Fidel on Palestine at UN in 1979
Fidel on Palestine at UN in 1979
Cuba, G77, and UN support Palestine and two-state solution
On October 12, 1979, Fidel addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, speaking in his capacity as President of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Non-Aligned Movement is a conference of heads of state or government dedicated to the defense of the sovereignty of the formerly colonized nations. It holds summits every three years, chaired by countries elected to serve as president of the Movement for three-year terms on a rotating basis. The Conference was established in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1961 by twenty-three governments, including twenty-one from Africa and Asia plus Yugoslavia and Cuba; it today has 120 member states. Cuba served as President from 1979 to 1982, during which time Fidel denounced the turn of the world powers to neoliberalism; and from 2006 to 2009, when Cuba played an important role in renewing the Movement’s classic anti-colonial Third World project of the period 1961 to 1979, which remains the perspective of the Conference today.
I provide here the full text of the section of Fidel’s speech dedicated to the question of Palestine.
There is no doubt that the problem of the Middle East has become one of the most alarming situations in contemporary times. The Sixth Summit [of the Non-Aligned Movement] examined it in its double dimension.
On the one hand, the Conference [i.e., the Non-Aligned Movement] reaffirmed its belief that Israel's determination to continue its policy of aggression, expansionism and colonial settlement in the territories it has occupied, with the support of the United States, constitutes a serious threat to world peace and security.
At the same time, the Conference examined the problem from the angle of the rights of the Arab countries and of the Palestinian question.
For the Non-Aligned Countries, the question of Palestine is at the center of the Middle East problem. Both form an integral whole, which cannot be resolved separately.
The basis for just peace in the region begins with the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories and entails for the Palestinian people the return of all their occupied territories and the recovery of their inalienable national rights, including the right of return to their homeland, to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State in Palestine, in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 3236. This implies the illegality and nullity of the measures taken by Israel in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, as well as with respect to its establishment of settlements on Palestinian land and in the other Arab territories, the immediate dismantling of which is a prerequisite for the solution of the problem.
As I said in my address to the Sixth Summit, “... We're not fanatics. The revolutionary movement has always educated toward hatred of racial discrimination and pogroms of any kind, and from the bottom of our souls, we repudiate with all our strength the ruthless persecution and genocide that Nazism in its time unleashed against the Jewish people. But I can't remember anything more similar in our contemporary history than the eviction, persecution and genocide that imperialism and Zionism are carrying out today against the Palestinian people. Dispossessed of their land, expelled from their own homeland, scattered around the world, persecuted and killed, the heroic Palestinians are an impressive example of selflessness and patriotism, and are the living symbol of the greatest crime of our time.” [Applause]
Can anyone be surprised that the Conference was compelled, for reasons that do not arise from any political prejudice but from an objective analysis of the facts, to point out that United States policy plays a fundamental role in preventing the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region by aligning itself with Israel, supporting it and working for partial solutions favorable to Zionist objectives, and guaranteeing the fruits of Israeli aggression at the expense of the Arab people of Palestine and the entire Arab nation?
Facts, and facts alone, led the Conference to condemn U.S. policy and maneuvers in the region.
When the Heads of State or Government [of the Non-Aligned Movement] reached consensus to condemn the Camp David accords and the Egypt-Israel Treaty of March 1979, behind those formulations were long hours of careful consideration and fruitful exchanges that enabled the Conference to regard those treaties not only as a total abandonment of the cause of the Arab countries but also as an act of complicity with the continuing occupation of the Arab territories.
In applying harsh words, but truthful and fair, the [Non-Aligned] Movement is not judging the people of Egypt. The Egyptian people have the respect of each of our countries and the solidarity of all our peoples. The same voices that were raised to denounce the Camp David accords and the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty praised Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement and bearer of the Arab nation's fighting traditions. No one has ignored or will be unaware of Egypt's historical role in Arab culture and development, nor its merits as one of the important founders and promoters of the Non-Aligned Countries.
UN General Assembly Resolution 3236, to which Fidel refers, was approved on November 22, 1974, with 89 votes in favor, 8 votes against, and 37 abstentions. It affirms the right to self-determination of the people of Palestine, and it recognizes the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people. Selections from the resolution follow.
1. [The General Assembly] reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine, including:
(a) The right to self-determination without external interference;
(b) The right to national independence and sovereignty.
2. [The General Assembly] reaffirms also the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return.
….
