ~o arrange a second Camp David - serve the aims of that strategy and are designed to oppose the struggle for the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and the struggle for the peace, independence and social progress of the peoples in that part of the world. (Ms. Nguyen Binh Thanh, Viet Nam) Faced with the strategic Israe11~~merican alliance, the acts of repression and terror of the Zionists, the Palestinian people for decades has been waging a heroic struggle, under the direction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole authentic representative, to recover its sacred fundamental national right, including the right to create a sovereign and independent State in Palestine. That struggle has earned the approval and growing support of mankind. The people and Government of Viet Nam unreservedly support the position of the Non-Aligned Movement on the auestion of Palestine. This position was reaffirmed in the Political Declaration of the eighth Harare summit Conference: (spoke in English) "The Reads of State o~ Government stressed that a comprehensive, just and durable solution to thE ~ttuation in the Middle East cannot be achieved without the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all Palestinian and other Arab territories it ha&. ~cupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and the regaining and exercise in Palestine of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to return to their homes, the right to self-determination without external interference and the right to national independence as well as the right to establish a sovereign independent State in Palestine, in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the united Nations and relevant resolutions." (A/41/697, p. 85, para. 176) (continued in French) Experience has demonstrated beyond proof that the auestion of Palestine is at the heart of the Middle East problem and of the ~rab-Israeli conflict. Therefore there can be no peace in the Middle East as long as the auestion of Palestine is not resolved. Thus no effort should be spared to ensure the convening of the (Ms. Nguyen Binh Thanh, V1et Nam) International Peace COnference on the Middle East as soon as possible. The proposal made by the Soviet Union on the convening of that international Confe~ence, with the participation of all the parties concerned, including the PLO, and on the establishment of a preparatory committee composed of the permanent members of the Security Council, is most appropriate. It is most regrettable that that proposal has come up against the negative attitude of Israel and its protector, which the eighth summit Conf~renG} of the non-aligned countries has condemned unambiguously in the following terms: (spoke in English) "The Heads of State or Government condemned the negative attitude of Israel and the United States towards the holding of that conference and expressed the hope that the united States would reconsider this negative attitude." (A/4l/697, pp. 87-88, para. 182) (continued in French) Inspired by the profound faith in the invincible strength of peoples, we are firmly convinced that the cause of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples in their struggle for their fundamental rights will prevail. Mr. OUDOVENKO (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (interpretation from Russian): This debate, like those of previous years, is of exceptional importance, since we are talking about the main element of the Middle East problem, the core of the conflict there. The constant efforts of the international community. to find ways to resolve the problems of the Middle East, and to find a just solution to the que~tion of Palestine, are reflected in dozens of resolutions and decisions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly. However, the endless sufferin9 of the palestinian people continues, and once again the facts given in the statefilent by the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation, (MS. !guyen Binh Thanh, viet Ham) Mr. Kaddoumi, are convincing. It is high time to turn the Middle East cauldron of constant wara into a region of stable peace and justice for all the peoples of the region. We cannot deny the ~act that to attain a just, lasting settlement in the Middle East is impossible without consideration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. There is an international consensus that that people has the inalienable right to a national identity, self-determination and a homeland. Twelve years ago the General Assembly recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and stressed that that people is one of the main parties involved in the establishment of peace in the Middle East. The reasons for the lack of progress in resolving this p~ob1em are auite clear. The main reason is the aggressive policy that Israel pursues, with the full endorsement and ~upport of Washington. The ·strategic allies" practise the policy of open State terrorism, and flout the United Mations Charter and the accepted rules of international law. Israel, which caused the Palestinian problem, the most acute in the whole of the Middle East conflict, continues to commit outrages in the Arab lands it seized. On the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip the Israeli occupation authorities are pursuing a ruthless policy of oppression. People are deported and detained without due process, or held in custody for half a year or more. Twenty-four hour curfews are declared in towns and villages. (~~ OUdovenko, Ukrainian SSR) Arab universities are closed down, including .the university of Beir zit, the famous academic centre. Palestinian newspapers, magazines and other publications are confiscated, simply because they contain certain information about the lives of Palestinians. The homes of Palestinians suspected of sympathies with the Palestine Liberation Organization (pro) are barbarically demolished with dynamite and bUlldozer s. The activities of Israel in the occupied Arab territories were wrongful from the very outset. As was made clear in the response by the Ukrainian SSR on this question published in document A/4l/455/Add.l~ "[Israel] ••• for nearly 20 years, has been grossly and systematically violating basic human rights in the Arab territories occupied since 1967. Isra,~l's actions are in flagrant violation ~of the elementary norms of civilized conduct of states ... " (A/4l/455/Add.l, p. 3) The results of Israel's policy are recalled by the refugee camps. Their tragedy is overWhelming in its magnitude. All we need to do is to look at the nulTbers of Palestinian refugees registered by the United Nations. In an attempt to justify their aggressive designs and to justify their actions, Tel Aviv cynically invokes the need to suppress Palestinian terrorists. Bombing raids against the temporary shelters of the Palestinians who were expelled by Israel from their homeland and ~o are living in the territory of Arab states, such as neighbouring lebanon, have become customary practice. We are talking primarily of the annihilation of people, who are directly or indirectly connected with the national liberation struggle of the Palestinian people. Today, in many countries, there is support for the view that tile Palestinian problem is the gaping wound of humanity, which mus t be healed as soon as possible. HCMever, the author s of the various prescriptions for treating this wound, by means of separate deals, (Mr. OUdovenko, Ukr ain ian SSR) as happened at Camp David, fcxget the mHn point, which is thdt the future of the Palestinian people cannot be resolved without that people itself. It is quite clear that the main purpose of their policy is to exclude the PLO, the sole legi timate representative of the Palestinian people, from the pcocess of a political settlement in tbe [;Iiddle East, to create insuperable obstacles for a just solution of the Palestinian problem and to do away entirely with the question of creating an independent Palestinian state. As was noted in the message from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR to the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity wi th the People of Palestine: "Given the continuing acute tension in the Middle Fast, which is being fostered by the aggressive designs of Israel and the anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian policy of Washington, there is increasing urgency for a canprehensive just settlement on the basis of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the