UNITED NATIONS ASIAN AND PACIFIC MEETING IN SUPPORT OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE International efforts at addressing the obstacles to the two-state solution the role of Asian and Pacific governmental and non-governmental actors Bangkok, 10 and 11 July 2012 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY PLENARY III Support by Asia and the Pacific for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine Paper presented by H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Aboughosh Ambassador of Palestine to Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam Kuala Lumpur CPR/APM/2012/1
2 Statement by H.E. Abdelaziz Aboughosh Ambassador of Palestine to Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam Diplomatic Recognition of the Palestinian Statehood by the Governments of the Region Despite of the geographical distance between Palestine and South East Asia, the relationship between Palestine and this region can be traced back to the mid sixties. Many factors influenced this relationship, such as 1- The Palestinian Just Cause The International Community began to realize the Palestinian plight and sympathized with it. The launching of the Palestinian revolution and the media development increased the awareness of the International Community towards the Palestinian cause. 2- The role of the International and Regional Organizations: This appears clearly in many of the Resolutions relevant to the cause, which was taken by various United Nations Agencies, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and lately by the Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC). 3- Religion: The sympathy of Muslims and Christians with their brothers and sisters and their respect towards the holy places in Palestine influenced the support of the people of this region towards the Palestinians. Many NGO s were established, in different countries of this region to assist and help the Palestinians.
3 4- The strong relationship that existed between different Arab regimes and Governments of this region helped in establishing relations between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the countries in this region. 5- The Revolutionary relationship between the Palestine National Liberation movement and the revolutionary parties of some countries of this region also helped in developing the relationship. 6- The presence of Palestinian students from various Universities in this region has played a vital and constructive role in building the relationship between Palestine and countries in this region. The aforementioned factors created different kinds of relationships between Palestine and the countries of this region and thus can be classified as: 1- Military assistance and training courses in various fields. 2- Diplomatic and political support in the International arena on different levels, which resulted in opening of PLO offices. 3- Some countries in this region decided not to have Diplomatic relations with Israel as a kind of support towards the Palestinian people. This took place particularly after 1967, 1973 and 1982 wars. 4- As result of the acceptance of the Palestine National Congress of the Security Council Resolutions 242 & 338 and the readiness of PLO to accept the two State-Solutions in its meeting held in Algiers in 1988, many countries recognized the PLO and upgraded the offices and Missions of the PLO to Diplomatic Missions. 5- The Oslo Agreement and the return of the PLO Leadership and other PLO Members to the Palestinian Territory was a turning point in the recognition of Palestine and the establishment of Embassies of Palestine in various countries. Lately after the peace process in the Middle East came to a deadlock, the Palestinian Leadership decided once again to bring forward the cause of Palestine to the United Nations and seek recognition from various countries of the world to the Palestine State on the Land of Palestine occupied since 1967 with East Jerusalem as its Capital. This Palestinian Diplomatic move resulted in many more countries in the world, including some countries in this region to recognize the Palestinian State When we discuss the relationship between Palestine and the countries of this region, we must not forget the important efforts that these countries contributed in training many Palestinians for the Institutions of the future Palestinian State. This includes the Afro-Asian Collaboration, the JICA-Indonesia Co-operation, JICA- Malaysia Co-operation and in addition to the individual efforts of the countries in this region.
4 The countries that have recognized Palestine in South-East Asia: Diplomatic Recognition: Name Date of Recognition Diplomatic Relevant membership, further details relations Malaysia 15 November 1988 Yes OIC,NAM Indonesia 16 November 1988 Yes OIC, Palestine-Indonesia relations Brunei 17 November 1988 Yes OIC,NAM India 18 November 1988 Yes NAM,UNSC(Jan2011-Dec2011),India- Palestine relations, Sri Lanka 18 November 1988 Yes NAM Vietnam 19Novemebr 1988 Yes Palestine-Vietnam relations People s Republic of China 20 November 1988 Yes UNSC (permanent), China-Palestine relations Cambodia 21 November 1988 Yes Further details Recognition extended by the People s Republic of Kampuchea, the predecessor to modern Cambodia. Its civil-war rival, Democratic Kampuchea, announced its recognition three days prior. North 24Novemeber 1988 Yes North Korea-Palestine relations Korea Maldives 28 November 1988 Yes NAM, OIC Laos 2 December1988 Yes / Nepal 19 December 1988 No NAM East 1 March 2004 Yes / Timor Thailand 18 January 2012 No NAM, OIC observer
5 No Diplomatic Recognition: Name Official Position Relations Relevant membership Japan Japan supports a two-state solution to the Yes conflict, and is firmly committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Responding to Israeli settlement activities in 2012, the Japanese government stated that it would not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Likewise, in January 2011, it declared that it would not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel. South Korea The government of South Korea does not recognize the State of Palestine Myanmar Myanmar is one of only two membership of the No Non-Aligned Movement that has not recognized the State of Palestine, Alongside Singapore. Former foreign affairs minister Win Aung stated in 2000 that Myanmar supports a two-state solution within internationally recognized borders. Singapore Singapore has not yet recognized the State of Palestine and has not announced a position regarding a solution. The island state has a strong relationship with Israel. No ***