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A/RES/55/51 GA

The Syrian Golan

55
Session
96
Yes
2
No
55
Abstentions
Draft symbol A/55/L.50
Adopted symbol A/RES/55/51
Category POLITICAL AND LEGAL QUESTIONS
Voeten Topics
P5 Positions
Russia United States United Kingdom ~ China France ~
UN Document A/RES/55/51 ↗

Vote Recorded VoteA/55/PV.78 Dec. 1, 2000

— Abstain (55)
✗ No (2)
Absent (36)
✓ Yes (96)
Speeches following this vote (15) may include explanations of vote
The President
I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote on the resolution just adopted. May I remind delegations that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.
Mr. Bigot (France)
I have the honour of explaining the vote of the European Union on the draft resolution contained in document A/55/L.50. The European Union would like to reiterate here its firm commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement in the Middle East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the principle of land for peace, and the Madrid and Oslo accords. The …
Mr. Estreme (Argentina)
The Argentine Republic voted in favour of draft resolution A/55/L.50 on the Syrian Golan because we believe that the basic thrust of the resolution is related to the illegal acquisition of territories by force. Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of a state. This is an imperative standard of internatio…
The President
We have heard the last speaker in explanation of vote after the vote. I shall now call on those representatives who have asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply. May I remind members that statements in the exercise of the right of reply are limited to 10 minutes for the first intervention and to five minutes for the second intervention and should be made by delegations from their seats.
Mr. Tadmoury (Lebanon)
We have listened to the statement made by the representative of Israel, and it seem, to us that once again he is taking Lebanon to task, as if Lebanon had occupied Israel for 22 years and not vice-versa. Israel has caused many deaths and injuries among women, children and the elderly, and has destroyed houses and infrastructure. Since 24 May of this year, the beginning of Israel’s withdrawal fro…
Mr. Hamzahei (Islamic Republic of Iran)
It is quite natural for the representative of the Zionist regime to make incoherent, absurd and distasteful statements. The savage treatment of the Palestinians, especially Palestinian children, has outraged the world and brought condemnation on the Zionist regime. The Islamic Republic of Iran wishes to see peace and justice prevail in the Middle East — but a peace and justice that would benefit …
Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic)
At the beginning of this meeting we heard another Israeli statement that distorted the truth and reflected the aggressive logic of the Israelis. The representative of Israel covered his statement, which was full of threats to the Arabs, with expressions of peace. He tried to show, erroneously, that Israel is the country that seeks true peace and that the Arabs reject peace. However, the Israeli …
Mr. Al-Humaimidi (Iraq)
My delegation wishes to exercise its right of reply with respect to the statement made by the representative of the Zionist entity. Let me begin by stating clearly that the Zionist entity is the most brutal occupying force of modern times. It heads the list when it comes to perpetrating crimes and violating international humanitarian law and human rights. What the occupied Palestinian territories…
Mr. Lancry (Israel)
Let me begin with a brief reaction to the statements of the representatives of Iraq and of Iran. As members of the Assembly have surely noticed, the tongues of those two are struck with paralysis at the mere word “Israel”. It is their custom to refer to Israel as “the Zionist entity”. We are, in fact, proud of being a Zionist entity, and we have no problem with that designation. In other forums, …
The President
I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak a second time in exercise of the right of reply.
Mr. Wehbe (Syrian Arab Republic)
I would have wished not to have to use the right of reply again on this issue. I had really hoped that the representative of Israel would not have used the right of reply in the light of the voting that he witnessed today. After being indicted and condemned for the crimes it perpetrates every day, Israel continues to distort facts and falsify history. Syria, in its statement yesterday, in statem…
Mr. Tadmoury (Lebanon)
I also wish to pose a few questions. Did Lebanon struggle against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon for 22 years so that the Israeli representative could come here today and say that we rejected the Israeli withdrawal from our lands? Is this rational? Is this reasonable? Can any reasonable person understand this? Secondly, I wish to point out here that Lebanon is not an island. It is pa…
Mr. Lancry (Israel)
I wish to make two or three brief points. The litany of the 22 years of occupation is worth defining more clearly. I wish to state here that the 22 years of occupation of southern Lebanon corresponded very strictly to the 22 years of aggression originating in southern Lebanon against Israel, particularly northern Israel. I can personally attest to this because before becoming the Ambassador of I…
Mr. Al-Humaimidi (Iraq)
My delegation did not want to take the floor again, but is obliged to do so because the falsification of facts by the Zionist entity today is very distressing. In its view, the Zionist occupation of southern Lebanon is not an occupation; it is self-defence. What a lie! This is simply an attempt to deceive and disparage others. I do not think others can accept such falsification of facts. It says…
The President
We have thus concluded this stage of our consideration of agenda item 40.
Full text of resolution OCR extract — may contain errors
United Nations A/RES/55/51 General Assembly Distr.: General 25 January 2001 Fifty-fifth session Agenda item 40 00 56245 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/55/L.50 and Add.1)] 55/51. The Syrian Golan The General Assembly, Having considered the item entitled “The situation in the Middle East”, Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,1 Recalling Security Council resolution 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981, Reaffirming the fundamental principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations, Reaffirming once more the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 to the occupied Syrian Golan, Deeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967, contrary to the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, Stressing the illegality of the Israeli settlement construction and activities in the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967, Noting with satisfaction the convening in Madrid on 30 October 1991 of the Peace Conference on the Middle East, on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973 and 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978 and the formula of land for peace, Expressing grave concern over the halt in the peace process on the Syrian track, and expressing the hope that peace talks will soon resume from the point they had reached, 1. Declares that Israel has failed so far to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981); 2. Also declares that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void 1 A/55/538. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. A/RES/55/51 2 and has no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by the Security Council in its resolution 497 (1981), and calls upon Israel to rescind it; 3. Reaffirms its determination that all relevant provisions of the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 1907,3 and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 continue to apply to the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, and calls upon the parties thereto to respect and ensure respect for their obligations under those instruments in all circumstances; 4. Determines once more that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation constitute a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region; 5. Calls upon Israel to resume the talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to respect the commitments and undertakings reached during the previous talks; 6. Demands once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions; 7. Calls upon all the parties concerned, the co-sponsors of the peace process and the entire international community to exert all the necessary efforts to ensure the resumption of the peace process and its success by implementing Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973); 8. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session on the implementation of the present resolution. 78th plenary meeting 1 December 2000 3 See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915).
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