CM/Res.1567 (LXI)
RESOLUTION ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Sixty-first Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23 to 27 January, 1995,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of the Organization of African unity on the Question of Palestine as contained in document CM/1862 (LXI),
Recalling the relevant resolutions adopted by previous Sessions of the Council of Ministers and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government on the Question of Palestine,
Reaffirming the legitimacy of the struggle being waged by the Palestinian People under the leadership of Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole legitimate representative, to recover their occupied territories and exercise their inalienable national rights, including the right to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital,
Further reaffirming that the realization of a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the conflict in the Middle East and the Palestinian Question which are the root causes of the problem, would greatly contribute to the consolidation of international peace and security,
Following attentively the continued peace efforts for the achievement of a just and comprehensive settlement to the Palestine question, Jerusalem and the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of Security Council resolutions 2432, 338, 478 and the legitimate national and political rights of the Palestinian People :
REAFFIRMS that the Palestinian Question is at the core of the Middle East conflict while the issue of Jerusalem forms the core of the Palestinian question and that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East calls for :
withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and recognition of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian People, including their right to return, to self-determination and to establish their independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions;
cessation of all acts of violence against the Palestinian people and the release of all prisoners and detainees in accordance with the agreement between Israel and the PLO, and the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949;
the necessity to consider Jerusalem as an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and to consider its annexation by Israel and decisions taken by Israeli institutions pertaining to this issue as illegal, null and void and has no legal validity whatsoever in compliance with the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council in particular resolutions 465, 476 and 478 (1980);
the cessation activities aimed at establishing new Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the need to dismantle the existing ones and put an immediate end to the confiscating of the Palestinian Land in and around Jerusalem and all other occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution No. 465 of 1 March 1980 and all other related resolutions;
REAFFIRMS the need to solve the problem of Palestinian refugees based on the principles of human rights and in accordance with the provisions of the relevant UN resolutions, particularly General Assembly resolution 194 and Security Council resolution 237;
EXPRESSES ITS APPRECIATION of the efforts exerted by the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israeli Government and all the other parties in the bilateral and multilateral talks and encourage them to persevere in their effort s to reach a just and peaceful solution to the Palestinian question;
EXPRESSES ITS APPRECIATION AND SUPPORT for the “Land for
Peace” principle pursuant to the Security Council resolutions 242 (1947) and 338 (1973) and for the Declaration of Principle signed in Washington on 13 September 1993 by PLO and Israel as a first step towards the implementation of the principle of Land for Peace, which should be speedily followed by similar measures on the Palestinian and other Arab tracks;
ENCOURAGES Israel and the PLO to continue the peace process and CALLS ON Israel to take measures to implement the agreements it concluded with the PLO without delay and within the time frame pursuant to the Declaration of Principle signed in Washington and all other related agreements;
EXPRESSES ITS DEEP CONCERN over the escalation of the Israeli acts of aggression on the Holy places in the city of Jerusalem, and also over the deteriorating situation of the city and all Islamic and Christian Holy places in particular in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Dome of the Rock;
WELCOMES the formation of the National Palestinian Authority and the interim Palestinian government and CALLS UPON the donor community and international organizations and investment institutions to provide the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction with economic and
financial assistance, to enable it to exploit and develop the resources of the Palestinian territories and rehabilitate Palestinian national institutions as well as the infrastructure of the Palestinian national economy completely destroyed by Israeli occupation;
INVITES the Member States to continue extending their support to the PLO and to back up its stands at the forthcoming negotiations for the benefit of the transfer of all authority and responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territories to the Palestinian National Authority including the city of Jerusalem, and to insure its return to the Palestinian sovereignty as the capital for the State of Palestine as a guarantee for peace and security in the region;
REQUESTS the OAU Secretary-General to monitor developments regarding the question of Palestine and report therein to the next Session of the OAU Council of Ministers.