The Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries held in Belgrade from July 25 to 29, 1978,
Guided by the principles and objectives of the Non-Aligned Movement and the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter,
And following the decisions of the conferences of heads of state or government of the Non-Aligned countries and the conferences of foreign ministers concerning the Palestinian issue,
Acknowledging the explosive situation in the Middle East resulting from Israel’s insistence on seizing Palestine and its continued refusal to recognize the established national rights of the Palestinian people as affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly, which constitutes a threat to the security and safety of the Non-Aligned countries,
And reaffirming that the Palestinian issue is the core of the conflict with Zionism and that Israel’s continued refusal to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories and its denial of the established national rights of the Palestinian people is absolutely unacceptable and constitutes a blatant violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as a severe threat to international peace and security,
And considering that Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the committee formed by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 3376 (D-29) further confirms Israel’s persistent defiance of international will and international legitimacy and its violation of the United Nations Charter and refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions,
And reaffirming once again the legitimacy of the Palestinian people’s struggle, led by the Palestine Liberation Organization, against colonialism, occupation, Zionism, and racism by all possible means in accordance with the principles of the United Nations, and saluting this struggle in the face of Zionist aggressors for the liberation of Palestine as an integral part of the global liberation movement,
And reaffirming once again the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (D-30) which considers Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination,
And reaffirming that the racial regimes in occupied Palestine, Namibia, and South Africa originate from a single imperialist source and are organically linked to the racist policies and practices targeting the suppression of human freedoms and the degradation of human dignity,
And expressing its belief that the military, economic, political, and moral support that Israel receives from some countries, particularly from the United States, encourages Israel to persist in its aggressive policies and intensify its seizure of Palestine,
And considering that maintaining political, economic, cultural, and other relations with Israel helps it continue its seizure of Palestine, persist in its denial of international will and United Nations resolutions, and encourages it to continue its expansionist, colonial, and racist policies which are fundamentally based on aggression,
And expressing its deep regret over the failure to implement the decisions of the Fourth and Fifth Summit Conferences of the Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which called on member states that still maintain relations with Israel to sever these relations in various fields, in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter,
And recognizing that Israel’s continued membership in the United Nations is contrary to the United Nations Charter and encourages Israel to ignore its resolutions and collude with various aggressive, racist, and expansionist regimes,
Decides
- A – Reaffirming its full and effective support for the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle, led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as their sole and legitimate representative, for the restoration of their established national rights in Palestine, which include:
- Their right to return to their homeland and recover their properties as guaranteed by United Nations resolutions.
- Their right to self-determination without any external interference, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Their right to freely exercise their sovereignty over their land.
- Their right to establish their independent national state in Palestine.
B – Striving in all fields and on the widest international scale to develop recognition of the established national rights of the Palestinian people and of the PLO as their sole and legitimate representative, with Non-Aligned countries committing to take all necessary measures to achieve this goal.
C – Coordinating between the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement and the PLO to develop a strategy aimed at liberating Palestine and allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their established national rights.
- Affirms the right of the Palestinian people to continue their struggle by all military and political means to restore their established national rights and to establish their independent state in Palestine.
- Calls on all Non-Aligned countries to support the Palestinian people by all available means in their legitimate struggle against Zionist racial occupation of Palestine, to restore their established national rights, which are a prerequisite for establishing a just peace in the Middle East.
- Requests all Non-Aligned countries to adhere to all decisions made by the summit conferences and foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned countries concerning the Palestinian issue and to implement them as soon as possible, particularly those related to severing political, economic, cultural, artistic, and other relations with the Zionist colonial Israel.
- Reaffirms the necessity of taking the required measures to accept the representation of the PLO in the capitals of Non-Aligned countries, recognizing it as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and granting it all the rights, privileges, and immunities afforded to diplomatic missions. Non-Aligned countries that have not yet taken these measures are urged to do so as quickly as possible.
- Affirms that the Palestinian issue is the core of the conflict in the Middle East, and any neglect of this fact does not serve the cause of peace in the region. It confirms that attempts and efforts by the United States to serve its own interests and influence in the region, to resolve the Palestinian issue, and to assist Israel in achieving its expansionist, colonial, and racist policies in occupied Palestine by encouraging bilateral and partial solutions and ignoring the core of the issue, will not lead to any just solution. Therefore, the conference condemns these attempts and efforts and calls for resistance against them, as well as condemns all policies, practices, and concessions that undermine the decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Non-Aligned countries’ conferences or violate them.
- Affirms the right of the PLO, as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, to work to reject and dismantle all forms of settlements, projects, and solutions aimed at liquidating the Palestinian issue and undermining the established national rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine.
- Affirms the PLO’s right to independent and equitable participation in all international conferences, forums, and activities concerned with the Palestinian issue and the Arab-Zionist conflict, based on achieving the established national rights of the Palestinian people as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, particularly its Resolution 3236 (D-29). The conference affirms the PLO’s right to reject and declare invalid any outcomes of these activities that do not involve the PLO’s participation in the specified form and basis.
- Condemns Israel for its continued refusal to implement United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, particularly Resolution 3236 (D-29) concerning the established national rights of the Palestinian people, and for its refusal to cooperate with the committee established by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 3376 (D-30) to achieve the exercise of the Palestinian people’s established national rights
- Condemns Israel’s racist, expansionist, and terrorist policies and practices, as well as its plans and actions regarding the construction of settlements, the Judaization of Palestinian and Arab occupied territories, and the alteration of their political, demographic, geographic, social, cultural, and economic characteristics, including the Judaization of the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Nazareth, the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights, and Sinai. It declares that all these actions are invalid, null, and illegal, and that there can be no recognition of them or their consequences under any circumstances.
- Condemns Israel’s repeated violations of the human rights of Palestinians and Arabs in the occupied territories since 1948 and 1967, and its refusal to implement the Geneva Conventions of 1949, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention concerning the protection of civilians in times of war. It also condemns Israeli policies and practices related to land confiscation, the ongoing displacement of the Palestinian people, and the destruction of the cultural, civilizational, and religious heritage of Palestinian cities and the Palestinian people. The conference considers these policies and practices as war crimes and a challenge to humanity as a whole.
- Condemns all countries that provide military, economic, political, or humanitarian support to Israel and demands that they immediately cease any form of material or moral support to Israel.
- Calls on the Security Council to reconsider the report and recommendations of the committee concerned with the exercise of the Palestinian people’s established national rights in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236 (D-29) and subsequent resolutions regarding the Palestinian issue. It also urges the Security Council to adopt a resolution that embodies the principles and contents of these resolutions, particularly those related to the established national rights of the Palestinian people, considering that these resolutions have become international will and any obstruction of them constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and endangers international peace and security while perpetuating the injustice suffered by the Palestinian people and depriving them of exercising their established national rights.
- Reiterates its call for all Non-Aligned countries to take all necessary measures to increase pressure on Israel, including the possibility of suspending its membership in the United Nations if necessary.
- Requests all Non-Aligned countries to work on implementing the previous paragraph by instructing their foreign ministers to coordinate fully with the Palestine Liberation Organization during discussions on the Palestinian issue at the 33rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
- Decides to include the Palestinian issue on the agenda of the Sixth Summit of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries.