NAM POSITION ON THE PALESTINE ISSUE

1 May 2001

INTRODUCTION

The Non-Aligned Movement position with regard to the Palestine question is informed by the Movement's firm condemnation of aggression, racism, the use of force, terrorism, foreign occupation, foreign military bases, and interference in internal affairs, unilateral coercive measures, unfair economic practices and xenophobia. In the eyes of the NAM, the current situation in the Middle East poses a direct threat to world peace and security.

The above impels the Movement's commitment to take up the challenge to fundamentally transform international relations in order to achieve world peace, security, justice and dignity for all.

The First Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non Aligned Movement, which is the highest decision-making body of the Movement, declared its support for the full restoration of all the rights of the Arab people of Palestine in conformity with the UN Charter and resolutions in Belgrade in 1961. The validity of this commitment was reiterated four decades later at the Durban Summit in South Africa 1998, and again at a NAM Ministerial Conference in Cartagena, Columbia, in 2000. Both meetings appealed for the implementation of all United Nations resolutions on the question of Palestine. This reflection is premised on the Movement's contention that it is the permanent responsibility of the United Nations to see to it that the question of Palestine is effectively solved in all its aspects. The impending Ministerial meeting of the NAM Committee on Palestine and the NAM Security Council Caucus scheduled for the 3rd May 2001 in South Africa bears testimony to the NAM's unwavering resolve to find a peaceful solution to the crisis that has been going on for more that half a century.

In this regard the NAM reiterate the continued validity of the fundamental rights of all peoples to self-determination, the exercise of which, in the case of peoples under alien domination and foreign occupation, is essential to ensure the eradication of all these situations and to guarantee universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The NAM is strongly opposed to the brutal suppression of the legitimate aspirations for self-determination of the peoples under alien domination and foreign occupation, including the Palestinians.

COMMITTEE ON PALESTINE

The NAM Committee on Palestine was constituted at the 7th Summit of the Heads of State or Government, held in New Delhi, India, 1983.

The mandate of the committee derived from the Summit is to "work with the various forces influential in the Middle East conflict for the achievement of a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East which will enable Palestinian people to exercise their right in freedom and sovereignity in their independent homeland".

NAM POSITION ON PALESTINE ISSUE

At the XII NAM Summit in Durban, South Africa, in September 1998, the Heads of State or Government:

Reaffirmed their support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homeland and to have their own independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
They reiterated the demand for the withdrawal of Israel, the occupying power, from all of the occupied Palestine territories including Jerusalem, and the other Arab territories occupied since 1967.
Reaffirmed their position on occupied east Jerusalem, the illegal Israeli settlements, and the applicability of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to all Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.
They demanded that Israel, the Occupying Power, implements all Security Council Resolutions in this regard and abide by its legal obligations.
The NAM condemns any move by Israel to further expand the jurisdiction and the planned boundaries of Jerusalem. The current deadlock of the Palestinian-Israeli of the Middle East peace process should be resuscitated and Israel should abide by all existing agreements, including settlement activities, repressive measures and economic suffocation the Palestine people.
The principle of land for peace is the only formula that will guarantee the Palestinian's their own territory.

An interim measure that could contribute considerably to the promotion of stability is the immediate cessation of violence and the avoidance of all provocative actions from the warring sides. At the moment it is impossible to convince the two sides to return to the negotiations due to the level of the violence.

Efforts should thus be increased to ensure that Israel complied with existing agreements and their timely implementation and ways of finding a durable solution to current crisis in the Middle East, the Ministerial meeting of the NAM Committee on Palestine and the NAM Security Council Caucus is one such effort.

The Movement, through the South Africa's Permanent Mission in New York is utilising all NAM mechanisms, the Co-ordinating Bureau, NAM Working Groups, Standing Committees, Ad Hoc Committees, the JCC and all relevant international fora (e.g 0IC)to highlight the need for a peacefully negotiated settlement in the Middle East.
The Chair is engaged in a number of initiatives through the Co-ordinating Bureau in New York.

The NAM Security Council Caucus sponsored a Resolution for a United Nations Observer Force for Palestine, which was supposed to monitor the situation in the region. The resolution was defeated on 27 March due to the application of the veto by the USA.

Convention reconvened

MEMBERS OF THE NAM COMMITTEE ON PALESTINE

1.. Bangladesh
2.. Colombia
3.. Jamaica
4.. Mali
5.. Mauritius
6.. Singapore
7.. Tunisia

MEMBERS OF THE NAM SECURITY COUNCIL CAUCUS

1.. Algeria
2.. Bangladesh
3.. Cuba
4.. India
5.. Palestina
6.. Indonesia
7.. Senegal
8.. Zambia
9.. Zimbabwe
10.. Colombia
11.. Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia will not be invited as its participation is still suspended)

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs