{"id":195074,"date":"1981-12-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=195074"},"modified":"2019-03-12T16:56:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:56:14","slug":"auto-insert-195074","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-195074\/","title":{"rendered":"Yearbook of the United Nations 1981 (excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
YEARBOOK<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n OF THE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n UNITED NATIONS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n 1981<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Vol. 35<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Department of Public Information<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n United Nations, New York<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n \n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Middle East<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n In 1981, the situation in the Middle East continued to occupy the attention of the Security Council, the General Assembly and several other United Nations bodies. Aside from the annual debate on the Middle East situation as a whole, the major aspects considered were the Palestine question, the situation between individual Arab States and Israel, the situation in the territories occupied by Israel and Palestine refugees. The United Nations continued to maintain two major peace-keeping operations in the region financed by special assessments on Member States.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>By a resolution of 17 December,(38) arising from its consideration of the Middle East situation, the Assembly declared once more that peace in the Middle East must be based on a comprehensive, just and lasting solution under United Nations auspices, and rejected all partial agreements and separate treaties.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In connection with its consideration of disarmament items, the Assembly, on 9 December, adopted three resolutions relating to the proposed establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. It decided to include the subject in the provisional agenda of its 1982 regular session,(10) declared it imperative that Israel place its nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards,(11) and requested the Security Council to prohibit all nuclear co-operation with Israel.(12)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On 10 December, the Assembly adopted six resolutions on the Palestine question. It reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinians, including the right to their own State, and demanded that Israel withdraw from the Arab territories occupied since 1967.(16) It expressed strong opposition to all partial agreements and treaties which violated Palestinian rights,(18) and determined once more that Israeli measures to alter the character and status of Jerusalem were null and void and a threat to international peace and security.(17) The Assembly decided to convene an International Conference on the Question of Palestine not later than 1984,(15) and authorized continuing work by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People(13) and the United Nations Secretariat's Special Unit on Palestinian Rights.(14)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Committee on Palestinian rights, in its 1981 report to the Assembly,(2) reiterated the validity of its 1976 recommendations, which included a call for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories according to a timetable to be fixed by the Security Council and the establishment of an independent Palestinian entity.(47)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The United Nations continued to assist Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and neighbouring Arab States. Aside from refugee assistance, much of this aid was rendered by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund. The General Assembly requested the continuation of such assistance on 4 December.(8)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli aerial bombing on 7 June of a nuclear research centre near Baghdad, Iraq, was condemned by the Security Council on 19 June(41) and by the Assembly on 13 November.(5)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was stationed, the cease-fire was broken a number of times. Lebanon complained several times to the Security Council that Israeli forces had attacked civilian targets and repeatedly bombarded cities and villages, while Israel charged that armed elements of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had attempted to cross into Israel through UNIFIL lines.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On 20 March, through a statement by its President, the Security Council condemned attacks on UNIFIL which had caused the death and injury of Force personnel, and addressed a serious warning to all the forces responsible for acts violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and preventing the full deployment of the Force. The Council extended the UNIFIL mandate twice – first until 19 December(42) and then for another six months, until 19 June 1982.(46) On 21 July, the Council unanimously called for an immediate cessation of all armed attacks and reaffirmed its commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.(43)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) continued to supervise the observance of the cease-fire in the area of separation between the forces of Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic in the Golan Heights. Twice during the year, the Council extended the UNDOF mandate for six months: first until 30 November 1981(40) and the second time until 31 May 1982.(44)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The General Assembly in 1981 appropriated a total of $177,099,248 for the two United Nations peace-keeping forces in the Middle East. Of this sum, $146,166,000 was for UNIFIL for the period 19 December 1980 to 18 December 1981(19) and $30,933,248 for UNDOF from 1 June 1981 to 31 May 1982.