S/PV.2621 Security Council

In accordance with the decisions taken at the previous meetings on this item [2618th to 2620th meetings], I invite the observer for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to take a place at the Council table; I invite the representatives of Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Israel; Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yugoslavia to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. At the invitation of the President. Mr. Oaddoumi (Palestine Liberation Org&zation) took-a pIa;e at the council table; Mr. Djoudi (Algeria), Mr. CeSar (Czechoslovakia), Mr. Netanyahu (Israel), Mr. Abuihassan (Kuwait), Mr. Alaoui (Morocco), Mr. Yaqub-Khan (Pakistan), Mr. EI- Fattal (Syrian Arab Republic) and Mr. Golob (Yugoslavia) took the piaces reservedfor them at the side of the Council chamber.

I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Yemen, the German Democratic Republic and Indonesia in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council. to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure. At the invitation of the President, Mr. zarif(Afghanistan), Mr. Wasiuddin (Bangladesh), Mr. AI-AI& (Democratic Yemen), Mr. Ott (German Democratic Republic) .and Mr. Sastradi&aya (Indonesia) took the pIaces reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber.

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter dated IO October 1985 from the representative of Egypt [S/17560], which reads as follows: “I have the honour to request that during the Council’s discussion of the item entitled ‘The Middle East problem including the Palestinian question* the Security Council extend an invitation under rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.” If I hear no objection I shall take it that the Council agrees to accede to that request. 4. The first speaker is the representative of Morocco. I, invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

The Council is again considering the Middle East problem to which the various organs of the United Nations have accorded special importance in view of the fact that for more than a third of a century the Middle East has been the arena of serious events that have led to a deteriorating situation the daily exacerbation of which has turned it into a chronic hotbed of tension that jeopardizes international peace and security. 6. The statements on this question that we have heard so far expressing the positions of various Governments provide irrefutable proof of the crucial importance the intema- 7. As the Moroccan delegation has stated on several occasions, the ,United Nations provides a sound international framework for the establishment of a just and balanced international prder and is of primary .importance in the search for a solution to the tragic situation in the Middle East. 8. In our view, a genuine and realistic response by the international community to the intransigence of Israel and its attempts to frustrate international efforts to resolve this question by peaceful means lies in taking the most effective measures to halt the deterioration of the situation in the area and bring about the implementation of the United Nations resolutions concerning the imposition of sanctions on Israel in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the obligations arising from international law and commitments. 9. It is clear that the most obvious result of the long involvement of the United Nations in the problem of the Middle East is the emergence of a common international understanding and broad agreement concerning the nature of the problem and the elements required to reach a lasting, comprehensive solution. At this time last year, when the General Assembly was seized of the problem the Council is considering today, the world was traumatized by the horrors of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the brutal carnage in the Palestinian camps and among innocent civilians. At that time we thought that the conscience of the international community had been so sensitized that it would realize the pressing need to solve this problem and to turn the conflict from military confrontation to peaceful negotiation. 10. Today we are wondering what has become of the problems at the very core of this crisis, what has become of Gaza, the Golan, Holy Jerusalem. We are aware that expropriation of the property of Arab inhabitants under occupation or expelled has never ceased. The number of settlements ‘has doubled and the main strategic goal of settling more than 100,000 Israelis seems to have virtually been achieved. The imposition of Israeli laws and administration on the Golan Heights continues. The plundering of cultural and archaeological properties, the demolition of Arab houses, the burning of farms and the imposition of collective punishments on the Arab inhabitants also continue, in violation of human values and international law, especially the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.’ 11. Holy Jerusalem, which is a living symbol and a meeting point of the tolerant, revealed religions, is still exposed to the most repugnant violations. Its shrines, like all the shrines under occupation, are in danger of destruction.by adventurist archaeologists and by those who desecrate such sanctuaries and set them ablaze, thus flouting the feelings of Moslems and Christians and defying the Secu- 12. Israel’s policy in the region, its contempt for the relevant United Nations resolutions, its intransigence in denying the Palestinian people its rights, its attempt to gain international acceptance for the transfer of its capital to Jerusalem: all those facts are but a reflection of an overall, well-orchestrated and unchanging policy whose ferocity and aims exceed even the policies pursued in the dark days of colonialism. 13. The latest act of aggression, committed against the sister country of Tunisia, headquarters of the PLO-and the details of that act of aggression and the goals of those who engineered it are well known to the Security Council-gives irrefutable proof of the purposes of the Israeli policy. To add insult to injury, the leaders of Israel do not even deny their terrorist practices, such as the bitter deed committed against Tunisia. On the contrary, they publicly declare and admit that they have committed these acts, attempting to justify them by the pretext of the need for carrying out collective punishment against the Arabs. Such statements leave no doubt about the aim of this policy. The aim is to create an irreversible situation which will make it doubtful that the Palestinian people will be able to exercise its right to self-determination. Whatever pretext Israel may use. to try to justify its acts of murder, aggression and invasion, the logic behind them is always the same: an expansionist policy whose final goal is the subjugation of the Palestinian people and the creation of what Ben-Gurion called the ‘Third Kingdom of David” or “Greater Israel”, extending from the Nile to the Euphrates. 