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Peace Proposals

The committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was established by the General Assembly in Resolution 3376 of November 10, 1975. The committee, which is composed of a number of member states, was entrusted with the task of recommending a program designed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights recognized in Resolution 3236 of November 22, 1974, including self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, as well as the return of refugees to their homes and property,

The committee submitted its recommendations to the General Assembly which approved them at its 31^st session by its resolution 31/20 dated November 24, 1976. The committee emphasized in its report the natural and inalienable right of Palestinians to return to their homes and suggested its implementation in two phases. The first phase would involve the return of the Palestinians displaced in 1967, while the second phase would cover the return of those displaced between 1948 and 1967. Palestinians choosing not to return should be paid just and equitable compensation as provided in resolution 194 of December 11, 1948.

As to the implementation of the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence, and sovereignty, the committee considered that these were dependent upon the return of the Palestinians to their homes and property and, to Israel’s evacuation of the territories occupied by force-- in violation of the principles of the Charter and relevant UN resolutions. Its principal recommendations in this regard were:

1. A time-table should be established by the Security Council for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas occupied in 1967, not later than June 1, 1977.

2. The evacuated territories, with all property and services intact, should be taken over by the UN, which will subsequently hand them over to the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people.

3. As soon as the Palestinian entity has been established in the evacuated territories, the UN in cooperation with the states directly involved and the Palestinian entity, should, taking into account General Assembly resolution 3375 of November 10, 1975, make further arrangements for the full implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, the resolution of outstanding problems and, the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region, in accordance with all relevant UN resolutions.

Although the committee’s report has been approved (except by Israel and the US) at every session of the General Assembly since 1976 and the Security Council was repeatedly urged to take urgent and positive action on its recommendations, none was taken. In fact, in June 1976, the US by its veto prevented the adoption of any decision by the Security Council on the committee’s report. Thus, the implementation of the committee’s recommendations is blocked by US opposition at the Security Council.

August 20, 1999

Professor Dr. Ahmad Tell, of Jordanian origin, is Dean of Zarka Private National Community College in Zarka, Jordan. In 1980 he received an Award of Distinction from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He is the author of several books and publications: Higher Education in Jordan , published in 1997, including Abdullah Tell, the Hero and Why Did the Arabs Fail?, both of which are currently under print. Dr.Tell also wrote a research paper about the former Prime Minister Samir Rifai and the Palestinian cause in 1997.

Dr.Tell was an officer in the Arab Legion from 1946-1950 and fought in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

References:
Cattan, Henry. The Palestine Question. Croom Helm Ltd., London, New York, 1988.