7. [The General Assembly] requests the Secretary-General to establish contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization on all matters concerning the question of Palestine.
Cuba and G77 support the rights of Palestine and stress the two-state solution
On October 16, 2023, a Cuban diplomatic representative addressed a UN committee on Palestine on behalf of the Group of 77, of which Cuba is President pro tempore for 2023. The Group of 77 is a UN organization that was established on June 15, 1964, with the intention of providing a forum for developing nations to promote their economic interests. Nations are elected to serve as president for one-year terms. During its 2023 presidency, Cuba has been able to lead the Group toward emphasis on an anti-imperialist perspective in defense of the nations of the Global South. The Group today consists of 134 member states.
In his statement to the UN Committee, the Cuban diplomat stressed that settlements by Israel in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 are violations of international law, and he called for the attainment of the internationally recognized two-state solution, with pre-1967 borders. Selections from the text follow.
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
At the outset, the Group of 77 and China would like to thank the Secretariat for the presentation of the Report submitted for our consideration under this agenda item.
The Group welcomes the SG report on “Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan,” contained in document (A/78/127–E/2023/95), which highlights the detrimental effect of the protracted Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory and the Syrian Golan on the living conditions of the Palestinian and Syrian populations, as well as on social and economic development in the occupied territories.
The Group reiterates its unwavering and unequivocal support for economic development efforts and aspirations of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Syrian people in the occupied Syrian Golan.
….
The Group is deeply concerned about the further deterioration of the social and economic conditions of the Palestinian people as a result of illegal Israeli practices, which include, but are not limited to, the continuing colonization of Palestinian land by Israel in grave breach of international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as in flagrant violation of relevant UN resolutions, including, inter alia, Security Council resolution 2334.
While recalling Security Council resolution 2334, we reaffirm that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the internationally recognized two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. Once again, we demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and call upon all States, to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
The Group encourages all States and international organizations to continue to actively pursue policies to ensure respect for their obligations under international law with regard to all illegal Israeli practices and measures in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly Israeli settlement activities and the exploitation of natural resources.
In this regard, the Group reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and of the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land, water and energy resources, and demands that Israel, the occupying Power, cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which constitute violations of international law and severely undermine their ability to pursue sustainable development.
The Group welcomes the continued Secretary General reaffirmation of the validity of Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was null and void and without international legal effect.
In closing, Mr. Chair, the Group reiterates its call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to provide international protection to the Palestinian people, in accordance with international law and the relevant UN resolutions.
We also emphasize the need for urgent mobilization and the deployment of multilateral efforts to preserve the prospects of achieving a just and lasting solution for the people of Palestine, on the basis of the two States solution, with the peoples living side by side in peace and security, within secure and recognized pre-1967 borders.
Security Council resolution 2334, to which the Cuban diplomat refers, was approved by the UN Security Council on December 23, 2016, with 14 delegations voting in favor of the resolution, and with the United States abstaining. The resolution declares that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories violate international law and have no legal validity. It calls for salvaging the two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders. And it condemns all acts of violence against civilians. Selected text follows.
[The Security Council:]
1. Reaffirms that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace;
2. Reiterates its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard;
3. Underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations;
4. Stresses that the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-State solution. . . .;
5. Calls upon all States, bearing in mind paragraph 1 of this resolution, to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967;
6. Calls for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction, calls for accountability in this regard, and calls for compliance with obligations under international law for the strengthening of ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, including through existing security coordination, and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism;
7. Calls upon both parties to act on the basis of international law.
Security Council Resolution 497, to which the statement by the Cuban diplomat also refers, was approved unanimously by the Security Council on December 17, 1981. It declares that, in consideration of the fact that the acquisition of territory by force violates the UN Charter and international law, “the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect.”
Conclusion
There are various elements in these statements and declarations worthy of note. First, there is evident worldwide support for the individual, social, and collective rights of the Palestinian people and nation, and the condemnation of Israel for violating said rights. Secondly, at the same time, there is worldwide recognition of the right of Israel to exist with security. And thirdly, the condemnation of the killing of all civilians by any of the parties.
But in addition, we should not overlook the historic and current leadership role of revolutionary Cuba in world affairs. Moreover, we should appreciate that the strategy of vanguard nations like Cuba and China in the worldwide anti-imperialist struggle emphasizes resolving conflicts through the United Nations system as the only possible practical defense against the unilateral imposition of sanctions and the unleashing of wars by the declining hegemonic power and its allies.
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