14. That bitter reality makes perfectly clear the root cause of the malaise that has pervaded the Middle East for 40 years. It is also the basis for the pressing call directed to all Member States to close ranks, mobilize their energy and double their vigilance so that law, justice and freedom may be restored to the region, as well as peaceful co-operation among all its peoples. 15. It has become evident and is well recognized internationally today that there cannot be a lasting and just peace in the region without the withdrawal of the Israelis from all the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; a just and lasting peace in the region can be achieved only onthe basis of the genuine exercise by the Palestinian Arab people, under the leadership of its legitimate representative, the PLO, of its inalienable right to selfdetermination, its right to return to its homeland and its right to establish its independent, sovereign State in Palestine, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions. 16. We all know that the question of Palestine is the core of the conflict in the Middle East and the very essence of the tragedy besetting that region. The international community has spared no effort in confirming its commitments regarding this question. Ever since the General Assembly, 17. Despite the widespread and deep conviction held by the international community in regard to those principles, the doors to peace in the region are still closed because of Israel’s intransigence and its flouting of international resolutions, as well as its persistence in pursuing a policy of fait accompli based on power, displacement of populations and military occupation. 18. As was stated to the General Assembly at the current session by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco: “The responsibility of the Organization in the matter is primordial, since it was this Organization which decided at the outset on the creation of two States in Palestine. Nearly 40 years later, we note, however, that the Palestinian people are still denied their right to selfdetermination and to existence as an independent State, without the achievement of which it is not possible to arrive at a peaceful and 1asting:soiution to the Middle Fast question as a whole.“2 19. That has been reaffirmed during the proceedings of many regional conferences, including those of nongovernmental organizations, and at international gatherings such as the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983, which issued the constructive recommendations and decisions contained in the Geneva Declaration on Palestine.3 20. In conformity with all these principles, in which the Arab States believe, they lost no time in proposing at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez in September 1982, a courageous plan of action that is characterized by a spirit of reconciliation [see S/1.5510, annex]. The international Organization described that plan as a positive step towards the establishment of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. Rut, despite all those international or Arab initiatives, Israel persists in its expansionist policy in the region. It is even increasing its oppression, suppression and expulsion of Arabs and is establishing even more settlements in the occupied Arab territories. 21. Recently, in view of the escalation of violence in the region, Ring Hassan II, in his capacity as the current 22. In accordance with the principies held by the Arab nations and guided by the centuries-old Arab civilization and traditions, the Conference strongly deplored all forms of terrorism from whatever source-the foremost among them being Israeli terrorism-within and outside the occupied territories. At the same time, it called for adherence to the principles of law and justice in the achievement of the national goals and in defence of the national rights, especially the rights of the heroic Palestinian people. 23. During the consideration of this matter in the Council today, Morocco reaflirms its conviction that the grave situation that has persisted in this sensitive region for many decades is a consequence of the Palestinian problem, and the situation of the Palestinian people is its main element. Morocco repeats its condemnation of the Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territories and its full support for and solidarity with the Arab people under occupation, especially the struggle of the Palestinian people, under its sole and legitimate representative, the PLO, to exercise its inalienable right to return to its homeland and to establish an independent State on its territory, Palestine. 24. My delegation cannot on this occasion fail to reaffirm the solidarity of the Moroccan people with the people of Lebanon and to express its deep sadness at the plight and the anxiety of that country with its rich historical past steeped in human civilization, and its dismay at the bloody events that have caused the ioss of so many innocent civilian lives. We affirm our full support for the unity and stability of Lebanon, its territory and its people. We are prepared to exert every effort within all international forums to restore the security and stability of Lebanon and to enable it once more to become a symbol of coexistence among all the communities concerned. 25. We call upon’the Council, all United Nations organs and ail States that uphold peace and justice, to make a concerted effort to achieve a just and equitable peace in the Middle Fast and to lend sincere support to the Arab peoples in the area. In this connection we believe that now more than ever before the members of the Council are called upon to take the steps necessary to convene an inter-- 26. We wish to express our gratilication at the efforts being made by the Secretary-General in regard to this question. We also wish to convey our most sincere thanks to all United Nations bodies, and especially the Division for Palestinian Rights and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and its Chairman, Mr. Massamba Sam?, for their positive efforts in this field.

On the occasion of commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations it is of special significance for the Security Council once again to convene to review the Middle East probiem, including the Palestinian question. China’s stand on the question is clear and consistent. I wish to take this opportunity to reiterate our views on some of the main aspects of the Middle East problem. 28. First, ever since Israel declared itself as a State in 1948, it has persistently pursued an external policy of aggression and expansion in its attempt to establish a Greater Israel. This is the root cause of the prolonged situation in which no solution has been found to the Middle East question. It is precisely Israel’s policy of aggression and expansion that has brought disasters to the Palestinian nation, the prolonged occupation of vast stretches of Arab land and the grave violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon. It is again Israel’s policy of aggression and expansion that has posed a grave threat to and seriously disrupted peace and security in the Middle East, causing the prolongation of the agony of war and turmoil in the region. Both the history and the present reality of the Middle East question have clearly shown that, so long as Israel refuses to give up its policy of aggression and expansion and continues with its aggression, expansion and occupation of Palestine and other &ab territories by relying on the support and connivance of a certain big Power, there will be no chance for a just settlement of the Middle East problem, and the Palestinian and other Arab countries and peoples will not cease their just struggles to recover the lost territories and regain their national rights. On this issue, all those who face up to the reality will not fail to distinguish between right and wrong, between the aggressor and the victims of aggression, or to determine tiho should be condemned and who should receive sympathy and support. Regrettably, more often than not we fail to reach consensus on this issue. Time and again the logic of “might makes right” has time and again prevented us from upholding justice and checking aggression. 29. Secondly, the Middle East problem encompasses many aspects, but its core is the Palestinian question. The sufferings of the Palestinian people are among the most tragic in the contemporary history of mankind. Israeli aggression and expansion have ravaged the homeland inhabited for generations by the Palestinian people and have grossly trampled on their national rights. The geogi-aphic nature and demographic compositicjn of the occupied 30. Thirdly, the correct way to solve the Middle East question is to find a comprehensive, just and durablesettlement, which would include the following basic elements: Israel must unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, including Arab Jerusalem; the national rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homeland and their right to national selfdetermination and to establish their own State, must be restored; and all the countries in the Middle East should enjoy the universal right to independence and existence. The PLO has the right to participate in the comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem on an equal footing. We believe that this is the position shared by all countries and peopfe that uphold justice. 3 1. In order to realize the foregoing propositions, a series of proposals and formulas have been put forward by various parties concerned that have given expression to the concern of the whole of the international community over the Middle East problem. The position of the Chinese delegation is that we favour and support all proposals and efforts conducive to the comprehensive and just settlement of the Middle East problem and to the realization of peace in the region. 32. We highly value the unremitting efforts made by the PLO and other Arab countries for the settlement of the Middle East problem, including the Palestinian question. We respect their decisions made through negotiations that are in conformity with Arab national interests. We support all their reasonable proposals for the achievement of their national goals through political negotiations and other means. 33. Bearing & it does an unshirkable responsibility for the settlement of the Middle East problem the United Nations should play an important role in it. We are therefore in favour of convening an international peace confer-‘ ence on the Middle East under the auspices of the United 34. We wish to point out emphatically that the acts taken by the Israeli authorities run completely counter to the historical trend of international efforts-in search of a just settlement of the Middle East problem. We shall cite just a few recent cases in point. Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli authorities have reinforced the law on administrative detention in the occupied territories and have continued to expel Palestinians and establish colonial settlements there. Not long ago, they went so far as to carry out air raids on the capital of Tunisia. People have good reason to conclude from all this that the Israeli authorities have not the slightest intention sincerely to seek a just settlement of the Middle East problem and are, moreover, deliberately obstructing and sabotaging such a settlement. The Israeli authorities have taken a course directly opposite to that which would lead to the realization of peace in the Middle East, which will only land them in a more isolated position in regard to the international community. 35. China has always been concerned about the Middle East problem, particularly the Palestinian question, and has made genuine efforts to promote the settlement of the problem. I wish to reiterate here that China will, as always, resolutely support the Arab countries and the Palestinian people in their just struggle until the complete realization of their lofty national goals of recovering the occupied territories and regaining their national rights. 36. We hope that as a result of the current consideration of the situation, the Council will be better informed as regards the urgency of achieving a settlement of the Middle East problem and will take effective measures to promote a just settlement of the probIem, so as fully to perform its duties of maintaining international peace and security.