Arab territories they occupied in 1967, and for the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Stat.e. It A realistic basis fol': a Middle East settlement and for resolving the Palestinian question is offered by the well-knClfln proposals made by the SOviet Union in 1984, which have been reaffirmed and developed in subsequent years. I. am referring to the specific plan for establishing lasting peace in the Middle Fast, in keeping wi th the generally recognized norms of international law and the decisions taken by the security Council and General Assembly of the United NatioM. These proposals have been supported by many countries. The majority of United Nations Members, including quite a few allies of the United states, have endor~ed the SO\1iet initiative to convene a representative international conference (Hr. OUdovenko, Ukrainian SSR) on the Middle East, with the participation'of all interested parties, including thQ PLO. We believe that the time has come to take conCi'ete steps to convene this conference. The most acceptable proposal in this connection was the initiative to establish a preparatory committee consisting of th~ five permanent men'bers of the secur ity Council. That initiative, put forward dur ing the visit that took place this year between the General secretary of the Central COlll1littee of the Communist Party of the SOviet Unioo, Mr. Gorbachev, and the President of France, Mr. Mitterrand, met with broad understanding and support in many countries of the world. Proof of tIlis was the political declaration adopted by the Heads of State and G<Wernment of the MOI7ement of Non-Aligned Countries in Harare in septenber of this year, in which they supported the idea of establishing, within the framework of the security Council, a preparo' ":Jry cOlll1lit tee wi th the par tici pation of the permanent members of the security Council, to find effective ways and means for convening an internatl ')I'\al conference, the idea of which was supported by the General Assembly in resolution 38/58. The el?tablishment of a preparatory committee, within the framework of the United Nations body that bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, would certainly be an important, long-awaited step toward finding a just solution to the Palestinian problem and would help to find effective ways of solving the conflict situation throughout the whole Middle East. The preparatory committee could discuss and take necessary measures to convene the international conference and consider and objectively resolve var ious problems connected wi th its conven ing. Once again we would appeal to those States which are opposed to the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East to reconsider their (Mr. OUdovenko, Ukrainian SSR) position. Their consent to ttle establishment of a preparatcxy committee within the framework of the security Council could help to break the deadlock in these long-standing problems and would demonstrate their desire, not in words alone but in deeds, to help to achieve the noble p.1rposes and principles of the United Nations Char ter. l\ positive contribution to resolving the Palestinian problem is being made by the United N:ltions and, inter alia, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, chaired by Mr. Sarre. As is clear from the report, in 1986 the Committee did a great deal of woz:k in discharging its mandate. In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee continues to mani tor the question of Palestine and has made every effort to help implement its recommendations, which have been endorsed so often by the General l\Ssembly. We support the Committee's efforts to organize and hold regional seminars ;,n Europe, l\frica and North l\merica, as well as a number of meetings and symposiums of the non-governmental organizations. These, then, doubUess made an important contr ibution towards developing and mobiliz ing international public opinion on the question of Palestine. The delegation of the Ukrainian SSR, in this connection, would liKe to note in particular that those who participa ted in all three regional seminars organized by the Committee reaffirmed that: "The problem of the exercise of the inalienable rights of the. Palestinian people continues to remain the crux of the Middle East conflict, and that there can be no comprehensive, just, lasting peace achieved in the region without the exercise of these rights in accordance with united Nations resolutions. 11 (Mr. OUdovenko, Ukrainian SSR) The participants in the se!linars alsoconfiraed: -The need to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East under d".D aeg1s of the Olited Nations and called upon states whic:b do not support the idea of securing the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, inter alia the OIited States and Israel, to reconsider their position so as to resolve that prob1... - (M1'. OUdovenko, Ukrainian SSR) The decisions of the seminars provide irrefutable evidence that there is a very definite view in the world regarding ways and means of achieving an objective, and just solution to the Pal~stinian problem. concrete proposals on this auestion are also contained in the recent recommendations of the Committee, but this implementation requires the mobilization of the political and diplomatic efforts of all the parties concerned. As a member of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Ukrainian SSR has always made and continues to make tireless efforts to work out useful decisions in keeping with the interests of the Palestinian people. We call upon all countries to make collective efforts to find a just solution to the Palestinian problem under the auspices of the United Nations on the basis of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, and to put an end to this senseless suffering of the Palestinian people. The Ukrainian SSR again expresses its support for the struggle of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), their sole legitimate representative, to attain their national rights and appeals to the PLO to maintain its cohesion in its valiant struggle. Mr. DJOUDI (Algeria) (interpretation from Frenoh): Next year it will be 40 years that the Palestinian people has been experiencing an untold tragedy for which our Organization assumes historic responsibility. That tragedy began for the Palestinian people with the partition of their homeland, continued through exile, and has now assumed an extreme form because of the genocidal operation directed against it by the Zionist regime as a means of breaking down its resistence. Dispossessed of its ancestral lands, forced into exile and to disperse, the Palestinian people which refuses to abdicate its rights, or to renounce its faith (Mr. Oudovenko, Ukrainian SSR) in its sacred cause is, in effect, a victim of systematic repression and terrorist acts which threaten its very existence even in far-off lands where it has found refuge. The Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices has again produced an overwhelming indictment of the Zionist occupation forces. Repression has increased and is being directed with brutality and without discrimination at the civilian population. Exposed to mistreatment of all kinds, harassment, arbitrary internment, and wanton acts of provocation, the Palestinians are forced to choose between the daily hell of never-ending persecution and exile with its trials and tribulations. And even in exile, the zionist fO~'~es of aggression, flouting the sovereignty of States and violating their territorial integrity, hound them Vindictively, sowing death among their women and children, and destroying the few possessions they have managed to accumulate. In parallel with this policy of escalation, terror and aggression, the zionist regime is pursuing with eaual determination and with absolute impunity a systematic policy of establishing settlements in the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories despite the fact that the Security Council has unanimously declared it to be illegal, since it ru~s counter to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly prohibits the occupying Power from encroaching upon the territorial integrity of occupied territories. This policy aim3 at perpetuating the occupation so that the process of land grabbing - initiated in 1981 with the annexation @f the Syrian Golan Heights and the declaration of Jerusalem as the so-called eternal capital of Israel - can be rendered