Resolution 52/54
(December 9, 1997)
The General Assembly,
Having considered the item entitled “The situation in the Middle East,”
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General, 1/
Recalling Security Council resolution 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981,
Reaffirming the fundamental principle of the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by force, in accordance with international law
and the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming once more the applicability of the Geneva Convention
relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of
12 August 1949, 2/ to the occupied Syrian Golan,
Deeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan,
which has been under occupation since 1967, contrary to the relevant
Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,
Stressing the illegality of the Israeli settlement construction and
activities in the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967,
Noting with satisfaction the convening at Madrid on 30 October 1991
of the Peace Conference on the Middle East, on the basis of Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of
22 October 1973 and 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978 and the formula of land
for peace,
Expressing grave concern over the halt in the peace process on the
Syrian and Lebanese tracks, and expressing the hope that peace talks will
soon resume from the point they had reached,
1. Declares that Israel has failed so far to comply with Security
Council resolution 497 (1981);
2. Declares also that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to
impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian
Golan is null and void and has no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by
the Security Council in its resolution 497 (1981), and calls upon Israel
to rescind it;
3. Reaffirms its determination that all relevant provisions of the
Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 1907, 3/ and the Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
of 12 August 1949, 2/ continue to apply to the Syrian territory occupied
by Israel since 1967, and calls upon the parties thereto to respect and
ensure respect for their obligations under those instruments in all
circumstances;
4. Determines once more that the continued occupation of the Syrian
Golan and its de facto annexation constitute a stumbling block in the way
of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region;
5. Calls upon Israel to resume the talks on the Syrian and Lebanese
tracks and to respect the commitments and undertakings reached during the
previous talks;
6. Demands once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian
Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant
Security Council resolutions;
7. Calls upon all the parties concerned, the co-sponsors of the peace
process and the entire community to exert all the necessary efforts to
ensure the resumption of the peace process and its success;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly
at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the present
resolution.
68th plenary meeting
9 December 1997
Notes
1/ A/52/467.
2/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.
3/ See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915).
Sources: The United Nations |