The next speaker is the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Mr. Yaqub-Khan. I welcome him and invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

I have the privilege, Sir, of speaking in the Council for the second time under your presidency. I should like to express my appreciation for the success and distinction with which you have been guiding the work of the Council during this eventful month. Your vast experience in international relations and your skill and wisdom have all been invaluable assets in the Council. 39. As we commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations, it is fit and proper that the Council, which is vested by the Charter of the United Nations with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, should address itself to the vital problem of the Middle East, which has preoccupied our Organization since its very inception. 41. Demand for the recognition of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people is seen by Israel as a threat to its expansionist ambitions, which are evident in its policy of annexation of the occupied territories, its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and its unprovoked attacks against the sovereignty and territoriat integrity bf Arab States. 42 In utter disregard of the resolutions of the Council, Israel is proceeding with the establishment of settlements on lands sequestrated from their Arab and Palestinian owners in the occupied territories. Israeli schemes to alter the Arab and Palestinian character of the West Bank and Gaze show scant regard for the sanctity of the Islamic shrines in the Holy Land. Attempts are under way to transform the historical character of Al-Quds, which has been preserved with care and devotion during centuries of Arab sovereignty as the common heritage and a shining symbol of the confluence of the three great monotheistic religions. 43. Respect for the relevant decisions of the Security Council on the Middle East problem is a sine qua non for a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East. Those decisions, as well as other international peace initiatives, including the Arab offer made at Fez in 1982 [see S/25.510, annex], the subsequent proposals by President Reagan, the United Nations proposal to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East and the latest initiative by King Hussein, have been vigourously opposed by Israel, which has responded to those initiatives with acts of unprovoked aggression. 44. Israel’s conduct demonstrates its rejection of a just and lasting peace based on the principles of nonacquisition of territory by force and the recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. As a result, the Middle East remains in turmoil, caught in a spiral of violence spurred on by Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and its brutal acts of reprisal against people under its occupation who have been forced to take up arms in defence of their sacred right to freedom and liberty. 45. It was the resistance of the Lebanese people that finally prevailed and repulsed the Israeli invasion of their land, which was undertaken with the full weight of Israei’s military might. The lesson of Lebanon appears to be lost on Israel, however. Its latest strike against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Tunisia, which has drawn universal condemnation as a wanton act of lawlessness, is yet another example of the Israeli arrogance ) power, its disposition to resort to the arbitrary use of force and its 46. Responsibility for Israeli intransigence must be shared by its powerful allies, whose excessive concern for the security of Israel has emboldened the latter to defy the decisions of the Security Council and to persist in its policy of expansionism and aggression. Surely Israel’s actions and its assertion to arrogate to itself the right to strike any country at any time in defence of its arbitrarily conceived interests do not arise from a sense of weakness or insecurity. In fact, these highlight the threat that Israel poses to the security of all other nations in the region. 47. Instability, convulsions, turmoil and a cycle of terror and counter-terror will benefit no one. Israel will surely reap the bitter fruit of a bitter endeavour unless it desists from the course of reckless aggression and responds constructively to the Arab initiatives for peace. 48. The essential issue in the Middle East problem is.the vacation of the Arab and Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Al-Quds, and restitution of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to a sovereign State of their own in Palestine. Prospects for peace will depend on progress towards the attainment of those objectives. 49. The Council can make a beginning towards rectifying the injustices perpetrated against the Palestinian people for more than half a century by supporting the Arab initiatives for peace and by promoting the United Nations proposal for an international peace conference on the Middle East. The Council must also reaffirm its past decisions and demand Israeli compliance, in order to redress the intolerable situation created by Israel’s defiance of the decisions and principles of the United Nations. Failure to restrain Israel and to persuade it to accept the conditions for a just and durable peace will only intensify the Middle East conflict and its attendant violence, which could explode into a wider conflagration with incalculable consequences for international peace. 50. The effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations rest on the Security Council’s ability to maintain international peace and security. That capacity is tested by the Middle East conflict, which has been before the United Nations since its very inception. 51. Before concluding, I take this opportunity of renewing our pledge of complete solidarity-with the Arab States in their endeavours to establish conditions of peace and stability in their area and with the Palestinian people and their representative, the PLO, in their struggle to regain their legitimate national rights as a free and sovereign people in their homeland.