(6) The Assembly also continued an arrangement under which certain unexpended appropriations for UNIFIL(20) and UNDOF(7) were retained rather than returned to Member States.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The situation in the territories occupied by Israel was again considered by United Nations bodies. The Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, in a report to the Assembly,(1) stated that Israel's annexation and settlements policy continued unabated, with Israeli settlers playing a considerably increased role in implementing that policy. It added that Israel continued to follow a policy of extreme provocation of civilians and severe repression of any reaction to that provocation.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On 16 December, the General Assembly adopted seven resolutions on this subject. One of them(31) contained the Assembly's strong condemnation of a series of Israeli policies and practices, including annexation, establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements, expulsion and transfer of Arabs, confiscation of property, transformation and pillaging of cultural property, destruction of houses, mass arrests, ill-treatment of detainees, interference with religious freedoms, family customs, education, development and freedom of movement, and illegal exploitation of natural resources and population. The Assembly demanded that Israel desist from those policies and practices and, by another resolution,(30) determined that Israeli measures designed to change the legal status, geographical nature and demographic composition of the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, had no legal validity. By four other resolutions, the Assembly demanded that Israel facilitate the immediate return of the Mayors of Hebron and Halhul and the Islamic Judge of Hebron,(32) report on assassination attempts against three other mayors,(35) rescind orders for the closure of three universities(34) and desist from repressive measures against Syrians in the Golan Heights.(33) The Assembly also reaffirmed that the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was applicable to the occupied territories and demanded that Israel comply with its provisions. (29)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In separate resolutions relating to the occupied territories, the Assembly demanded that Israel cease implementing its project for a Mediterranean-Dead Sea canal(36) and desist from excavations and transformations of the historical, cultural and religious sites of Jerusalem.(4) It called on States and institutions not to assist Israel in exploiting the territories' resources.(37) It condemned Israel for the Palestinians' deteriorating living conditions and requested a report on the matter, from the Secretary-General. (9)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Following the Israeli Parliament's decision on 14 December to apply Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration to the Golan Heights, both the Security Council(45) and the Assembly(39) demanded on 17 December that Israel rescind its decision, which many countries characterized in the debate as tantamount to annexation.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continued to provide education, health and relief services to Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The UNRWA Commissioner-General reported to the General Assembly(3) that an acute financial crisis early in the year threatened a major part of the Agency's education programme; but later in the year, the receipt of additional pledges, together with cut-backs in both recurrent and non-recurrent expenditure, made it possible to continue this programme through the end of 1981. The Assembly decided to keep its regular 1981 session open until early 1982 to await proposals on ways of meeting the deficit forecast for the Agency's 1982 budget.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On 16 December, the Assembly adopted eight resolutions on Palestine refugees. It called on all Governments as a matter of urgency to make the most generous efforts to meet UNRWA's anticipated needs,(25) requested the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA to continue its efforts for another year(25) and endorsed the Agency's efforts to continue providing humanitarian assistance to other persons displaced as a result of the 1967 hostilities and in serious need of continued assistance.(24) It called on Israel to take immediate steps for the return of all displaced inhabitants of the territories occupied since 1967,(22) demanded that it desist from removing and resettling Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip and from destroying their shelters,(23) and requested the Secretary-General to take all appropriate steps for the protection and administration of Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel.(23) It called on Israel to remove obstacles to the establishment of a university at Jerusalem for Palestine refugees,(27) and appealed for additional special governmental and non-governmental contributions for scholarships and grants to them.(28)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n General aspects<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Middle East situation<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The situation in the Middle East was again considered in 1981 as an item on the General Assembly's agenda. Two resolutions were adopted under this item in December, one of them on general aspects of the situation and the other on the Golan Heights.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>COMMUNICATIONS (JANUARY-DECEMBER). In 1981, the President of the Security Council and the Secretary-General received a number of letters concerning the situation in the Middle East, dealing with general policy matters as well as individual incidents.