Resolution 54/42
(December 1, 1999)
The General Assembly,
Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions
adopted at the tenth emergency special session,
Recalling also the relevant Security Council resolutions,
including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973)
of 22 October 1973,
Aware that it has been more than fifty years since the
adoption of resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and thirty-two
years since the occupation of Palestinian territory, including
Jerusalem, in 1967,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General 1/
submitted pursuant to the request made in its resolution 53/42 of 2
December 1998,
Reaffirming the permanent responsibility of the United Nations
with regard to the question of Palestine until the question is
resolved in all its aspects,
Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful settlement of
the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is
imperative for the attainment of a comprehensive and lasting peace in
the Middle East,
Aware that the principle of equal rights and
self-determination of peoples is among the purposes and principles
embodied in the Charter of the United Nations,
Affirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by war,
Affirming also the illegality of the Israeli settlements in
the territory occupied since 1967 and of Israeli actions aimed at
changing the status of Jerusalem,
Affirming once again the right of all States in the region to
live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders,
Recalling the mutual recognition between the Government of the
State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the
representative of the Palestinian people, and the signing by the two
parties of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993, 2/ as
well as the subsequent implementation agreements, including the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, signed in Washington, D.C., on 28 September 1995, 3/
Recalling also the withdrawal of the Israeli army, which took
place in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area in 1995 in accordance
with the agreements reached by the parties, and the initiation of the
Palestinian Authority in those areas, as well as the subsequent
redeployments of the Israeli army in the rest of the West Bank,
Noting with satisfaction the successful holding of the first
Palestinian general elections,
Noting with satisfaction also the signing of the
Memorandum at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 4 September 1999,
Noting the appointment by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and
Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine
Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, and its
positive contribution,
Welcoming the convening of the Conference to Support Middle
East Peace in Washington, D.C., on 1 October 1993, as well as all
follow-up meetings and the international mechanisms established to
provide assistance to the Palestinian people, including the donor
meeting held at Tokyo on 14 October 1999,
Expressing the hope that the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum will
be fully implemented towards full compliance with the existing
agreements and the conclusion of the final settlement by the agreed
time of September 2000,
1. Reaffirms the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement
of the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict,
in all its aspects;
2. Expresses its full support for the ongoing peace process
which began in Madrid and the Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements of 1993, 2/ as well as the
subsequent implementation agreements, including the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip of 19953 and the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 1999, and
expresses the hope that the process will lead to the establishment of
a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
3. Stresses the necessity for commitment to the principle of
land for peace and the implementation of Security Council resolutions
242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which form the basis of the Middle East
peace process, and the need for the immediate and scrupulous
implementation of the agreements reached between the parties,
including the redeployment of the Israeli forces from the West Bank,
and takes note with satisfaction of the commencement of the
negotiations on the final settlement;
4. Calls upon the concerned parties, the co-sponsors of the
peace process and other interested parties, as well as the entire
international community to exert all the necessary efforts and
initiatives to ensure the continuity and success of the peace process
and its conclusion by the time agreed upon;
5. Stresses the need for:
(a) The realization of the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination;
(b) The withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory
occupied since 1967;
6. Also stresses the need for resolving the problem of the
Palestine refugees in conformity with its resolution 194 (III) of 11
December 1948;
7. Urges Member States to expedite the provision of economic
and technical assistance to the Palestinian people during this
critical period;
8. Emphasizes the importance for the United Nations to play a
more active and expanded role in the current peace process and in the
implementation of the Declaration of Principles;
9. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with
the parties concerned, and in consultation with the Security Council,
for the promotion of peace in the region and to submit progress
reports on developments in this matter.
68th plenary meeting
1 December 1999
1/ A/54/457-S/1999/1050; see Official Records of the
Security Council, Fifty-fourth Year, Supplement for October, November
and December 1999, document S/1999/1050.
2/ A/48/486-S/26560, annex; see Official Records of the
Security Council, Forty-eighth Year, Supplement for October, November
and December 1993, document S/26560.
3/ A/51/889-S/1997/357, annex; see Official Records of the
Security Council, Fifty-second Year, Supplement for April, May and
June 1997, document S/1997/357.
Sources: The United Nations |