The next speaker is the representative of Algeria. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 54. Overall consideration of the Middle East crisis is therefore essential today because of the topicality and urgency conferred on it by an international situation which provides particularly clear proof of its dangers. 55. The circle of the crisis continues to widen because of essentially centrifugal Israeli violence. Thus, through planned horizontal escalation, the western Mediterranean has become, since the aggression against Tunisia, the new axis of a permanent threat. Hence, the entire Mediterranean, once the melting-pot of world trade and civilization and even today the site for a proposed zone of peace, is in danger of conflagration. 56. Now that the threat is at the very doors of Europe, it is impossible to continue to ignore the weakness of a notion of security basically centred on Europe which has been unable either to contribute to the settlement of socalled peripheral crises or to save itself from the present, -much less the future, unpredictable consequences of an uncontrollable conflict. 57. We are dealing here with an active hotbed of tension in a region where relative strength has always countedmore than law. This means that the absence of open war cannot be construed as peace; nor can the peace of the strongest be said to further the rights of the weakest. 58. At a time when the United Nations is called upon to lay stress upon the existence of world peace universally preserved, we must draw attention to a record which is questionable in the light of the tenacious persistence of regional conflicts. It would be a dangerous illusion to believe that a conflict such as that in the Middle East could be kept within limits acceptable within the concept of world peace, when each new Israeli act of aggression is a threatening step towards the globalization of that conflict. 59.. Israeli faits accomplis cannot make us forget the established rights of the Palestinian people. Neither the trials of exile nor the trials of time can prevaii over a national right; and the determination to uphold that right; together with all that legitimately flows from it, has been the strength of the Patestinian resistance. That resistance, which Zionism has systematically endeavoured to destroy, continues today and the heroic struggle in the occupied territories is proof of the unswerving determination of the Palestinian people to regain their national rights, the denial of which constitutes the very crux of the Middle East conflict. The General Assembly has always followed that struggle. 60. Having undertaken to work towards the restoration to the Palestinian people of all its rights, including its right 61. Moreover, it ruled out any attempt to arrive at a settlement without the full participation of the Palestinian people through its sole legitimate representative, the PLO. 62 Thus, by defining a suitable framework and identifying the participants, the General Assembly hoped to initiate the growth of a consensus in favour of the only approach which could ensure a lasting peace in the Middle East. And, indeed, all the Arab countries endorsed that initiative, which was taken just before the adoption of the Fez Plan [ibid.]. However, in the final analysis, it has not been a naturally slow maturing process that has held up the convening of such a conference but rather the intransigent determination of the Zionist leaders to compromise irremediably any hopeful initiative and undermine for ever all peace efforts. It should also be said that that intransigence was greatly encouraged by a concept of world security that too often overlooks the fact that the conflict is still going on. 63. Hence, it becomes possible to admit the existence of Palestinian resistance only-very conveniently-to see it as being invariably responsible for isolated acts of desperation. In all logic, we cannot refuse to consider remedying an injustice and at the same time be surpris&d at the alarming consequences of its continuation. Thus we have a paradoxical cycle of violence which constantly turns back on the victim, while often the aggressor is rewarded for having openly flown in the face of international legality. 64. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the member countries of the Council, meeting here on 26 September, acknowledged that: “the high hopes placed in the Organization by the international community had not been fully met and undertook to fulfil theii individual and collective responsibility for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace with renewed dedication and determination.‘* [2608th meeting, para. 337.1 65. However, for the first time in many years, the Council is today again taking an overall look at the Middle East conflict and the prospects for its settlement. Its work thus coincides with an event, the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations; with a witI, that of the Council renewing its pledge to work for international peace and security; and with a .threat-that posed by the Middle East crisis to world peace.

