Situation in the Middle East (General policy of the Council of Europe)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 30 January 1976 (25th Sitting) (see Doc. 3708, report of the Political Affairs Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 1976 (25th Sitting).
The Assembly,
1. Recalling its Resolutions 490 (1971) and 594 (1975), on the situation in the Middle East ;
2. Welcoming the Sinai agreement, reached in September 1975 between Egypt and Israel, as a further step toward a jointly agreed peaceful solution in the Middle East ;
3. Alarmed by the threats to a peaceful negotiated settlement in the Middle East arising from the increase in hostilities between national and religious communities in Lebanon, and condemning all acts of military hostility or terrorist action against members of the various national and religious communities, as well as against all civilian populations of the region in general ;
4. Deeply shocked by the shameful resolution equating Zionism with racism, adopted by the United Nations on 10 November 1975, and expressing its solidarity with the Jewish people who, more than any other people, have suffered from racism, a doctrine which is in utter conflict with the aims and the ethics of the Council of Europe,
5. Appeals to the parties involved in the Middle East conflict to abstain from all political propaganda directed towards attaching derogatory labels to one side or the other, and to resume joint efforts to reach a peaceful solution, in particular by means of direct negotiations, bearing in mind that any lasting negotiated settlement must recognise the State of Israel and its right to live at peace within secure and recognised frontiers, and must offer a political solution to the situation of the Palestinian people, ensuring their representative participation in a settlement valid for the entire region ;
6. Invites the governments of the member states of the Council of Europe :
a to do everything in their power to promote a new climate of reconciliation between the various conflicting communities in Lebanon ;
b to implement Resolution (54) 16 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, with a view to consulting and harmonising their policy in the United Nations, in order to prevent any sectarian abuse of the second decade for action to combat racism, which will open in 1976 at the conference in Accra.
