Full Text of the Resolution
General Assembly
Tenth emergency special session
Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest
of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Taken December 8, 2003
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolution ES-10/13 of 21 October 2003,
Guided by the principles of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Aware of the established principle of International Law
on the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,
Aware also that developing friendly relations
among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights
and self-determination of peoples is among the purposes and principles
of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling relevant General Assembly resolutions, including
resolution 181 (II) of 1947, which partitioned mandated Palestine
into two States, one Arab and one Jewish,
Recalling also the resolutions of the tenth emergency
special session,
Further recalling relevant Security Council resolutions,
including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973)
of 22 October 1973, 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969, 298 (1971) of 25
September 1971, 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, 452 (1979) of 20 July
1979, 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980, 478
(1980) of 20 August 1980, 904 (1994) of 18 March 1994, 1073 (1996)
of 28 September 1996, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002 and 1515 (2003)
of 19 November 2003,
Reaffirming the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention
as well as Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions to the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,
Recalling the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention
respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907,
Welcoming the convening of the Conference of High Contracting
Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention on measures to enforce the
Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem,
at Geneva on 15 July 1999,
Expressing its support for the declaration adopted by
the reconvened Conference of High Contracting Parties at Geneva
on 5 December 2001,
Recalling in particular relevant United Nations resolutions
affirming that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and
to economic and social development as well as those demanding the
complete cessation of settlement activities,
Recalling also relevant United Nations resolutions affirming
that actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to change the
status and demographic composition of Occupied East Jerusalem have
no legal validity and are null and void,
Noting the agreements reached between the Government
of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the context
of the Middle East peace process,
Gravely concerned at the commencement and continuation
of construction by Israel, the occupying Power, of a wall in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem,
which is in departure from the Armistice Line of 1949 (Green Line)
and which has involved the confiscation and destruction of Palestinian
land and resources, the disruption of the lives of thousands of
protected civilians and the de facto annexation of large areas of
territory, and underlining the unanimous opposition by the international
community to the construction of that wall,
Gravely concerned also at the even more devastating impact
of the projected parts of the wall on the Palestinian civilian population
and on the prospects for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
and establishing peace in the region,
Welcoming the report of 8 September 2003 of the Special
Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of
human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since
1967, 1 in particular the section regarding the wall,
Affirming the necessity of ending the conflict on the
basis of the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine living side
by side in peace and security based on the Armistice Line of 1949,
in accordance with relevant Security Council and General Assembly
resolutions,
Having received with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General
submitted in accordance with resolution ES-10/13 of 21 October 2003,
2
Bearing in mind that the passage of time further compounds
the difficulties on the ground, as Israel, the occupying Power,
continues to refuse to comply with International Law vis-à-vis
its construction of the above-mentioned wall, with all its detrimental
implications and consequences,
Decides, in accordance with article 96 of the Charter
of the United Nations, to request the International Court of Justice,
pursuant to article 65 of the Statute of the Court, to urgently
render an advisory opinion on the following question:
“What are the legal consequences arising from the construction
of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, as
described in the report of the Secretary-General, considering the
rules and principles of International Law, including the Fourth
Geneva Convention of 1949, and relevant Security Council and General
Assembly resolutions?”