Read Palestine

International Conference on the Question of Palestine

Properties2
tags
aliasesInternational Conference on the Question of Palestine (1983)

3 min read

Summary

The United Nations conference held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983, convened under General Assembly resolution 36/120 C on the basis of resolution ES-7/2, which adopted by acclamation the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and the Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights and called for an international peace conference on the Middle East with the Palestine Liberation Organization participating on an equal footing (Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part III (1978-1983), lines 269-340, 381-594).

Details

  • Resolution ES-7/7 had decided to convene the Conference at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from 16 to 27 August 1983, on the recommendations of the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the non-aligned countries; the Conference was in fact held at Geneva on the later dates above (lines 275-287 approx.).
  • Its endorsed objectives were to increase international awareness of the facts relating to the question of Palestine and to attain governmental and non-governmental support for effective ways and means to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable rights in Palestine, specifically Palestinian rights and the establishment of a Palestinian State (lines 277-281 approx.).
  • Five regional preparatory meetings preceded it: Arusha (29 March-12 April 1983 as printed; political and juridical aspects), Managua (11-15 April 1983; Palestine and international law), Sharjah (25-29 April 1983; economic, civic, social and cultural conditions), Kuala Lumpur (3-7 May 1983; world politics) and Geneva (4-8 July 1983; the United Nations role and the future of Palestine); each meeting’s recommendations formed part of the Conference documentation (lines 283-285 approx.).
  • One hundred and thirty-seven States attended, 20 of them as observers; 25 intergovernmental organizations, United Nations bodies and programmes, and specialized agencies and related organizations participated; 104 non-governmental organizations were represented by observers; and 16 eminent persons contributed. The PLO participated as the representative of the party most directly concerned, and its delegation was placed among the full participants (lines 289-293 approx.).
  • The Conference was opened by Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and presided over by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Senegal, Moustapha Niassé (annex I, lines 383-385 approx.).
  • At its eighth plenary session Yasir Arafat addressed the Conference: he deplored the United States’ negative role in the Security Council, explained the PLO’s rejection of the Reagan proposal, recorded the Palestine National Council’s acceptance of the Fez Plan and support for the Soviet initiative, and put forward considerations (a)-(g), including that the Fez resolutions provided the minimum base for justice and that the PLO was ready to co-operate within the United Nations framework and called for an international conference with the two major Powers participating (lines 297-319 approx.).
  • The General Assembly, in resolution 38/58 C, endorsed the Geneva Declaration and the conference call with guidelines (a)-(f), and invited all parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the PLO, as well as the United States and the Soviet Union, to participate on an equal footing and with equal rights (lines 323-340 approx.).

Geneva Declaration on Palestine, Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights, Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Palestine Liberation Organization, Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part III (1978-1983)

Graph View

Backlinks