UN General Assembly condemns excessive force by Israel
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20 (South News) - The UN General Assembly voted by an
overwhelming majority late Friday to condemn what it called Israel's
excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians.
The resolution was adopted by 92 votes to six with 46 countries abstaining.
The resolution urged all parties to implement without delay the
understandings reached at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, aimed at halting three
weeks of bloodshed that has taken nearly 120 lives, mainly among Palestinians.
In a third U.N. admonition of Israel, the vote was taken after an
eight-hour special emergency session which began Wednesday and was
adjourned for two days so UN Secretary General Kofi Annan could brief the
Assembly on his 10-day trip to the Middle East.
The United States, Israel and and four small Pacific Ocean states voted
against the non-binding resolution, which also called Israeli settlements
illegal and an obstacle to peace. Ninety-two countries voted for the
Palestinian-drafted resolution and 46 abstained. Australia, with Canada,
Japan, New Zealand and Norway, was among other leading Western nations to
abstain from voting.
Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Israel to correct what he
said was the root of the problem by withdrawing from territories it has
occupied since 1967.
''Only then may Israel have the legitimacy it deserves and aspires to,''
Aboul Gheit said. ''And only then will our peoples know an end to a
conflict that has ripped our region apart for the last half-century.''
The resolution was the third adopted by the United Nations since the
violence began Sept. 28.
On Oct. 7, with the United States abstaining, the Security Council
condemned the excessive use of force against Palestinians. On Thursday, the
Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Commission voted to set up an inquiry into
the violence.
The United States voted against the Geneva resolution but it passed, as did
the assembly one, because Washington doesn't have veto power in either body
-- only in the Security Council. Under rules dating to 1950, the Assembly
can hold such a session if a lack of unanimity among the five permanent
Security Council members prevent the body from exercising its primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The Assembly has held 10 special emergency sessions, most of them on the
Middle East. The current session has been suspended five times since 1997.
The European Union successfully softened the assembly resolution to make it
somewhat more balanced. The final draft, for example, includes a call on
both sides to implement their pledges made at this week's summit in Sharm
el-Sheik, Egypt for a truce and a recommitment to peace.
While the draft condemns the ''excessive use of force'' by Israeli troops,
there is also a condemnation of general acts of violence -- an amendment
sought by the EU to moderate the text. But only 10 of the EU members signed
off on the final version. Five abstained: Britain, Denmark, Germany, Italy
and the Netherlands.
The resolution condemned "acts of violence, especially the excessive use by
the Israeli forces of force against Palestinian civilians".
It expressed support for the understandings reached at the Sharm el-Sheikh
summit and urged "all parties concerned to implement these understandings
honestly and without delay".
It demanded "the immediate cessation of violence and use of force" and
called on the parties to "reverse all measures taken in this regard since
September 28".
It described Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory,
including Jerusalem, as "illegal and an obstacle to peace".
It called upon "Israel, the occupying power, to abide scrupulously by its
legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War".
The session was called at the request of the Palestinian observer to the
United Nations, Nasser Al-Kidwa, after it became clear that the UN Security
Council would not hold a second meeting on the crisis.
20 October 2000
UN Press Release GA/9793
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEMANDS END TO VIOLENCE IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY;
URGES ACTION TO IMPLEMENT SHARM EL-SHEIKH ACCORD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<snip>
The Assembly adopted the resolution on illegal Israeli actions in occupied
East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory (document
A/ES-10/L.6) by a recorded vote of 92 in favour to 6 against, with 46
abstentions, as follows:
In favour: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chile,
China, Colombia, C(te d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic
of Korea, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia,
Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico,
Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Oman,
Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea,
Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania,
Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Tuvalu, United States.
Abstain: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Benin,
Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Germany, Grenada,
Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Romania, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, The former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tonga, United Kingdom.
Absent: Afghanistan, Angola, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chad,
Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Gabon, Honduras, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Palau,
Panama, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
Vanuatu.
* *** *
UNITED A
NATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Assembly Distr.
