NAM Ministerial Meeting Adopts Special Declaration
on Palestine
The annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs and
Heads of Delegations of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was convened at
U.N. headquarters on 14 November 2001. During that meeting, in addition to
the adoption of a comprehensive Final Communique and Special Declaration
on 40th Anniversary of NAM, a "Special Declaration on
Palestine" was adopted by the Ministers. In that Declaration, the
Ministers, inter alia, reaffirmed the Movement’s traditional
positions in support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people
and for a peaceful resolution of the question of Palestine. In this
connection, they reaffirmed their support for the Middle East peace
process on its agreed basis, including Security Council resolutions 242
and 338 and the principle of land for peace.
The Ministers also addressed the severe deterioration of
the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including Jerusalem, and the serious damage inflicted on the peace process
as a result. In this regard, the Ministers conveyed a new position
stressing the need for fresh and qualitative efforts to bring the peace
process back to life and bring it to a speedy and successful conclusion.
They further called for concerted international input, based on
international legitimacy, regarding the final outcome of the process,
including the establishment of the Palestinian State. This call by NAM was
congruous with the repeated calls made by Member States throughout the
general debate for intensified efforts to revive the peace process towards
a just and final settlement, including the establishment of the State of
Palestine.
The following is the complete text of the Non-Aligned
Movement’s Special Declaration on Palestine, adopted on 14 November
2001:
- We, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and heads of delegations of
the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), meeting in the context of the
fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, reaffirm the unwavering
support of the Movement for the Palestinian people and the realization
of their inalienable rights, including the establishment of their own
independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
- We reaffirm our traditional support for a peaceful solution of the
question of Palestine, the core of the Middle East conflict, and the
establishment of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. We
reaffirm our support for the Middle East peace process on its agreed
basis, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and, 338 (1973)
and the principle of land for peace. We reaffirm our determination to
actively strive for the attainment of this objective.
- We express grave concern at the severe and dangerous deterioration
of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
Jerusalem, which began on 28 September 2000. We are also concerned about
the damage caused to the Middle East peace process and about the
existing danger in the region, which acquire additional and urgent
dimensions in light of the present international circumstances.
- We condemn the excessive use of force by the Israeli occupying
forces leading to extensive loss of life and injury, the widespread
destruction of Palestinian homes and property, the imposition of
external and internal closures, the extra-judicial killings, the
suffocation of the Palestinian economy, the reoccupation of the Orient
House, the incursions into and reoccupation of areas under full
Palestinian control and other forms of collective punishment. We note
that all such measures and practices come against the background of
continuous occupation and colonial activities in the form of building
and expanding illegal settlements.
- We call for an immediate end to all violence and we call on the
parties to take all the necessary measures towards that end, including
the immediate and comprehensive implementation of the recommendations
made by the Sharm El-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee (Mitchell Report). In
this regard, we stress the importance of an international presence or a
monitoring mechanism in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
- We stress the need for fresh and qualitative efforts to bring the
Middle East peace process back to life and to bring it to its successful
conclusion. In this regard, we call for international concerted input,
based on international legitimacy, regarding the final outcome of the
peace process, including the establishment of the Palestinian State. We
take note of the positive signals in that regard and we urge more
concrete steps by the cosponsors of the peace process and other
interested parties in that direction.
- We stress the permanent responsibilities of the United Nations
towards the question of Palestine and, we stress the responsibility of
the Security Council in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations. In this regard, we express appreciation for the efforts of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- We stress the importance for Israel, the occupying Power, to fulfill
its obligations under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
of Civilian Persons in Time of War (the Fourth Geneva Convention of
1949), and we urge the High Contracting Parties, in accordance with
common article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, to respect and ensure
respect for the Convention. In this regard, we fully support the
reconvening, on 5 December 2001, of the Conference of the High
Contracting Parties on measures to enforce the Convention in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.
- We endorse the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM
Committee on Palestine, which was addressed by President Mbeki and
President Arafat in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 May 2001, and which was
also attended by members of the NAM caucus of the Security Council. We
express appreciation to the Chairman of the Movement for his continuous
efforts in support of the Palestinian cause and in helping the Middle
East peace process.
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