The Golan and International Legitimacy
Hereunder is a hint about the international resolutions issued by the UN General Assembly and its various organizations, corresponding and relative to the occupied Golan and Arab Territories:
The UN Resolutions and their most important purports :
• Resolution N° 2725 of 4 July 1967 concerning the respect of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, and that Israel should guarantee security and safety of population of such territories.
• Resolution N° 2443 dated 19 December 1968 concerning the establishment of a committee to investigate into the Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the population of the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 2452 dated 19 December 1968 requesting Israel to immediately arrange for the return of the refugees who fled the occupied territories and extending the term of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ( UNRWA ).
• Resolution N° 2649 dated 30 November 1970 about legitimacy of struggle of population under colonial and foreign control, condemning denial of the self-determination right particularly for peoples of South Africa and Palestine.
• Resolution N° 2851 dated 20 December 1971 strictly requesting Israel to cancel all procedures of annexation or settlement in the occupied territories, and requesting the Special Committee to continue its job.
• General Assembly N° 1441 dated 15 December 1975 : The report of the Special Committee for investigating into the Israeli practices of the human rights of the population of the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 1531 dated 22 December 1976 providing assistance to the immigrants due to Israeli aggressive activities of 1967.
• Resolution N° 638 dated 9 November 1976 : Reiterating the right of the population, refugees and immigrants to return to their HOMEs and camps in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
• Resolution N° 31/106 dated 16 December 1976 on the Israeli practices of the human rights of the population of the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 31/186 dated 21 December 1976 on permanent control over the national resources in the occupied Arab territories.
• Resolution N° 32/90 dated 23 December 1977 on providing assistance to the immigrants due to warfare activities of June 1967.
• Resolution N° 32/161 dated 19 December 1977 on permanent control over the national resources in the occupied Arab territories.
• Resolution N° 33/12 of December 1967.
• Resolution N° 33/113 dated 08 December 1978 condemning the Israeli practices against human rights in the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 34/52 dated 23 November 1979 about assistance to Palestinian refugees and requesting all governments to exert their best efforts to meet the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ( UNRWA ) expected requirements and requesting Israel to take immediate procedures in order to secure the return of all the immigrant.
• Resolution N° 34/90 dated 12 December 1979 condemning continuous Israeli violations of human rights in the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 34/136 dated 14 December 1979 reiterating the rights of the whole and permanent sovereignty of Arab States and Peoples whose territories are under Israeli occupation on their natural resources.
• Resolution N° 7/12 dated 29 July 1980 ( of the 7th Extraordinary Assembly ) requesting Israel to commence, before 15 November 1980, its withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories since June 1967.
• Resolution N° 35/13 dated 3 November 1980 on supporting the assistance to the Palestinian refugees , extending the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ( UNRWA ) term until 30 June 1984 and requesting Israel to take immediate procedures in order to return all immigrant population.
• Resolution N° 35/110 dated 5 December 1980 on reiterating the rights of the whole and permanent sovereignty of Arab States and Peoples whose territories are under Israeli occupation on their natural resources.
• Resolution N° 35/122 dated 11 December 1980 condemning Israel for imposing a legislation implying changes of condition and nature of the occupied Syrian Arab Occupied Golan population.
• Resolution N° 35/207 dated 16 December 1980 strictly condemns the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the Palestinian, and reiterating, once more, the strict rejection of Israel’s decision to annex the Arab Jerusalem.
• Resolution N° 36/226 dated 17 December 1981 considering the Strategic Cooperation Agreements signed between Israel and the USA on 30 November 1981 as an encouragement to Israel’s aggressive policy in the territories occupied since 1967 including Jerusalem and a threat to the whole regional security.
• Resolution N° 36/147 dated 16 December 1980 condemning the Israeli policy against Palestinian students and teachers, schools and teaching institutions of the occupied Palestinian territories. Particularly shooting at the unarmed students, and the strict condemnation of Israel for its attempts and procedures to compulsorily impose the Israeli nationality on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan.
• Resolution N° 36/146 dated 16 December 1981 concerning the refugee since 1967 and their inalienable right of return to their HOMEland.
• Resolution N° 36/173 dated 17 December 1981 reiterating that all measures taken by Israel to exploit human and natural resources, fortunes and economical activities of the occupied Arab territories as illegal, and Israel is requested to immediately and ultimately terminate such measures.