irreversible. Given this policy of faits accomplis, the Security Council has been unable to take the only decisions that could restore law and peace in the Middle East. According to that policy the auestion of Palestine is merely a problem of refugees, (Mr. Djoudi, Algeria) whereas the General Assembly, reflecting world public opinion, views it as the Gordian knot of the Middle East conflict, and the Security Council has thus far not been able to discharge its responsibility. Long denied a national existence, the Palestinian people has, under the PLO, through a tenacious struggle and the sacrifices that it has made, managed to overcome the hostility of some and the indifference of others; it has finally been acknowledged by all as a reality that must be reckoned with and has made its right to self-determination and independence a necessary condition for any just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem. In the light of these facts, the General Assembly 12 years ago assumed its responsihility before history. In so doing it redressed an injustice and rehabilitated a people by recognizing that its struggle was just. By undertaking to defend the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and by recognizing the PLO as its sole legitimate representative, it adopted the only possible approach that could bring about a just and lasting peace in the Middle F.ast. This approach, which subseauent resolutions of the General Assembly have charted, and whose correctness has been confirmed by the massive support given it each year by the international community, three years ago led to the identification of the negotiating framework for a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East crisis. This framework is the International Peace Conference on the Middle East in which all parties to the conflict, including the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, should participate, on an eaual footing. The holding of this Conference, the principle of which has been approved by the international community, continues to be the subject of prevarication and delaying tactics by the zionist regime which has constantly opposed any peace (Mr. Djoudi, Algeria) initiatives. Ther~ is no need to recall here that, when they adopted the Fez Plan in 1982, the Heads of sovereign Arab States included their initiative in the framework of such a conference. This is the only valid negotiating framework likely to lead to a just and comprehensive settlement of the conflict and the establishment of lasting peace in the r8gion. It is therefore important that all efforts, and particularly those of the Security Council, which has a decisive role to play in this respect, should be aimed at removing the obstacles which have prevented the convening of this Conference and the creation of the conditions necessary to its success. The dangerous eVOlution of the Middle East conflict over the past four decades and its extension in recent months to other geographical areas e reflect the aggravation of this conflict as well as the increasing danger it poses to international peace and security. The origin of this dangerous situation was the denial of the national rights of a people, the Palestinian people, and the occupation of its homeland, Palestine. In addition to that denial and that occupation, we must add the irredentism of a regime, the Tel Aviv regime which, by increasing the number of its acts of aggression and provocation directed against Arab States, has transformed the entire region into a permanent hotbed of tension. (Mr. Djoudi, Algeria) Thus, it is clear th~t so long as the Palestinian people - to which my country pays a solemn tribute for its heroic, exemplary resistance to occupation and the policy of fait accompli - is not able to exercise all its inalienable national rights, in particular its right to self-determination, its right to return and its right to build its own independent State, and so long as the occupation of the Arab territories and the pol_cy of terror and aggressiol pursued by the zionist regime are not terminated, the Middle East will continue tc be beset by the demons of war and the world will he constantly threatened by the escalation of this conflict, with all its dangerous conseauences for international peac~ and security. It is the international community's duty to work to restore peace in the Middle East. It is the paramount obligation of the Security Council to r.ealize the full meaning of this challenge and to shoulder its responsibiliti~s fully. Mr. GARAVITO RERNANDEZ (Colombia) (interpretation from Spanish): Colomhia, a peace-loving country and an advocate, by nature and by definition, of understanding based on respect for the eauality of all the fraternal peoples in the world, cannot remain silent about one of the major problems of our day, a problem that has all the religious, philosophical and political ingredients to jeopardize economic, political and social stability in a land where people should livp. in a state of grace, because it has been the crossroads of, and gave birth to, two of the most important religions of all times - Christianity and Judaism. We should, however, preface that assertion with the comment that, while Islam was not born in Palestine, it is none the less true that its cultural pattern is closely linked to another of the great religions by which man seeks the path of justice and truth not only to peace but also to the achievement of a state of grace in the after life, having complied with the duties and tenets of those three great religions in our. troubled world. (Mr. Djoudi, Algeria) Those of us whose conduct, at the end of the twentieth century, has a philosophical, theological and moral framework are unable to understand how the teachings of those religions can be reconciled with the behaviour of believers towards their fellow men. One example is the denial to the Palestinian people of its right to a territory and a nationality, as a result of which refugees are ignored or treated like aliens who bring misfortune to the countries of asylum; and those who live on their own land are looked on as foreigners and viewed with the mistrust usually reserved for a criminal. In the United Nations, the monitor of circumstances - which some find good but which are of concern to others - they are ignored and placed in the position of paper isolators in an atomic energy plant. Where are we heading and of what use will the United Nations be if its resolutions are not implemented and complied with? Since the establishment of this Organization, Colombia has maintained a ba~anced position, seeking eauity in relation to the Palestine problem. Colombia has always voted in favour of the recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people; it has defended the self-determination of that people; it has condemned the occupation of territory by force; and it has called for the exercise of the right to live in peace and free from threats. But that has not stopped us from clearly and expressly recognizing the existence of Israel as a free and sovereign State, born of the clamour of a people that had suffered - just as the Palestinian people have done - for its right to a homeland. But there is a difference: Israel since 1948 has been recognized as a State - a situation not yet achieved by the Palestinian people, despite the efforts of the United Nations. The Palestine auestion has reached such a point that only common sense can provide a solution to it. To believe that the solution to the problem lies in weapons, or in the arms race on which the parties involved in the dispute have (Mr. Garavito Hernandez, Colombia) embarked, serves only to make more remote the point of departure whose essential element is dialogue for the coexistence of two peoples that are brothers in origin, location and destiny. The complexity and advanced technology of modern weapons can lead mankind to a holocaust if we do not listen to reason and recognize that the sun rises for everyone. It is always worth recalling the following words in the preamble to the united Nations Charter, which we as signatories are obliged to abide by: "We the peoples of the united Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and ••• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained". Were those principles that were codified as rules of conduct for the nations of the world different in the 1940s from what they are in present circumstances? Or perhaps the facts have overtaken the function