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Israel, by a letter of 14 September,(15) complained that a number of attempts had been made at the United Nations to inject the Arab-Israel conflict into discussions having no bearing on, or relevance to, that conflict.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>By a letter of 13 October,(23) the USSR transmitted a government statement addressed to the United States, condemning what it described as attempts by the United States to interfere in the internal affairs of Egypt by dispatching warships to the Egyptian coasts, placing marine units in the Mediterranean region in a high state of military readiness and setting up the so-called rapid deployment force. In reply, Egypt, on 23 October,(22) transmitted a government statement describing the USSR statement as an infringement of Egyptian sovereignty and adding that relations between Egypt and the United States were characterized by the full liberty of peoples to decide for themselves.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Iraq, by a letter of 14 October,(2) transmitted the final communiqué of a 3 October meeting in New York by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, in which they stated that the strategic agreements concluded or to be concluded between the United States and Israel were aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and impeding the implementation of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>By a letter dated 25 November,(19) Israel, referring to the resolutions adopted by the Twelfth Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Baghdad, 1-5 June), stated that it was difficult to see how the call for Holy War against Israel could be reconciled with the Charter of the United Nations or Security Council resolutions on the Middle East. The resolutions in question were transmitted to the United Nations by Iraq on 5 August.(1)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In a letter of 2 December,(21) Israel expressed its strong protest at what it called the renewed misuse of United Nations premises by allowing PLO to mount an exhibition in the<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council received a number of letters from Israel concerning specific incidents said to have been perpetrated by PLO.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>A letter of 14 January(3) cited what were described as PLO terrorist acts against citizens, killing one Israeli and wounding 12 between 25 December 1980 and 11 January 1981. Letters of 11 March(4) and 16 March(5) reported attacks on 9 and 14 March against two civilian buses near Jerusalem.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In letters dated 3 April(6) and 17 April,(8) Israel charged that, on the evenings of 30 March and 13 April, a number of Katyusha rockets had been fired from Jordanian territory in the direction of villages and towns in the upper Jordan valley.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Israeli letters of 10 April, (7) 6 May,(9) 28 May,(10) 30 July,(11) 17 August,(12) 28 August,(13) 17 September,(16) 2 October(17) and 30 November(20) contained accounts of what were described as terrorist incidents for which PLO had claimed responsibility, in which bombs, hand grenades and other explosive devices had been detonated or discovered in bus stations, markets, parks and other public places in Jerusalem, cities and villages in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and Israeli facilities in other countries. Some 28 incidents were reported, resulting in five deaths and the wounding of 45 persons. An attack on a synagogue at Vienna, Austria, on 29 August, resulting in two deaths and injury to 19 persons, was ascribed to PLO terrorists in an Israeli letter of 31 August.(14)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>By a letter of 18 November,(18) Israel charged PLO with a campaign of political assassinations against Arabs who favoured living in peace with Israel in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District, as evidenced by an ambush on 17 November in which the head of a village association in the Ramallah area had been injured and his son killed.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>There were also communications regarding Israel and Lebanon, the situation in the Golan Heights and the situation in the territories occupied by Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL. <\/strong>On 11 November 1981, the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly and the Security Council a report on the situation in the Middle East,(24) as called for by the Assembly in December 1980.(25)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>After an account of various aspects of the situation as described in other United Nations documents, the report stated that the situation in the Middle East continued to be of central concern to the entire international community, containing an explosive potential of conflict endangering world peace. The heightening of tension between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic, the Israeli attack on the nuclear facility in Iraq and the continuing cycle of violence in and around Lebanon had underlined the dangers inherent in the absence of progress towards a settlement that ultimately could ensure a peaceful and just future for all the nations and peoples of the region. The Secretary-General expressed his continued belief that the United Nations provided a universal forum in the framework of which efforts 51ÁÔÆæ a peaceful settlement might best be pursued.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION. <\/strong>On 17 December, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the Middle East situation(29) by a recorded vote of 94 to 16, with 28 abstentions. The resolution was sponsored by Cuba, India, Madagascar, Viet Nam and Yugoslavia.