• Resolution of the 9th Extraordinary Session dated 5 February 1982 on complete boycott of Israel, condemnation of the USA veto as regards the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan, and that such decision is a void aggressive action. It calls upon all State Members of UN to boycott Israel; politically, economically, military and diplomatically and severely condemns the American veto against the corresponding Security Council Resolution.
• Resolution N° 42/69 dated 2 December 1987 concerning the provision of assistance to the immigrant Palestinians due to Israeli aggressive activities of 1967 and afterward.
• Resolution N° 42/160 dated 8 December 1987 condemning Israel for changing the of physical, natural and demographic structure, organizational scheme and legal position of the occupied Syrian Golan in the Middle East, condemning the Israeli policy in the occupied territories, requesting Israel to completely withdraw and requesting all Member-Nations to stop providing Israel with assistance.
• Resolution N° 43/58 dated 6 December 1988 on Israel’s policy concerning the human rights in the occupied territories, condemning Israel for its policies of annexation and settlement it is exercising in the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 43/57 dated 6 December 1988 on providing assistance to the immigrants due to Israeli aggressive activities of 1967 and thereafter.
• Resolution N° 44/40 dated 4 December 1988 on calling for an international conference on peace in the Middle East. Condemning Israel’s policy in the occupied territories, requesting Israel to completely withdraw therefrom, requesting all Member-Nations to terminate providing Israel with assistance, proclaiming the need of acknowledging the Palestinian People’s right of self-determination and establishing its independent State.
• Resolution N° 44/48 dated 8 December 1989 condemning Israel for its policies of annexation and settlement it is exercising in the occupied territories, reiterating anew that the 4th Geneva Convention is applicable on the Arabs detained by it, and condemning the Israeli practices concerning the human rights in the occupied territories. .
• Resolution N° 44/47 dated 8 December 1989 concerning the return of the population, refugees and immigrants since 1967.
• Resolution N° 45/73 dated 11 December 1990 concerning the return of the population, refugees and immigrants since 1967 and providing them with assistance
• Resolution N° 45/74 dated 11 December 1990 condemning Israel for its policies of annexation and settlement and the procedures it takes against civil and teaching freedoms , expelling the Palestinian chiefs, condemning the Israeli practices concerning the human rights in the occupied territories, reiterating anew that the 4th Geneva Convention is applicable on the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 45/83 dated 13 December 1990 condemning Israel for carrying on its occupation to the Syrian Arab Golan.
• Resolution N° 46/47 dated 9 December 1991 requesting Israel to release the Arabs detained by it, condemning Israel for its policies of annexation and settlement, eliminating the Israeli practices concerning the human rights in the occupied territories, reiterating anew that the 4th Geneva Convention is applicable on the occupied territories.
• Resolution N° 46/46 dated 9 December 1991 about the return of the population, refugees and immigrants since 1967 and providing them with assistance.
The Security Council Resolutions & The Human Rights Committee Resolution
Resolution N° 497 dated 17 December 1981 “ Translated from the French Version” To consider Israel’s decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Occupied Golan as null and void and has no effect on the international level
The Security Council,
having considered the letter of the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic message dated 14 December 1981, (S / 14791),
reaffirms that acquisition of territories by force is inadmissible under the UN Charter, principles of international law and the corresponding UN resolutions,
• considers Israel’s decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Occupied Golan as null and void and has no effect on the international level.
• requests Israel, the occupying force, to immediately cancel the mentioned decision.
• announces that all conditions of Geneva Convention signed on 12 August 1949 relative to Protection of civilian Population in Times of War are still applied on the Syrian territories occupied by Israel since June 1967.
• Calls upon the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council the application of this Resolution within two weeks, and decides that it will convene not later than January 5, 1982, if Israel does not yield to this Resolution, in order to take the suitable measures under the UN Charter.
The Security Council has adopted this Resolution unanimously in its Session N° 2319.
• Resolution dated 24 March 1976 calling upon Israel to refrain from taking any measures against the Arab citizens in the occupied territories until the quick termination of its transfer see the original test
• Resolution N° 390 dated 28, May 1976 to renew the term of UNDOF for another six months, and calling upon all sides concerned to immediately implement Resolution N° 338.
• Resolution N° 408 dated 26 May 1977 to renew the term of UNDOF until 30 November 1977.