PROVISIONAL
A/ES-10/L.6
20 October 2000
Original: English
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tenth emergency special session
Agenda item 5
Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan,
Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Palestine: draft resolution
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming the resolutions of the tenth emergency special session and the
necessity of full implementation of those resolutions,
Welcoming the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 1322 (2000) of
7 October 2000, and stressing the urgent need for full compliance with the
resolution,
Expressing its deep concern over the provocative visit to Al-Haram
Al-Sharif on 28 September 2000, and the tragic events that followed in
Occupied East Jerusalem and other places in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, which resulted in a high number of deaths and injuries mostly
among Palestinian civilians,
Expressing its deep concern also over the clashes between the Israeli army
and the Palestinian police and the casualties on both sides,
Reaffirming that a just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict
must be based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November
1967, 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973, through an active negotiation process
which takes into account the right of security for all States in the
region, as well as the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,
including their right to self-determination,
Expressing its support for the Middle East peace process and the efforts to
reach a final settlement between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides and
urging the two sides to cooperate in these efforts.
Reaffirming the need for full respect by all for the Holy places of
Occupied East Jerusalem and condemning any behaviour to the contrary,
Reaffirming also the need for the full respect by all for the Holy places
in the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as in Israel,
and condemning any behaviour to the contrary,
Determined to uphold the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, international humanitarian law, and all other instruments
of international law, as well as relevant United Nations General Assembly
and Security Council resolutions,
Reiterating the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the
question of Palestine until it is solved in ail its aspects,
Conscious of the serious dangers arising from persistent violations and
grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 and the responsibility
arising therefrom,
Stressing the urgent need for providing protection for the Palestinian
civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
Noting the convening on 15 July 1999 for the first time of a Conference of
High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention on measures to enforce
the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem,
at United Nations headquarters in Geneva and welcoming the statement
adopted by the participating High Contracting Parties,
1. Condemns the violence that took place on 28 September 2000 and the
following days at Al-Haram Al-Sharif and other Holy places in Jerusalem as
well as other areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, resulting in
over 100 deaths, the vast majority Palestinian civilians, and many other
casualties;
2. Condemns acts of violence; especially the excessive use of force by the
Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians;
3. Expresses support for the understandings reached at the summit convened
at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and urges all parties concerned to implement
these understandings honestly and without delay;
4. Demands the immediate cessation of violence and use of force, calls upon
the parties to act immediately to .reverse all measures taken in this
regard since 28 September 2000 and acknowledges that necessary steps have
been taken by the parties in this direction since the summit of Sharm
El-Sheikh;
5. Reiterates that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including Jerusalem, are illegal and are an obstacle to peace,
and calls for the prevention of illegal acts of violence by Israeli settlers;
6. Demands Chat Israel, the occupying Power, abide scrupulously by its
legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
of 12 August 1949, which is applicable to all territories occupied by
Israel since 1967;
7. Strongly supports the establishment of a mechanism of inquiry into the
recent tragic events, with the aim of establishing all the precise facts
and preventing the repetition of these events, and in this regard the
understanding reached in Sharm El-Sheikh on a committee of fact-finding;
and calls for its establishment without delay;
8. Supports the efforts of the Secretary-General, including his efforts for
the establishment of the above-mentioned committee, and requests him to
report to the Assembly on the progress made in these efforts;
9. Calls upon the members of the Security Council to closely follow the
situation including the implementation of resolution 1322 (2000) of 7
October 2000, in fulfilment of the Council's primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security;
10. Invites the depository of the Fourth Geneva Convention to consult on
the development of the humanitarian situation in the field, in accordance
with the statement adopted on 15 July 1999 by the above-mentioned
Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Convention, with the aim of
ensuring respect for the Convention in all circumstances in accordance with
common Article 1 of the four Conventions;
11. Supports the efforts towards the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations within the Middle East peace process on its agreed basis, and
calls for the speedy conclusion of the final settlement agreement between
the two sides;
12. Decides to adjourn the tenth emergency special session temporarily and
to authorize the President of the most current General Assembly to resume
its meeting upon request by Member States.
--
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