of preserving the peace which the peoples of the world decided to entrust to the United Nations. Or will the spirit of supremacy, domination and colonialism that motivates some states which are not satisfied with their frontiers continue to produce situations in which other, weaker States and peoples are intimidated and humiliated? What a mistake it is to tarnish the Charter of our nations. In order to preserve peace among the peoples of the world, Colombia calls for a review of the United Nations Charter, not in its essence or in its spirit but in its form, so as to provide this Organization with instruments more capable of complying with the mandates of the General Assembly. It seems that the more we want concord, the farther away from it we move. (Mr. Garavito Hernandez, Colombia) If we analyse geopolitics, we realize that in each of our continents there are armed disputes which give rise not only to confrontation among nations but to struggles that tear asunder the elements of nationality. How sad it Is that this desire for conauest at any price encourages terrorism. We must definitely ask ourselves whether we truly believe in, and as states are capable of respecting, the precepts of the General Assembly. (Hr. Garavito Hernandez, Colombia) Colombia addresses an appeal for concord, justice and respect for life and for the right to a borne in which to live and die in peace. The time has come to thank, on behalf of Colombia, the High Commissioner for Refugees for his efforts and his consistent policy in favour of those unfortunates who, persecuted by man, have faith only in God and in a country and a homeland in after-life. It is for them, for the world of refugees, that the United Nations must continue to exist, because, as stated in one of its resolutions, the crux of the Middle East conflict is the aUQstion of Palestine, and a comprehensive, lasting and just peace cannot be achieved in the region without the full exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable national rights. We welcome each and everyone of the attempts made to achieve understanding, from the Camp David agreement to the summit conference held in Fez, Morocco, which was r~llowed by another Arab summit conference in Casablanca. Nothing would be more pragmatic and logical than that Israel and the representatives of the Palestinian people should find a solution to such a serious problem. How different it is to view the ~estion of Palestine through the eyes of someone whose parameters were defined by a culture acauired outside the region, rather than with the eyes of a man who was shaped on the anvil of events. Respect for the rights of brother peoples is the cornerstone of the policy of self-determination of peoples. Why have international law if we are going to disregard it? Why have peace if we are going to make a mockery of it? Why have agreements if we are going to Violate them? In the recent statement of our presirlent, Mr. Virgilio B~rco Vargas, before this Assembly, referring specifically to the international policy of my country, said that Colombia had contributed to the creation, development and improvement of both the inter-American system and the united Nations. We have always encouraged (Mr. Garavi~o Hernandez, Colombia) integrationist and sub-regional aspirations. The principles of non-intervention and self-determination of peoples and the peaceful settlement: of disputes among States have inspired our international cond'-lct. This body has sought at all times ~ deal with ~eali9tic situations, the elements of which gave rise to disputes. The result of such endeavours in the search for the final objective were hardly flattering. Of course, the work does not stop there. we shall continue to produce protocols and resolutions which other s may disregard, and to do whatever is humanly possible in our quest for truth. I believe that only the common sense of man enlightened by <:bd, Allah or Jehovah, will bring baCk peace to the people of Israel and Palestine. Hr. BA-ISSA (DenDcratic Yemen) (interpretation from Arabic): The question of Palestine is closely related to this Organization. It has a specific relationship with the united Nations. The land of Pales~ine was usurped in the full view of the United Nations. The lp.ld of Palestine was partitioned and the State of Israel was created by Cl resolution of this Organization, tltlich thus created an intruder author ity imposed by a policy of terror and racism. It is an irony of fate that this entity has become the entity which violates united Nations resolutions and the Charter more than any other. Forty years after the creation of that entity it continues to pursue a policy of colonialism and neo-colonialism and continues its racist policy of expansion in very different international conditions. The people of Palestine are now fighting to form an independent State on the land of Palestine, to establish their right to return to their: homeland. A long time has elapsed since zionism and the Zionist regime involved themselves openly in colonialism. Peoples loving peace and progress have sought a new way of building the world to which they aspire, one in whicn ties of domination and exploitation would be destroyed. However, this was (Mr. Gat a'" i to Her nandez, Colontli!.) not to the liking of some big Powers which are doing everything they can to impede the 9rogress of the d~veloping countries. We view Israel as a spearhead in the very heart of the Arab homeland. Imperi~list forces are working against the Arab peoples there. Without the unlimited militAry and economic support that Israel enjoys from certain States it would never have been able to continue to disregard the will of thp- international community, and to flout United Nations resolutions, but some States have made force an alternative to law and have made their selfish narrow interestR their only objective instead of supportinq the cause of oppressed peoples and establishing in the world relations hased on justice and ecuAlity in accordance with the principles of the Charter and of international law. But even this racist system cannot continue to disregard this Organization. A permanent member of the Security Council, the Hnited States of America, has sought and is still seeking to support Israel, to give it total support in its rejection of the rights of the P~lestinian people, rights that the Unitpd States should protect because of its respon~ibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The United Nations is losing credihility and unless it ensures respect for the principles of the Charter its effectiveness will be called into auestion. We must strengthen our confidence in those principles and reaffirm our commitment to respect United Nations resolutions. It must find a solution to this auestion. The int~rnational community has stated many times over that it sllpports the Palestinian people and th~!r just struggle. ~te auestion of Palestine is the core of the Middle F.ast auestion. That region will never he able to enjoy peace and stabilitj unless a comprehensive, jus~ ~lution is found within the framework of th~ international confer(~nce that the United Nations has endorsed. That is the will of the international community with the exception of Israel and the United Statp.s, which persist in wishing to seek piecemeal, unilateral solutions. It has become (Mr. Ba-Issa, Democratic Yemen) clear that peace in the Middle East will not be pos~ible unless Israel withdra~s from the occupied Palestinian A~ab territories and unless the national inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are exercised. The policy of political and economic annexation, the policy of ~ institutionalizing the settlements they have established, the policy of state terrorism, the policy of imposing faits accomplis, the policy of changing the demographic structure of the occupied territories, none of those policies can succeed. (Mr .. Ba-Issa, Democratic Yemen) At its summit Conference in Harare, the Non-Aligned Mo~ement reaffirmed the legitimacy of the struggle of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole legitimate representative. The world has seen major developments over the past 40 years, and throughout the world the peoples have achieved ~reat victories. New principles and new values have emerged. Last year we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Thus many peoples have achieved :n~ependence, but the Palestinian people is still living under the yoke of occupation, and