• Resolution N° 446 dated 22 March 1979 concerning the Israeli intentions to establish settlements on the occupied territories have no legal basis and considering them as a grave impediment of the peace in the Middle East.
• Resolution N° 452 dated 30 May 1979 requesting Israeli occupation authorities to terminate all settlement activities in the occupied Arab territories including Jerusalem.
• Resolution N° 694 dated 24 November 1989 condemning Israel’s deporting of Palestinians, which is considered as a violation of Geneva Convention signed on 12 August 1949 relative to Protection of Civilian Population in Times of War.
• Resolution N° 2 Session N° 32 dated 13 February 1976 which includes condemning Israel for its continuous violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, changing Jerusalem’s landmarks , threatening of Al-Qunaitra which is considered a breach of Geneva Convention signed on 12 August 1949 relative to Protection of Civilian Population in Times of War.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 33 dated 15 February 1977 condemning Israel’s policies and practices which constitute a violation of human rights in the occupied territories as a result of the warfare in the Middle East.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 33 dated 10 February 1977 which includes a cable to the Israeli Government expressing concern at the death of Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 34 dated 14 February 1979 about expressing concern concerning violation of human rights in the Arab territories including Palestine.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 35 dated 21 December 1979 which expresses anxiety and concern about the perilous situation in the occupied Arab territories due to the continuous of occupation and Israeli aggression.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 36 dated 13 February 1980 condemning Israel’s violation of human rights in the Arab territories including Palestine.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 37 dated 11 February 1981 which includes condemnation of Israel for violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories including Palestine, and its attempt to assassinate Bassam Al-Shg’a, Head of Nables Municipality, Kareem Khalaf, Head of Ramallah Municipality and Ibrahiem Al-Taweel, Head of Albeereh Municipality.
• Resolution N° 1 Session N° 43 dated 19 February 1987 declaring, once more, that Israel’s decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Occupied Golan as null and void and requesting Israel to immediately abolish its decision.
The Discrimination Prevention and Minorities Protection Sub-Committee Resolutions
• Decision N° 11 dated 1 September 1987 which condemns Israel for its violation of human rights in the occupied territories and its decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Occupied Golan, and reiterating once more the Palestinian People’s firm right to self-determination and formation of an its independent State.
• Decisions N° 10 dated 1 September 1987, N° 4 dated 31 August 1990 and N° 12 dated 30 August 1991 which all have the same purport , the foremost being:
The Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities (Sub-Committee as been set for these purpose):
• Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation itself constitutes a grave violation of human rights in Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories, a crime breaching the peace and security of humanity as per the international law.
• Condemns Israel for:
• Its grave breach of international accords, principles of international law, and Geneva Conventions of 1949.
• Establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories and calls for eliminating them.
• Its continuous occupation of the Syrian Arab Golan, challenging the UN Resolutions, particularly the Security Council Resolution N° 497 of 1981.
• The decision, it issued in 1981, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan. And to consider these decisions null and void and non existing.
The UNESCO Resolutions
• Decision N° 29/69 dated 20 May 1979 concerning providing health assistance to refugees and immigrants in the Middle East. Great concern against the continuous Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territories such as : expelling and deporting Arab population, destroying and knocking demolishing Arab houses, expropriating Arab lands and possessions, arresting and ill it treating people, which causes immediate increase in death.
• Decision N° 31/38 dated 23 May 1978 concerning the appeal for exerting all efforts to improve the health status of the Arabs in the occupied territories including Palestine.
• The Economical Social Council Decisions
• Decision N° 40/1979 dated 10 May 1979 requesting the Human Rights Committee to continue its efforts to safeguard the human rights of the Arabs in the occupied territories including Palestine.
• Decision N° 65/1988 dated 28 July 1988 calling upon the Secretary-General to report on the Israeli economical policies in the occupied territories.
• Decision N° 86/1989 dated 26 July 1989 calling upon the Secretary-General to report on the Israeli policies as regards land and life in the occupied territories.
• Decision N° 279/1991 dated 26 July 1991 referring the draft decision entitled “The Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories” to the UN.
The World Labor Organization Decisions
Decision N° 2-D/66 dated 24 June 1980 severely condemning the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestine and the other Arab territories occupied since June 1967. The following are extracted from such Decision:
The General Conference of the World Labor Organization:
• Expresses its great concern concerning the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories, the economical and social results which strictly affect the rights of the Arab manpower and their social and economical interests.
