← Votes

A/RES/58/23 GA

The Syrian Golan

58
Session
104
Yes
5
No
61
Abstentions
Draft symbol A/58/L.28
Adopted symbol A/RES/58/23
Category POLITICAL AND LEGAL QUESTIONS
P5 Positions
Russia United States United Kingdom ~ China France ~
UN Document A/RES/58/23 ↗

Vote Recorded VoteA/58/PV.68 Dec. 3, 2003

— Abstain (61)
✗ No (5)
Absent (21)
✓ Yes (104)
Speeches following this vote (10) may include explanations of vote
The Acting President
I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote on the resolutions 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. Estremé (Argentina)
The Argentine Republic voted in favour of draft resolution A/58/L.28, on the Syrian Golan, because we believe that its essential aspect is linked to the illicit nature of the acquisition of territory 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. That is an imperative norm of international l…
Mr. Sardenberg (Brazil)
My delegation voted in favour of draft resolution A/58/L.28, entitled “The Syrian Golan”. That vote expresses the support of the Brazilian Government for the draft resolution’s driving force: the call for all parties to resume peace talks aimed at establishing a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Nonetheless, regarding operative paragraph 6, I should stress the Brazilian Government’…
Mr. Carnelos (Italy)
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the associated countries, Bulgaria and Romania and the European Free Trade Association country belonging to the European Economic Area, Iceland, align themselves with this explanation of vote on the draft resolution just adopte…
Mr. Maalouf (United States of America)
The United States remains committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East on all tracks. Our opposition to the General Assembly draft resolution regarding the Syrian Golan (A/58/L.28) stems from the perspective the draft presents regarding the situation in the Middle East: it implies that only Israel has obligations and responsibilities to make peace. This one-sided draft…
The Acting President
We have heard the last speaker in explanation of vote on the resolution just adopted. I now give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic)
My delegation would like to thank the delegations that voted in favour of draft resolution A/58/L.28 on the Syrian Arab Golan. The resolution reaffirms once again that occupation, together with the establishment of settlements and violation of the rights of peoples, must be rejected by everyone. Through today’s vote, the General Assembly has sent Israel a clear message about the need to respect …
The Acting President
I have been informed that it would be advisable to keep items 37 and 38 open in the agenda of the fifty-eighth session. Therefore, we have thus concluded this stage of our consideration of agenda items 37 and 38.
Mr. Diab (Lebanon)
I was obliged to ask for the floor to comment on what was said by the representative of the United States. We would like to express our regret regarding the irresponsible remarks of the United States representative. His remarks have, moreover, nothing to do with the question under consideration, that is, the Syrian Golan occupied by Israel since 1967, in contravention of General Assembly and Secu…
The Acting President
Before moving to the next item, I would like to make an announcement regarding the programme of work of the plenary for Friday, 5 December 2003. In addition to agenda items 28 and 40 (f) relating to Afghanistan, the General Assembly will take up, as a second item, agenda item 35, “Consequences of the Iraqi occupation of and aggression against Kuwait”. As the third item, the General Assembly will…
Full text of resolution OCR extract — may contain errors
United Nations A/RES/58/23 General Assembly Distr.: General 22 January 2004 Fifty-eighth session Agenda item 37 03 45429 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 3 December 2003 [without reference to a Main Committee (A/58/L.28 and Add.1)] 58/23. 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 other 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); _______________ 1 A/58/264. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. A/RES/58/23 2 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 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,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-ninth session on the implementation of the present resolution. 68th plenary meeting 3 December 2003 _______________ 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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