suffering the effe~ts of policies nf. oppression and expansionism. It is still denied its right to self-determination. Israel, with the support of its allies, continues to pursue its policy of colonization, and its racist policies, which disregard all r.esolutions and appeals of the international community seeking to liberate the Palestinian people and to allow peace and stability to he established in the Middl~ ~ast. The pursuance of those policies and the resulting situation in the Middle East constit~te the basic problem that must he resolved, because that is the only way that peace in the region can be brought about. We think that the allies of Israel and those that support it have realized that their policy cannot put an end to Israeli arrogance. All attempts to circumvent unit~J Nations resolutions and to disregard its role in any just solution have failen. Now the United Nations must face its historic responsihility. The international Con~erence must be convened, with the participation of all parties concerned, including the PLO, on an eaual footing, with the aim of a total withdrawal by Israel from all the oCcupied territories, and the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, that is, the right to return to their homes and the right to self-determination and to the establishment of their own independent State on their national territory. (Mr. Ba-Issa, Democratic Yemen) unless all these conditions are met, the vicious circle of violence and upheaval will continue in that part of the world. Mr. FARAH DIRIR (Djibouti): Ever since the adoption of the united Nations resolution 181 (11) entitled "Future Government of Palestine", the Palestinian tragedy has haunted the international community. For 40 years the Zionist authorities, heedless of all international appeals for peace in the Middle East, have responded defiantly by flouting all united Nations fesolutions, by creating a spectre of violence and terror where an entire people, already dispossessed and uprooted, has faced political, economic, cultural and physical annihilation. For 40 years the Zionist authorities have been bent on their premeditated and persistent design to create confusion around the core issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and have diverted international attention and placed obstacles in the way of continued efforts ~o promote a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. War has always been the Israeli way of resolVing their problems. The entire history of aggression and annexation by the Zionist State of Israel has followed from the misrepresentation of facts and the twisted logic of Zionist propaganda, in which the Zionists claimed the so-called "promised land", thus illegally securing possession of and domination over Palestine. On the basis of this false claim the Zionist state has continued to justify its expansionist policy of sei2ing Palestinian and other Arab land and expelling their inhabitants in order to promote Jewish immigration. It is unfortunate that the international community has so far failed to organize the necessary concerted action to make Israel redress its abhorrent policy that is continuing to strip the Palestinian people of their human rights. The zionist State of Israel has no legitimacy - histor' .al, biblical or juridical - in all the Palestinian and other Arab land where it has established (Mr. Ba-Issa, Democratic Yemen) itself. It possesses no moral legitimacy, and nothing can justify its conduct in practising racism and State terrorism in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab land. The Zionist State of Israel - as all the world knows - has sprung from a false ideology and from a series of acts of ~iolence and terro€ism. It was created as an unfortunate error at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs. It has sur~i~ed, not through its own hard work and stcength, but through an influx of financial and military power provided by its powerful supporters. The Zionist State of Israel has proved to be a foreign implant whose powerful but unwise doctors have been unable successfully to ensure its acceptance in its new and forcibly acauired efi~ironment in the Middle East, because of its belligerent and bellicose behaviour towards its alienated Arab host. The politics of Zionism thrive at the expense of the Palestinian people, whose existence it denies. It was obvious from the outset that zionist Israel would proceed with its atrocious practice of creating a ~ast Jewish majority in a land inhabited by an indigenous Palestinian Arab community. One can only be astonished at the lightning speed with which one population has been dri~en out of its homeland, to be replaced by another, with ownership of the land changing hands. ~his has occurred through the implementation of a Zionist plan of systematic expropriation which was worked out well before the conception of the Zionist State of Israel as a result of the unfortunate Balfour Declaration of 1917. It seems 90 paradoxical that a country so small in territory and number of inhabitants caR play such an unacceptable role in world affairs. How did it happen that the Zionist State of Israel could assume such prominence in the global strategy that it is today in a position to imperil world peace and security? (Mr. Farah Dirir, Djibouti) The answer may lie in the m~h repeated fact that the Israeli State has been implanted as an agent for military intelligence and surveillance and as a war machine to be an experimental military laboratory as well as to act as an effective catalyst for the perpetuation of certain foreign economic, trade and commercial interests and aggrandizement in the Middle East. The Zior.ist State, in return, receives unlimited aid - the largest in the world - unlimited protection and all the mone~and weapons it needs to subjugate the Palestinian people and keep the Middle Rast in a state of perpetual unrest. It is senseless, in these circumstances, to expect the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Arabs to recognize Israel unconditionally. One may wonder how the Palestinians can accept the robbery of their land and the eviction of which they have been victims. How can the existence of Israel be justified when the series of usurpations a~d wars continues indefinitely and blatant aggression and annexation lead every time to the acauisition of new territory? Which Israel is expected to be accepted by the PLO and the other Arab neighbours? Is it the one projected by the United Nations Partition Plan of 1949, which has been systematically flouted by Israel? Is it the one created by the encroachment in 1948 through the terror in Deir Yassin or the 1956 Kfar Kassem terror, or the one of the 1967 war of invasion? Is it the one of the 1982 unwarranted invasion of Lebanon, where the Israeli forces continue their aggression to this day with a renewed escalation of violence and terror, inflicting heavy casualties on and damage to the property of the Palestinians and other Arabs? Is it the Israel of infamous and shocking memory of Sabra and Shatila or the one that is perpetrating the proliferation of Israeli settlements in the Arab territories? Is it the Israel of Ariel Sharon, which is striving to dominate the Near East from (Mr. Farah Dirir, ojibouti) the Straits to the Suez Canal? Or is it the Israel which is planning with malice to bring about the disintegration of the Arab nations? Finally, how can the recognition of Israel be demanded by an entity whose own existence is denied? Let us not put the cart before the horse. A solution to the Palestinian problem can be found only in a genuine grasp of the cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The issue is not the zionist clamour surrounding the security of Israel, but the struggle for freedom of an entire people striving to rid themselves of the atrocities inflicted upon them by the racist doctrine of Zionism that legitimizes aggression, colonial behaviour and State terrorism against an entire people whose only crime is their struggle for freedom and national independence in their homeland. It is for this reason that my delegation believes that the Palestinian auestion is at the core of the Middle East conflict and that no just and lasting peace can be feasible without recognition of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and the establishment of its independent sovereign State in Palestine. Any peace initiative that seeks a just and lasting peace in the Middle East should involve