Europe and mounting worlds tension (general policy of the Council of Europe)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 1981 (27th Sitting). Assembly debate on 29 and 30 January 1981 (26th and 27th Sittings (see Doc. 4656, report of the Political Affairs Committee).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Recalling its previously expressed views on the crisis in South-West Asia, in the Middle East and on the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe ;
2. Noting that the deterioration of the situation in other parts of the world, and particularly in the Arabo-Persian Gulf, has created zones of tension which threaten the security of Europe and world peace ;
3. Considering that because of an estimated deficit of $56 million, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will be obliged to close all its schools in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as from May 1981 ;
4. Welcoming the liberation of the American diplomats in Iran without resort to force, but stressing the need for greater European and international solidarity, in order to discourage in the future any other state from using such methods, which undermine the very basis of civilised international relations and increase the risk of war ;
5. Considering that the continued occupation of Afghanistan, whose people are refused the right to decide their own future, as well as the uncertainties and risk of external intervention which continue to hang over Poland, worsen the climate of anxiety while imposing special responsibilities on the countries of Europe as well as on the great powers, particularly at Madrid where the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe has just been resumed
6. Considering that the situation has become a matter for concern both in the zone of Africa south of the Sahara where the intervention of Libyan armed forces in Chad has led to the loss of that country's independence, within a Chado-Libyan union dominated by Colonel Gadhafi, and in southern Africa following the breakdown of the Geneva Conference on Namibia, while hoping for the resumption of the negotiations ;
7. Welcoming recent declarations on international problems issued by various European institutions, both at the level of the European Communities and at that of the Council of Europe, which prove that Europe is beginning to speak with a firm and single voice ;
8. Convinced that the growth in confidence of the European democracies should go hand in hand in increased consultation, followed where possible by concertation, with the new American administration on all questions of common interest with a view to taking the best possible account of European interests,
9. Reaffirms its conviction that détente, like peace, is indivisible ;
10. Considers that the Madrid conference must lead to concrete decisions, to include obligatory and verifiable confidence-building measures, and a clearly-defined mandate for the organisation of a conference on disarmament applying to the whole of Europe ;
11. Stresses, however, the need to respect the balance and essential unity of the Helsinki Final Act whose provisions concerning human rights concern the Council of Europe particularly closely, in view of the Council's proved and recognised vocation in this field ;
12. Supports the efforts at mediation of the Secretaries General of the United Nations and Islamic Conference Organisations in favour of a cease-fire and a political settlement to the conflict between Iran and Iraq which is dangerously exacerbating tensions between countries of the region ;
13. Urges the governments of those member states which have not already done so, to increase their contributions to UNRWA immediately ;
14. Encourages the Committee of Ministers to devote more of its discussions to political subjects, including world politics, so that, in close liaison with the Assembly, the voice of the European democracies can make itself heard more effectively.
