NAM Committee on Palestine, Along with Security Council NAM Caucus, Meets in South Africa The Committee on Palestine of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held a Ministerial Meeting in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 May 2001. The NAM members of the Security Council (NAM Caucus) were invited and participated in the meeting. The meeting was convened to consider the tragic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, the derailment of the Middle East peace process, and the dangerously deteriorating situation in the Middle East as a whole. The States Members of the Committee on Palestine at the meeting included Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Palestine, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe, while the members of the NAM Caucus of the Security Council included Colombia, Jamaica, Mali, Mauritius, Singapore and Tunisia. (It should be noted that Bangladesh is a member of both the Committee and the Caucus.) Egypt and Jordan were also invited to participate in the meeting. The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Africa, representative of the Chairman of the Movement. Also participating were the U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, representing the U.N. Secretary-General, and the Chairman of the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (Ambassador of Senegal). The meeting was extremely important given the urgency of the situation in the Middle East and given the fact that it was the first time in years for the Committee on Palestine to meet at such a high level, independently from any larger NAM gathering. It was also the first time that members of the Security Council NAM Caucus attended a meeting of any committee of NAM. Furthermore, the participation of Committee members and invited States at a high level, as well as the contributions made by President Mbeki of South Africa and President Arafat of Palestine, who briefed the meeting at length, all signified the commitment of the Movement to the cause of Palestine and added to the importance of the meeting. An in-depth and interactive discussion was held among the Ministers and high-level representatives at the meeting, which led to the adoption of two documents - a Statement by the Chair and the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting. The Statement by the Chair explained the proceedings of the meeting, stressing the address of President Mbeki as well as that of President Arafat, with emphasis on his forward-looking and positive statements regarding the issues of the prevailing violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and resumption of the peace process. The statement also listed the above-mentioned participants in the meeting. The Communique, on the other hand, reaffirmed the principle positions of NAM regarding the situation of the Palestinian people under occupation and the peace process and identified four specific objectives for the Committee on Palestine and the Movement as a whole in this regard. Those four objectives are: 1) reinvigorating the Middle East peace process; 2) cessation of violence, destruction and punishing measures; 3) provision of protection for Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation; and 4) enforcement of the 4th Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. During the meeting, the Ministers allotted time as well to discuss the role of the U.N. and what had happened and what could happen in the future with regard to the Security Council. The Communique emphasized the specific responsibilities of the Security Council and expressed appreciation to the Council’s NAM Caucus for their efforts. The Palestinian side believes that this Ministerial Meeting will give impetus to the ongoing efforts aimed at ending the current tragedy in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to different, relevant initiatives in international fora, especially in the U.N. It is also believed that the meeting will give impetus to the members of NAM, especially its Chair, to coordinate positions and actions in this regard, including pushing for the resumption of the peace process and the achievement of peace in the Middle East. The following is the text of the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting (excluding the first paragraph regarding the participants, venue etc., which were discussed above):
The Ministers stressed the necessity of upholding international humanitarian law and recalled the obligations of the High Contracting Parties to the four Geneva Conventions to respect and ensure respect of the Conventions in accordance with common article 1 of the four Conventions. They called for the resumption of the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention in accordance with the statement adopted by the Conference on 15 July 1999 in Geneva and in light of the continuing grave breaches and serious violations of the Convention by Israel, the occupying Power.
|