• Condemns establishing Israeli settlements in Palestine and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967.
• Requests the Israeli Authorities to immediately terminate construction of settlements in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories including Jerusalem and to extirpate the currently existing ones.
• Requests all Member-Nations not to provide Israel with any assistance that might be used particularly in issues corresponding to settlements in the occupied Arab territories.
• Requests the Board of Governors and Director-General of the World Labor Bureau to:
Render all help and support to Arab Citizens in Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories in order to enforce their economical and technical capabilities to confront the results of occupation and Israeli settlement policy.
Take all necessary measures to implement this Decision
• Calls upon the Director-General to annually report to the Conference about the situation of the Arab Workers in Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories as stipulated in this Decision.
The Conference adopted this Decision in its Session N° 66 by a vote of 249 pros, 15 against and 165 abstainers.
Vancouver Proclamation
Vancouver Proclamation concerning the Human Settlements:
The general principles of the Proclamation include:
The human dignity and exercising of the free selection in conformity with the community’s public prosperity are two basic rights that must be guaranteed in every community. All people and governments are necessarily required to participate in the struggle against any form of foreign colonialism, aggression, occupation, control and racial discrimination.
The establishment of settlements in the territories occupied by force is illegal and condemned by the international community, but it is still essential that measures should be taken against such establishments.
One’s rights of free movement and selection of one’s HOME within the borders of one’s HOMEland, must be acknowledged and secured.
Great priority should be given to repatriate deportees to their HOMElands, reinstate the displaced due to calamities resulting from acts of god or man, particularly due to foreign aggression; in which case all countries shall have inevitably to totally render all help possible, guarantee that sides concerned allow free return of those displaced population to their HOMEs and restore their belongings without any opposition.
It is essential that all historical , world and other foundations of national folklore, religious heritage be safeguarded against aggressive activities and abusive actions of the occupying authority.
Preamble
Once a cease. Fire was in operation following June 5th 1967 war, a new stage of the Arab-Israeli conflict began. The result of the war was Israeli expanded occupation which included, the whole of Palestine (as it was under the Mandate), the Sinai Peninsula, and the Syrian Occupied Golan, This was a new, or rather a re-proclamation of the establishment of the Zionist Entity. And new stage was on the hand, complementing the Zionist project, and on the other hand setting the Arab-Israeli conflict under the term: "Land for Peace", according to security council resolution No. 242.
By the end of that war and the adoption of Resolution N° 242, "the Golan" question came to light as one of the constituents of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel continued to occupy a part of Syria, expelling its population or forcing them to emigrate in the aftermath of the war. The Israeli attempted to obliterate the identity of those who remained therein. It deprived Syria, of water and agriculture; two of its most important economic resources. And Israel also attempted at acquiring huge military and strategic capabilities in order to completely control the Heights.
Israelis in return confirmed, in more than a form, that they would not withdraw from the Golan. Dayan said on September 15, 1969, "I support the establishment of facts on the occupied territories , even if they were not approaching peace. Such facts might in themselves be valuable. Israel's security would be more assured by expanding the settlement of Israelis in the Golan, even if the peace process went far away with the Syrians. Distinction should be clearly drawn, on the one hand, between negotiations for peace and treaties of peace, which I don't degrade, and supporting of Israel's security on the other. Both are not parallel". Here is the text U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 242, NOVEMBER 22, 1967 :
Resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967
The Security Council,
Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,
Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,
Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
1. Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
2. Affirms further the necessity
(a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;
(b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;
(c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to designate a Special Representative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this resolution;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the progress of the efforts of the Special Representative as soon as possible.
Adopted unanimously at the 1382nd meeting.
By October 6th, 1973, a new Arab-Israeli War broke out which resulted, among many other things, in the return of some parts of the Golan, including Al-Qunaitra City, to the Syrian sovereignty. Here is the text of Security Council 338 Resolution, which put an end to this war, S/RES/338 (1973)
22 October 1973 :
The Security Council
1. Calls upon all parties to the present fighting to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately, no later than 12 hours after the moment of the adoption of this decision, in the positions they now occupy;
2. Calls upon the parties concerned to start immediately after the cease-fire the implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts;
3. Decides that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-fire, negotiations shall start between the parties concerned under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East.
Adopted at the 1747th meeting
by 14 votes to none. One member (China) did not participate in the voting.