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>By this resolution, the Assembly reaffirmed that a just and comprehensive Middle East settlement could not be achieved without the participation on an equal footing of all the parties to the conflict, including PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. It declared once more that Middle East peace must be based on a comprehensive, just and lasting solution, under United Nations auspices. It rejected all partial agreements and separate treaties in so far as they violated the recognized rights of the Palestinians and contradicted just and comprehensive solutions. It considered that the agreements on strategic co-operation between the United States and Israel signed on 30 November would encourage Israel to pursue its aggressive and expansionist policies and practices in the occupied territories, have adverse effects on peace efforts and threaten the region's security. It called on all States to end the flow to Israel of any military, economic and financial resources that would encourage it to pursue its aggressive policies. The Secretary-General was requested to report again to the Assembly and the Security Council.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Other provisions of the resolution dealt with particular aspects of the situation. The Assembly demanded Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories, condemned its aggression and practices against Palestinians, and demanded that its 1980 decision to annex Jerusalem be rescinded. The Assembly reaffirmed that peace could not be achieved without the full exercise by the Palestinians of their national rights. It condemned Israel's annexationist policies in the Golan Heights – in a paragraph adopted by a separate vote – and its aggression against Lebanon.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On 9 December, the Assembly adopted three resolutions concerning the Middle East in connection with its consideration of disarmament items. By the first,(26) it decided to include in the provisional agenda of its 1982 session the item on establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. By the second,(27) the Assembly declared it imperative that Israel place all its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards. By the third,(28) the Assembly demanded that Israel renounce any possession of nuclear weapons.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The resolution on the Middle East situation was introduced by Cuba, which stated that it had been prepared in the Arab Group and in a working group of States belonging to the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Among those voting against the resolution, Israel maintained that its purpose was to impede a peaceful solution of the Arab-Israel conflict, that it contradicted the Security Council's 1967 resolution on principles for a Middle East peace(30) – the only basis for a negotiated settlement – and that it was in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter. The United States said it rejected the Assembly's challenge to its sovereign right to enter into its recent agreement on strategic co-operation with Israel; also, it believed that rejection of the Camp David peace process was irresponsible, that a call for sanctions was beyond the Assembly's competence and that the resolution failed to recognize Israel's right to live in peace.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Chile, El Salvador, the Philippines, Spain and Turkey, which voted for the resolution, expressed reservations on the paragraph on strategic co-operation agreements. Similar reservations were voiced by Ecuador, which abstained on the text as a whole, stating that the agreements cited had been freely contracted by sovereign countries.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Bahamas, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico and the Philippines also had reservations on the paragraph by which the Assembly rejected partial agreements and separate treaties. Chile considered that States had the sovereign right to conclude whatever agreements they deemed necessary; the Dominican Republic, which abstained in the vote on the resolution, considered that the agreements in question constituted true contributions to the search for peace. The Philippines voiced reservations also on the paragraph by which the Assembly called on States to end the flow of resources that would encourage Israel to pursue its aggressive policies.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Among those which abstained, Austria said a number of elements were missing in the text, including reference to the Security Council's 1967 resolution and to the right of all States in the area to exist within secure and safe boundaries. Peru thought the resolution contained provocative language and did not include basic elements included in Security Council resolutions. Sweden said that, in addition to the general lack of balance, the resolution included elements it could not accept.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago, though voting in favour, voiced doubts on some elements of the resolution. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya said its positive vote did not mean that it agreed with all United Nations resolutions cited therein.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Canada and the United States expressed reservations regarding the paragraph on Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Golan Heights.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In the debate preceding adoption of this resolution, most speakers listed recognition of Palestinian rights to self-determination and independence and Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, as essential to a Middle East peace. The Palestine question was viewed as the core of the problem. Among those taking this position were Bangladesh, Djibouti, the German Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the USSR and Yugoslavia. In Tunisia's view, true security for Israel meant living in peace with its neighbours, giving up its role as the Prussia of the Middle East, and recognizing the existence of the Palestinian people and their inalienable right to self-determination.