The next speaker is the representative of Yugoslavia, whom I invite to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

The opening of the session commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations has been marked by strong expectations that a renewed impetus will be given to dialogue and negotiations. 69. At the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non- Aligned Countries, held at Luanda from 4 to 7 September this year, it was observed that the global crisis, which has affected all areas of international relations;san best be solved through dialogue, and particularly through multilateral negotiations within the United Nations. That position applies fully to the solution of the crisis in the Middle East as well. 70. The policy of aggression and expansion pursued by Israel has turned the Middle East into a most dangerous region of crisis. The Palestinian people has been suffering for decades and it has been exposed to the most brutal acts of colonization and even annihilation. . 71. Another salient feature of the situation in the Middle East has been the constant increase of tension in the ge‘nera! area of the Mediterranean-all this while the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to freedom, independence and the establishment of its own State remains at the core of the Middle East crisis. 72. The Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights continue to be occupied by Israel, which is continuing its intensive illegal measures of annexation, in defiance of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. 73. Oppression and violation of the fundamental human rights of the population in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab lands, the policy of resettlement of the Palestinians and other Arab populations and the constant expansion of illegal Israeli settlements have become the common practice of the occupying Power. 74. Those developments led the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the non-aligned countries to decide at their recent conference held at Luanda to request the convening of the current series of meetings of the Council. The non- 75. The exercise of the sovereign will of the Palestinian people cannot be thwarted. Neither should the demands of the United Nations for Israel’s urgent and unconditional withdrawal from the occupied territories be ignored. Dialogue on an equal footing between all the parties directly involved, including the PLO, aimed at finding a just, comprehensive and lasting solution, is indispensable. A political solution is the only viable one. 76. Since the first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Belgrade 24 years ago, those countries have been consistent in pointing out the urgency and importance of the settlement of the Middle East crisis through negotiations, on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the non-aligned countries once again emphasized, at their meeting at Luanda, that the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations, constituted the best framework for a just and lasting solution. It may be recalled that the framework for such a political solution was established at the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, in 1983, and was strongly supported in resolutions adopted at two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly. 77. The Committee of Eight non-aligned Countries on Palestine, of which Yugoslavia is a member, has been working towards the same goal. It has given support for the convening of the international conference, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of all parties directly concerned in the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the PLO and the members of the Security Council. 78. We believe the situation in the Middle East calls for immediate action by the United Nations, particularly by the Security Council, and for the convening of such a conference. Every encouragement and support should be extended to the Secretary-General to pursue his consultations and endeavours for the convening of the conference. 79. We of Yugoslavia are convinced that selfdetermination, sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, equality, non-interference, withdrawal of foreign troops from occupied territories and full respect for the right of peoples to choose their own way of development are the only basis on which to build peace and peaceful solutions. Those same principles are atthe root of our foreign policy regarding the situation in the Middle East as well as in respect to other issues of international relations. 80. It may be appropriate here to recall that the right to one’s own existence cannot be secured by force when one denies by force that same right to others. The policy of force and imposition of alien will is not and cannot be accepted, either in the Middle East or in other regions in the world. 82. The PRESIDENT The next speaker is the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Mr. Nana S. Sutresna Sastradidjaya, whom I welcome. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

My delegation has already had the opportunity to. extend its felicitations to you, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia participated in the Council’s debate last week, on the complaint by Tunisia. Our confidence in your wise guidance was fully vindicated by the successful outcome of the Council’s deliberations. 84. The Middle East problem, with at its core the question of Palestine, has become the symbol of both perseverance and powerlessness. The former reflects that what is involved is a struggle for justice, and hence the need for its peaceful and comprehensive solution. The latter epitomizes the apparent helplessness of the international community, due to the intransigence of a few countries whos-e continued pursuit of their strategic interests has made a mockery of all existing problem-solving mechanisms of the United Nations. 