the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole representative of the Palestinian people, and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. The Arab nations demonstrated their ardent desire for a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict when their Heads of State and Government met at the twelfth summit conference in Fez, Morocco, in September 1982, and adopted the Arah peace plan, which was reaffirmed later by the extraordinary summit conference held in Casablanca in October last year. (Mr. Farah Dirir, Djibouti) The whole world must appreciate the fact that the Palestinian people has been very patient in demanding recognition of its i~alienable rights by the most peaceful means open to a people which has suffered through a brutal miscarriage of justice, has been evicted from its homeland and has endured the indignity of exile and homelessness for 40 years. In this regard, it is incumbent on the peace-loving international community in this body to press for a just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian auestion. We beJleve that the most appropriate step towards that goal is the convening, without any delay, of the International Peace Conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, in which all the parties concerned, together with the five permanent members of the Security Council, would participate on an eaua1 footing, including the Palestine Liheration Organization, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. ,Any peace plan must be comprehensive, indivisible and based upon the relevant resolutions of the United Nations to ensure the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian and all other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. I should like to conclude my statement by expressing our appreciation to the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Pale~tinian People, Which, under the able leadership of Ambassador Sarre of Senegal, has increased international awareness of and promoted support for the struggle of the Palestinian people for the exercise of their inalienable right to Self-determination and to establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian State. My delegation hopes that the Committee's findings and recommendations will meet with the full support of the international community. (Mr. Farah Dirir, Djibouti) Mr. TREIKI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (interpretation from Arabic): Today we are assembled here to consider the auestion of Palestine, the auestion of the Palestinian people, the auestion of the tragedy of a people who continue to be subjected to genocide and mass murder. We are considering the greatest human tragedy in contemporary history. We are also considering a settler-colonialist phenomenon and a nazi, fascist, racist phenomenon - that is, the zionist presence in the sacred land of Palestine, the cradle of the three monotheist fa~ths - Islam, Christianity and Judaism. What we continue to witness in the land of Palestine is a settler-colonialist phenomenon such as that in South Africa, f~r which the white fascist, racist minority is responsible. The two regimes are ClI:ganicaUy linked. l\:)th regimes were established on the basis of racist ideologies: a rac!st-zionist doctr ine in Palestine and a racist doctrine in the southern part of our continent. Both racist regimes were created by the very same colonialism, British colonialism. British colonialism was responsible for the setting up of the racist Zionist entity in Palestine. As the late President Nasser of Egypt said: "Those who did not own the land promised it to those who had no claim to it." Bdtain, which did not own the land of Palestine, gave that land to the Zionist, racist clique, which had no claim to it. It is from that premise that we must deal wi th the question of Palestine as a settler, colonialist, racist phenomenon. Our consideration of this question does not mean antagonism towards Judaism as a religion, nor does it mean antagonism towards Jews. It is rather antagonism towards the racist, colonialist nature of the alien regime <:reated in Palestine. What is the solution to this problem? How can the united Nations face its responsibility? What is the future awaiting the Palestinian people? Indeed, what is the fu ture awai ting peace and securi ty in the Medi terr anean and in the world at large? The united Nations committed a historical error through its admission of that artificial entity to menberShip of the international community. That historical error was undoubtedly made without the knowledge of the peoples of the world and at the instigation of world Zionism, that racist force. The united Nations must rectify that historical error. Talk of an international conference and talk about the inalienable dghts of the Palestinian people, however we reaffirm them and however many re~olutions we adopt on them, will not solve the problem. The history of Nazi, racist Zionism in Palestine is the history of continued colonialism. 'From the occupation of the whole of Palestine to the perpetration of (Mr. Treiki, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) continued acts of aggression against the Arab nation, to the annexation of the Arab territories neighbouring Palestine, to the annexation of the cradle of the revealed religions, that is, Jerusalem, to the artificial entity itself we see the settler colonialist entity daily consolidating itself more and more by establishing settlements with the financial support of the United states. Continuously, day after day, we see acts of genocide perpetrated against ~~e Palestinian people in occupied Palestine and in neighbouring Arab territories, and even in other Arab territories. We also witness the acts of assassination of the leaders of the Palestinian people everywhere. Even those who speak of human rights, to what human beings are they referring, unless the Arab human beings in Palestine and the African human beings in the southern part of the continent are not part of the humanity they are talking about? Is the displaced Palestinian not a human being? They talk of terrorism. What is greater terrorism than the expulsion of more than four million Palestinians from their homeland, dispersing them all over the world? Does not the presence of the zionist cliaue with us here, while the real representative of the Palestinian people remains outside this Hall, constitute terrorism? Are not the acts perpetrated daily against the Palestinian people - the bombardment, the use of the most sophisticated arsenal of the United states against them - terrorism? What do the massacres o.f Sabra and Shatila and Deir Yassin and the other massacres perpetrated daily against the Palestinian people mean? Do they mean respect for human rights? Are they not acts of terrorism? No. In the view of the Western countries in general, these are humane acts, for which the aggressor must be rewarded with $5 billion annually from the united States. And we hear today somebody who says his country made a pledge to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); they have given the money (Mr. Treiki, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) for the refugees to cootinue being refugees, to continue living in tents. Yet they give funds and weapons to the Zionist, Fascist Naz~ to kill more of the Palestinian people. Wi thin the Zionist enti ty they speak of the "modera~s" and the "extremists", the "hawks" and the "dcwes". The only difference is that Shamir would like to kill the Palestinian people with a quick, lethal weapon, while Peres would like to have them killed by poisoo, a slightly slower weapon. The clique ruling in Palestine is a terrorist, blood-thirsty clique. The history of the united Nations bears witness to that. The history of the western countries bears witness to that; but yet they do not want to admit it. Br itain speaks of terror ism. Yet it receives Shamir. Yet it does not recognize the Palestinian PeOple. Yet it refuses to receive any Palestinian. The United States of Amer iea does the very same thing. Then they come here to speak of terrorium and of human rights, because a black human, being in southern Africa is not a human being, and an Arab human being is not a human being either. ~en we say that Britain is antagonistic to the Arab nation, they say "No". Then what are they? Friends? The evidence is here. The presence of the Zionist entity bears witness to the depths of their friendship for the Arab