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Egypt, which described its 1979 peace treaty with Israel as a glimmer of hope in the area, said peace in the Middle East should be based on twin elements: the right of the Palestinian people to exist as an independent national entity and to security, and Israel's right to existence and security, the conflict could not be resolved without Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied territories.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Israel said the Assembly, in examining the Middle East situation, should not focus exclusively on the Arab-Israel conflict. Tensions in the area were the product of the domestic political situations of Arab régimes and their external behaviour. The framework of the Camp David accords, which had already yielded spectacular results in the form of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, carried the potential for an overall solution.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Stating the position of the European Community members, the United Kingdom restated two principles first set out by them in June 1980: the right of all States in the region, including Israel, to existence and security, and justice for all the peoples, including recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians. Austria saw three elements as necessary to peace: first, recognition of the right of all States in the area, including Israel, to exist within secure and recognized boundaries, and recognition of the national rights of the Palestinians, including the right to have a State of their own; second, the right of the Palestinians to participate in the search for a solution, through representatives of their choice; and third, Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Finland, Japan, Portugal and Sweden stated that both the Palestinians' right to self-determination and Israel's right to exist must be mutually recognized. Sweden specified that Palestinian rights included the right to an independent State. These countries also urged negotiations between the parties to achieve those goals, with Japan and Sweden adding that PLO must participate. Brazil, Nepal and Senegal stressed four elements: withdrawal of Israel's occupation forces, Palestinian self-determination, PLO participation in peace negotiations, and recognition of the right of all States to live in peace within recognized borders.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Peace could not be achieved, the United States said, without recognizing the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and the right of all States, including Israel, to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries; the only path to peace was through negotiations among those sincerely committed to peace.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Eastern European States expressed support for a USSR proposal to convene an international conference on the Middle East with the participation of all parties and other nations, including the USSR and the United States. Endorsing this proposal, Bulgaria said its great merit lay in the fact that it provided for a settlement of the whole problem by collective effort, to the benefit of all. Romania also favoured such a conference, stating that it should be convened by the Assembly and that the United Nations should be an active participant.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Oman voiced support for principles for a Middle East settlement suggested earlier in the year by Crown Prince Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, Austria, Brazil, Morocco and Turkey also welcomed this initiative.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In the view of Lebanon, any solution of the Middle East crisis that was not based on a solution of the Lebanese problem would lead to a deterioration of the crisis and threaten international peace.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>If the Palestine question was not resolved, said the PLO observer, the Middle East question would not be resolved and the situation would deteriorate, leading to a crisis that would reach beyond the Middle East.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Arab States generally were of the view, as expressed by Kuwait, that Israel bore the primary responsibility for the Middle East crisis. The United Arab Emirates spoke of Israeli aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples as well as its violation of the airspace of Iraq, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and propaganda against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Syrian Arab Republic. Eastern European countries took a similar view: Poland, for example, remarked that for years Israel's policy of adventurism had made it impossible to find a lasting and just solution. Sri Lanka said Israel's policies were designed not so much to seek a lasting settlement but rather to establish a State of Israel whose boundaries were visualized in the Biblical context of an undefined greater Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Some countries urged stronger action to ensure implementation of United Nations resolutions by Israel. Djibouti urged that comprehensive mandatory sanctions be applied against Israel to ensure that it abandoned its acts of war against the Arab nation. The German Democratic Republic felt that it was high time to adopt decisive measures against the aggressor, Israel. Indonesia said it was prepared to support any effective measures sanctioned by the United Nations Charter to ensure that resolutions were carried out. Pakistan believed that, if Israel was so impervious to the will of the world community, the Security Council must take firm and decisive action. Mauritania thought the United Nations should multiply all instruments of investigation to ensure that world public opinion knew all aspects of Israeli practices against the Palestinians and other Arabs. Norway, however, stated that any attempt to adopt sanctions against Israel or to deprive it of its right to participate in international organizations would be totally unacceptable and counter-productive.