Resolution 54/38
(December 1, 1999)
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Deeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian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 international 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-fifth session on the implementation of the
present resolution.
68th plenary meeting
1 December 1999
1/ A/54/495.
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 |