nation. (Mr. Treiki, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) When we say to the imperialists, ·You are the enemies of our nation", they say, "No, we are your friends, and here is the evidenc~·. We can talk endlessly about the possibility of reaching solutions. Yet we cannot accept half-solutions. We are the Arab nation with a well-kno~ history of struggle. We have fought colonialist empires for many years and we have emerged victorious. The colonialist Crusaders remained in the land of Palestine for centuriea, yet they ar~ gon~. The racists remained in Rhodesia for many years, yet they are gone, and now the representatives of the peopl~ of Zimbabwe are here. This fascist Nazi cliaue ruling Palestine will meet its end, however much it is supported by the imperialist forces. The Arab nation, in its struggle against the zionist entity, a coloniaHst and racist phenomenon, cannot accept half-solutions. If some Arab States might be compelled to surrender temporarily, that does not mean that our nation has capitulated, nor does it mean that it has surrendered. The Arab nation, which is passing through a period of division and differences, will overcome these diffe~ences. It will become unified. It will emerge victorious and the Zionist occupation will come to an end, regardless of the might of the united States, Great Britain and other imperialist Powers. The only solution is to put an end t~ the fascist Nazi zionist cliaue occupying Palestine and to replace it by the Palestinian people, who must achieve their full legitimate rights. Any other s~lution is but a false solution. We might be accused of lacking realism. Yet, realism does not mean the acceptance of colonialism and occupation. Revolution is the result of the rejection of a painful reality. That is the role of the Palestinian revolution. The Palestinian people have rejected that painful reality and will continue their struggle with the (Mr. Treiki, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) support of the Arab nation and the Muslim nation, as well as all progressive forces and all peace-loving peoples. ~he United Nations must rectify its historical error and restore the rights of and be just and fair to the Palestinian peor1e, enable them to return to their land and live their lives, like the rest of the peoples of the world, regardless of the might of colonialism and imperialism. Irrespective of the strength of the strategic alliance between the Zionists and the United States, victory is at hand and, God willing, representatives here will find that this historieal error will be rectified, that the Palestinian people will return to their homeland to enjoy their rights and that Nazi Zionism, just like Hit1erism, will come to an end. Mr. HAMIED (Sudan) (interpretation fr?m Arabic): I have the pleasure to speak to you today on the item under discussion, namely, the auestion of Palestine. The Genlual Assembly has considered this auestion systematically for several years and the fact that the General Assembly has declared 29 November of each year as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People reaffirms the interest of the international community in the Palestinian question and its solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just ~nd legitimate struggle to recover their legitimate national right to return to their lands, which have been usurped, and to exercise their right to self-determination and to independence in their own land. The majority of States Me~bers of the United Nations a~e interested in the solution of the Palestinian auestion and that is an achievement, for it is this auestion that is the source of this conflict and the lack of security and stability in the Middle East. It is clear from Israelis policy of aggression, its attempts to smother up the Palestinian auestion and obliterate the identity of the Palestinian people, its (Hr. Treiki, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) continuing di~regard of the will of the international community, and its reliance on the support it receives from abroad, that it is not interested in a just and lasting solution to this pro~l~m. It is striving to deprive the Palestinian peopl~ of one of the most important rights embodied in the united Nations Charte~, namely, the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination. The International C~nfere~ce on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva in 1983, re~ffirmed that its rights must be restored and indicated how that could best be achieved. The principles, drafted by the Confer~nce, provide a sound basis for achieving a ju~~ and lasting peace in the region, which is the goal of the international community. Su~~~ 'las expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian people, for the Palestinian auestion reMains our chief concern. We should like to reaffirm here our solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people and their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and express the earnest hope that they will attain their goal and realize their legitimate aspirations. 'Llat is why the Sudan has always supported the efforts mace by the United Nations Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; we trust that those efforts will receive the support they deserve. ~~e year 1986 has been declared as the Year of Peace, and we express the hope that a just and lasting peace will be achieveO in the Middle East before it comes to an end. We hope to see a real and genuine peace that will guarantee the Palestinian people those essential rights which will enable them to realize their legitimate aspirations as expressed here by their sole legitimate representative, the PLO. (Mr. "amied, SUdan) we appeal for support and assistance to be given to the PLO. The director of the political division referred to this in tne discussion on ttlis agenda item, reaffirming that the Palestinian people were seeking a solution to the problem by 12ll,possible means, and abO'le all by peaceful means, so as to bring lasting peace and stability to that part of the world. The representative of Israel, on the other hand, spoke clearly and shamelessly, with scorn and stubbCEnness, of the terrorist policy pursued by Israel against the sons of the Palestinian people who continue to fight to regain their rights. The question of Palestine is not a mere question of refugees. It involves an entire people which has been de iven oot of its land and whose weal th has been plundered. It is a problC":'i of the Middle East, which has tried in every way to find a just, equitable and PeacefUl solution. The region will remain a powder-keg which may explode at any time unless a solution is found. That is why Sudan agrees wi th all the international organizations that stress the need to hold the International Peace Conference on the Middle East as proposed. We consider tnat to be the only possible way to find a just and lasting solution to the problem. That is why Israel and its few allies should join the rest of the international community and seek to overcome all the difficulties and set aside all ploys and manoeuvres aimed at dividing the Arab ranks and finding partial solutions. We have constantly appealed for a just. and lasting peace in the region, but that appeal has never had a response owing to Israel's intransigence and its policy based on narrow religious racism and its te~rorist practices. Israel is not comfortable in the Middle East region. It is like a cancer spreading and attacking the Arab body. It Is trying by all the means at its disposal to consolidate its existence by every possible means, at the expense of the Arab and Palestinian existence. In acting in that way Israel is supported by (Mr. Hamled, SUdan) foreign complicity aimed at sabotaging the regiOtL In its defiance of the tbited Nations res~lutions it is supported by the exercise of the right of veto of certain memers of the security Council. We therefore call on the Melllbers of the Council, in particular Israel's allies, to reconsider their positions concerning the International Peace Conference on the Middle East and to call on the internat~onal cotmlunity to support that Conference so that we do not miss this oPPOrtunity, which would be a great loss. The Palestinian people would then intensify its struggle, with the support of all Arabs and all Muslims, as well as all peoples that cherish peace and justice. We hope that right will always prevail over injustice of any kind. Mr. AL-WAYIS (Iracl) (interpretation from Arabic): I wish at the outset to express once again, on behalf of the delegation of Iraq, our great appreciation of the work of the Chairman and mellberg of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Their efforts on the question of Palestine support the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle to achieve a free, dignified life, and expose the practices of the Zionist authorities against the Arab Palestinian people. Here I refer to the Commi ttee 's report (A/41/35), which clearly demonstrates the COIIIIIittee's valuable work and includes documented facts. We are once again discussin9 the question of Palestine, a question of destiny, with conviction and a sense of responsibility, in the hope of arriving at a just and permanent solution of the problem. This question has been discussed for many decades, wi thout nuch progress oeing made. It ia indeed painful tha~ we see no hope on the political hor izon of a co~rehensive, just solution to the tragedy of the Arab Palestinian people, who have been displaced and whose homeland has been usurped under a plan put into effect by the Zionist movement with great brutality (Mr. Hamied, Sudan) and terrorism. The Zionists achieved complete success when they used terrorism under tne British Mandate. They not only they intimidated the Palestinian people, but terrified the mandatory authorities into abandoning their responsibilities under tne Mandate. Those author ities then left tne question completely in the hands of the security Council. In addition, terrorism achieved an incredible success in becoming an integral part of Israeli policy after the creation of Israel. If Israeli policy since 1948 has had one specific characteristic, it has been the pattern of its aggression and expansion based on force and terrorism. In brief, Israel has dlosen to live by the sword,. and the sword alone,. in order to achieve all the dreams of Zionism,. implementing by a fait accompli its great plan for a final soluticn for the Palestinians, eliminating them as a people,. making it impossible for them to enjoy the national rights enjoyed by other peoples. That is one characteristic of Israeli policy. Another, in the execution of tne Zionist plan,. is the persistent brutality and the use of absolute power, canpletely denying self-determination to the Palestinians and refusing recognition to their leg! timate representatives who must be viewed as teri:or ists or at best refugees~ (Mr. At-wayis, Iraq) To implement those targets, Israel hee practised a policy of brutality in its treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied terri~~ries, and has adopted a policy of aggression and expansion against Arab countries, invoking security considerations to justify its violation of international law and of the mest basic human rights and humane principles. The resulting Buffering of the Palestinian people under the military zionist oCcupation is an open secret. This occupation practices the policy of the iron fist, the imposition of martial law, mass punishmentR, displacement, fo!ced emigration, assassinations, arrests, demolition ~f houses, confiscation of land, the huilding of Zionist settlements, the annexation of Jerusalem and its desecration after it was made the capital. Israel also strives to liauidate the struggling Palestinian people wherever they are to be found in the world. As if its policy inside Palestine were not enough, it went into other Arab countriesJ it annexed the Golan Heights, after occupying them, and then in 1981, it launched its aggression against the Iraai nuclear plant, which was devoted to peaceful purposes. Under the pretext of the same security considerations it also invaded Lebanon in 1982, where it practised terrorism and mass annihilation against both Lehanese and Palestinian peoples. The massacres of Sabra and Shatila are still before our eyes. In 1985 it launched a strike against Tunis, targeting the headauarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), where scores of Tunisians and Palestinians were killed. Israel, in co-operation with others, is carrying out brutal attacks against the refugee camps of the PaleRtinians in Lebanon, with the aim of annihilating their inhabitants. Israel is continuing its acts of aggression and its occupation of Arab territories, and continuing to estahlish settlements on Palestinian and Arab (Mr. AI-Wayis, Iraa) territories, while it rejects all opportunities and initiatives that offer prospects of achieving peace, and a just and honourable settlement of the Middle East question. The continuati~n of the Palestine problem, without a just eolution being found, and the continuing Israeli occupation of Arab territories are the main reasons for the continued tension and instability in the area, with their attendant conseauences of violence, which constitute a threat to international peace and security. The attempt t~ deny the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, above all its right to self-determination and to the establishment of its independent State in Palestine, were always the main reasons for the tension and bloody conflict in the area. We say to Israel that if it continues. to depend on maintaining the existing position and to resort to brute force and a policy of the sword, that can only lead, sooner or later, to annihilation. The Arabs will never remain divided; they will rally to defend their honour, dignity and independence. The struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, is a legitimate struggle to restore the rights of a people whose land was usurped and whose homeland was taken from them. This struggle is a movement to liherate a homeland that was occupied by force of arms, by terrorism, by a racist regime which is alien to our Arab region and its historical roots. Conseauently, Iraa is proud of its recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of 5 million Palestinians. We are not alone in that respect, since the PLO is a full member of the League of Arab states, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Non-Aligned Movement; it is recognized by more than 110 countries, and has information offices iro 87 countries, many of them with diplomatic status. (Mr. A1-Waris, Iraa) It is a proved fact that Israe1 could not have practised its aggressive policy, could not have violated all international la~s and rules, could not have challenged the will of the international community, had it not been for the special care and protection it gets from the United States of America, in addition to the material and military support it gets from the same source to enahle it to pursue that expansionist, aggressive approach. The United States must know that its policy is not a policy of peace but a policy that must perpetuate destruction, expansionism, aggression and disturbance in the whole area. Recent events have unveiled a new role of the zionist entity, a role in which, in co-operation with the American Administration, it provides Iran with the weapons and spare parts needed by the Khomeini regime to continue its aggressive war against Iraa. This foul operation in which Israe2 has effectively taken part is designed to prolong the Iranian aggression against Iraa, to continue threatening security and stability in the area, and to achieve the Zionist aggressive, expansionist goals ther(~. Iraa announced previously that there had been military co-operation between the regimes of Tehran and Tel Aviv since the beginning of the war. Keeping Iraa busy in a prolonged, aggressive war is part of the zionist scheme; it is in the interests of the Zionist regime and against those of the Palestinian people. The media has exposed the fact, and it has been admitted by officials in Wa3hington and Tel Aviv, that Iran was supplied with weapons, in particular by Israel, both directly and indirectly. Those facts have proved beyond any doubt the falsity of the Khomeini regime, and of its claim of enmity to Israel and advocacy of. the Palest:lnian cause. How can that regime be an enemy of Israel and at the same time dep4!nd on it to provide weapons and spar'e parts? The Khomeini regime and its representatives must stop making these deals, and making false allegations that (Mr. Al-Wayis, Iraa) they are on the side of the Palestinian people. From now on it will be vain for that i:egime to pretend that they are the enemy of Israel, and to attack those who advocate giving Israel weapons. For years Iraq has realized the close relationship -