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>United States support for Israel, and the signing in November of a strategic agreement between the two countries, were criticized by a number of speakers, including Arab States and socialist States of Eastern Europe. Iran viewed such support as part of an assault on the great Islamic culture. Jordan described it as tantamount to acquiescence in Israeli aggression and called it a hostile act against the entire Middle East, particularly the Palestinians. In Qatar's view, Israel would not have been able to defy United Nations resolutions without the unlimited political, military and economic support of the United States. The Syrian Arab Republic said a balance of forces between the parties was a prerequisite to peace, but the United States and the parties to the Camp David accords had, through their alliance and collaboration, caused an imbalance of forces in the interests of settler and expansionist imperialism. For the Ukrainian SSR, exercises by the United States rapid deployment force, plans to establish a bridgehead in the Middle East in the guise of a so-called multinational force and the conclusion of a strategic agreement – essentially a military pact between the United States and Israel – were means of establishing political, military and economic domination over the region's people and natural resources. Yemen described United States vetoes in the Security Council as a new Israeli weapon brandished before the Arabs.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In Albania's view, both the USSR and the United States were benefiting from Israel's aggressive policies by finding pretexts for their political and military presence in the area and their manoeuvres to control oil deposits and strategic positions, while turning the region into an outlet for their weapons. Algeria criticized the so-called strategic consensus doctrine, stating that it viewed the Middle East in terms of super-Power rivalry as if there were no Israeli-Arab or Israeli-Palestinian problem. Yemen saw this doctrine as a smoke-screen behind which the United States was creating the spectre of a bogus enemy only to shield Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Many Arab States, the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and a number of others were critical of the 1978 Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel, particularly in so far as they dealt with the Palestine question. In Cuba's view, any initiative which disregarded Palestinian rights or attempted to turn the Middle East into a sphere of influence of imperialism would be null and void. Iraq stated that the accords were bound to fail because they did not meet Arab aspirations and did not restore Arab rights or land to the legitimate owners.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Byelorussian SSR saw the Camp David agreements as contradicting fundamental Arab interests and as designed to split the Arabs and consolidate Israeli colonialism. Speaking of the multinational force which was to be sent to the Sinai peninsula in 1982 under the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, Czechoslovakia stated that the presence of United States forces would be a new source of tension. In Hungary's view, separate deals based on a partial approach could not fundamentally change the situation, could not eliminate the root cause of the conflict and could never result in a just and lasting settlement. In the view of the USSR, Camp David had exacerbated the Middle East problem, allowing Israel to step up its aggressive acts against the Arabs; with the help of the Camp David collusion, the United States sought to increase its presence in the Middle East and militarize countries there. Yugoslavia considered that separate, partial solutions introduced additional elements of exacerbation; additional efforts must be exerted in the United Nations framework to create conditions for a peaceful solution, with the active and equal participation of all parties.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>On the other hand, Egypt said it saw no alternative to its path to peace, and the United States said it was dedicated to the successful completion of the negotiations begun by Egypt and Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>During the debate, most speakers also touched on specific aspects of Arab-Israeli relations, considered in greater detail in discussions on other agenda items. These included the Palestine question, Israel's policy in the occupied territories, the Israeli attack against Iraqi nuclear installations, the Golan Heights and the situation in southern Lebanon.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Letters:<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Report: <\/i> (24) S-G, A\/36\/655-S\/14746.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \t<\/span>Meeting records:<\/i> GA, A\/36\/PV.95-97, 99, 103 (11-17 Dec.).<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n General Assembly resolution 36\/226 A<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n 94-16-28 (recorded vote) Meeting 103 17 December 1981<\/p><\/div>\n 5-nation draft (A\/36\/L.59 and Add.1: agenda item 33.<\/p><\/div>\n Sponsors: Cuba, India, Madagascar, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The General<\/i> Assembly,<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n