85. The non-aligned countries, while maintaining their support and solidarity with the Arab countries victims of Israeli aggression and the just struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership-of the PLO, its sole and legitimate representative, have time and again taken the initiative in the search for a peaceful solution to the problem. Consequently, pursuant to a decision taken at the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Luanda last month, the Counci1.ha.s again been called upon to consider the problem of the Middle East, including the question of Palestine. That decision was prompted by the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that continue to stand in the way of the early convening of the Intemational Peace Conference on the Middle East, as called for by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva in September 1983 and endorsed at the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth sessions of the General Assembly. In this regard the non-aligned countries reiterated that it is the responsibility of the Council to facilitate 86. A year ago the situation that existed in the Middle East prompted the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly that “the conditions required for the convening of the proposed conference with any chance of success are not met at the present time” [S/16792. para. do]. Regrettably, that situation has not changed and has even worsened. 87. Indeed, the events of the last year continue to underscore this tragic reality. The undeniable fact is that responsibility for the deadlock falls squarely on Israel, as its policies and actions have always been at the root of aggravated tension and conflict in the region. It is hardly necessary for my delegation to dwell on the endless list of Israeli transgressions against the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of civilized behaviour, for they have been fully documented by scores of relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as by reports of the various committees of the United Nations. 88. Indeed, the United Nations has’ been continuously seized of this question virtually from its inception. Hence, it is sufficient for my delegation to underscore that it is Israel’s incessant a&ression against its neighbours, its stepped-up repression of the Palestinian Arabs in the occupied territories, as well as its systematic attempts to destroy the PLO both politically and physically, in the vain hope of extinguishing Palestinian nationalism and obliterating Palestinian national identity, that has kept the cauldron of enmity stirring for so long in that strife-torn region. It is beyond doubt that Israeli policies and practices continue to be directed towards the goal of ultimately annexing the occupied territories, as it has already done with the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, and thereby to deny permanently to the Palestinian people their inalienable right to selfdetermination and independent statehood. There should also be no illusions among us that it is with this sinister scheme in mind that Israel is bent upon doing everything that it can to sabotage any prospect for the convening of the peace conference. 89. By the same token, Indonesia has always condemned terrorist acts directed against innocent civilians, which have grown into a menace of such alarming proportions as to threaten the lives and property of citizens of all nations and which also serve only to impede the search for a just and comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem, including the core issue of ensuring for the Palestinians the attainment of their inalienable rights. 90. Given the continuing deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, my Government fully supported the recommendation to resort to the Council, even though we are aware that the Council has so far shown itself to be less than effective in dealing with the Middle East conflict. This 92. Despite insufficient action by the Council in the past, the international community continues to place its fervent hope and expectation on the Council, which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. 93. Our hope is that the major Powers will eschew their strategic designs on the region and co-operate with the Secretary-General in his continuing efforts to achieve agreement on the modalities for the conference. For it has been clear all along that the active participation and support of both super-Powers is essential if this process is to have any chance of success. And our expectation is that, given the urgent need to break the present deadlock, they will work together through the Council to devise, within the overall framework of the international peace conference, a negotiating process or structure acceptable to all parties concerned. While no one can be under any illusion that the objective of a peace conference could be easily realized, the events of recent weeks and days dramatically illustrate that the alternative can only be a further inexorable slide towards yet another, even more destructive, cycle of violence and war, with disastrous consequences not only for the region but for the world as a whole. 94. There is therefore only one way, the way of dipiomacy and serious negotiations, the way of the peace conference, which at the present stage offers the only promising avenue to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. The meeting rose at 1 p.m. NOTES ’ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. 2 Of/icial Records of the General Assembly, Fortieth Session, Plenary Meetings, 21st meeting, para. 74. f United Nations publication, Sales No. E. 83. I. 21, chap. I, sect. A. HOW TO OSTlhlpJ UNITED NATIONS PUBLICAilONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: U&cd Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Lcs publications dcs Nations Unies sont en vente dans Ies librairics et les agences dCpositaires du monde entier. Inform&~~~s auprts de votre libraire ou adressez-vous B : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou Gentve. KAIC l-IOJIYWfl’b M&IHWf OPrAHki3Aum OlZ’bEAMHEHHbIX HAlJldi kI3&1~sin O~~~HH~~IWW 06aemehrx Ha& MOXCRO XyneTb B mixuibIX kIara3HHax II BTCHTCTBaX DO BCCX paffOHIiX bUtpa. HaBOiVme CUP~KH 06 X3,llaWHlvr B BaItI& IttiUXHOM Mara3HHe ~nw nmmtTe no anpecy: Oprami3auua OB%emmertnblx Hazxstt. CCXIW no nponae a3J.tamrit. Hb!o-fiopK UJIH TeHeea. COMO CONSECUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas istin en venta en librerfas y casas distribuidoras en todas partes de1 mundo. Consulte li su librero o dirfjase a: Naciones Unidas, Secci6n de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. ’ Litho in United Nations. New York 00300 90-61439-November 1994-1,925