Iranian deputy FM for legal intl. affairs expounds outcomes OIC Foreign Ministers meeing regarding plan for forced displacement of Gaza people

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Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, elaborated on the outcomes of the emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address the plan for the forced displacement of the people of Gaza.

 

He stated, “After the issue of the forced displacement of Gaza residents was raised by the US president, the Iranian Foreign Minister engaged in various communications with his counterparts in several Islamic countries, the secretary general of the United Nations, and the secretary general of the OIC to counter the dangerous and inhumane policy.”

 

“Seyyed Abbas Araghchi subsequently sent a letter to the secretary general of the OIC requesting an emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers.”

 

“The proposal was welcomed by the member states, and as a result, the meeting was held on Friday, March 7, in Jeddah, in two parts: a senior experts' meeting and a foreign ministers' meeting. During the senior experts' meeting, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, and during the foreign ministers' meeting, the Foreign Minister of Iran, led the Iranian delegation and elaborated the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

 

Gharibabadi added, “Prior to the foreign ministers' meeting, a senior experts' meeting was held, during which the draft resolution of the Council of Foreign Ministers on Palestine was discussed, reviewed, and agreed upon. Since Iran's proposals for inclusion in the resolution text had been submitted in writing to the OIC Secretariat before the meeting, a significant portion of Iran's proposals were incorporated into the draft resolution of the summit meeting.”

 

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs outlined the most important provisions of the Palestine resolution adopted by the Council of Foreign Ministers as follows:

 

 

 

• Emphasis on the centrality of the Palestinian cause for the Islamic Ummah and unconditional support for the pursuit of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, independence, freedom, and territorial sovereignty, as well as the right of return for all Palestinian refugees to their homeland and compensation;

 

• The necessity of the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation regime from all occupied Palestinian territories;

 

• Emphasis on the need for the Israeli occupying regime to adhere to a permanent and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as the reopening of crossings in Gaza and ensuring sufficient humanitarian access to all parts of the Strip;

 

• Firm rejection and opposition to the plan for the displacement of Palestinians, whether individually or collectively, inside or outside their territory, or their forced displacement, expulsion, or deportation under any circumstances, considering such acts as ethnic cleansing and genocide;

 

• Condemnation of the policy of starving Gaza residents to force them to leave their land and condemnation of the efforts of the occupying Israeli regime to alter the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territories;

 

• Emphasis on the necessity of ending all policies and practices related to annexation, illegal settlement construction, home demolitions, land confiscation, and destruction of infrastructure;

 

• Affirmation of the responsibility of the Israeli regime for war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people, as well as widespread destruction, human suffering, and damage to property, residential areas, infrastructure, and civil and social facilities in the occupied Palestinian territories;

 

 

• A call to Islamic countries, other nations, and regional as well as international organizations to provide substantive assistance for the reconstruction of Gaza;

 

• A request for the establishment of an international fund to support orphaned children in the Gaza Strip;

 

• Emphasis on exerting pressure on the Israeli regime to end the occupation and the activities of illegal settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories;

 

• Condemnation of all criminal actions by the occupying Israeli regime and the extremist and racist statements made by its ministers;

 

• Emphasis on the importance of accountability and legal prosecution of all individuals responsible for gross violations and crimes committed against the Palestinian people through national and international justice mechanisms;

 

• A call to all governments to implement the two advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding ending the occupation, a request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to complete its investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli regime officials, and a call to all governments to impose sanctions on the Israeli regime to compel it to comply with international law;

 

• Condemnation of Israel's actions against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

 

• A call to the international community for greater recognition of the State of Palestine and its full membership in the United Nations;

 

• Condemnation of the crime of enforced disappearance, repression, and torture in the prisons of the Israeli regime, and a request for independent and transparent investigations into the crimes of the occupying regime against Palestinian prisoners;

 

• Strong condemnation of Israel's policies aimed at the Judaization of Al-Quds and the alteration of its Arab identity;

 

• Emphasis on the importance of implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon and the necessity of a complete withdrawal to internationally recognized borders;

 

• Condemnation of the Israeli regime's aggression against Syrian territory and a call to the Security Council to take immediate action to compel Israel to cease its violations and withdraw from occupied Syrian territories;

 

• Request to all arms-supplying countries to prohibit the export and transfer of weapons and ammunition to the Israeli regime.

 

Gharibabadi further added that, as a result of the efforts of the Iranian delegation, important clauses were included in the resolution, three of which are as follows:

 

• A call to all governments to impose sanctions on the Israeli regime;

 

• A request to the secretary general of the OIC to submit a report on measures taken to implement sanctions against the Israeli regime, as well as steps taken to execute the previous decision of the Council of Foreign Ministers to establish a unit for documenting sanctions with the aim of utilizing them in legal and judicial proceedings;

 

• Emphasis on serious efforts to mobilize international support to halt the participation of the Israeli regime in the United Nations General Assembly and its affiliated bodies, as well as the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and to submit a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly in this regard, emphasizing the Israeli regime's violation of the UN Charter and its threat to international peace and security.

 

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran further stated, “Given the references to the two-state solution, the request for the deployment of peacekeeping forces in occupied Palestine, and the emphasis on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians, as well as the necessity of ‘one law and one authority’ in Palestine, the Iranian delegation clarified its principled positions and formally registered its reservations in the documents of this session of the OIC meeting.”

 

The key positions registered by Iran include:

 

 

• Rejection of the two-state solution as a fundamental plan to resolve the Palestinian issue, emphasizing the need to resolve the problem through a free referendum involving all Palestinians, both inside and outside Palestine;

 

• Non-recognition of the Zionist regime as a state and emphasis on its colonial, apartheid, and occupying nature;

 

• The necessity of addressing the demands and concerns of all Palestinians in any proposed plan for them, and support for Palestinian national unity achieved through the consensus of all Palestinians;

 

• Emphasis on the need to prevent the continuation of the Zionist regime's crimes and aggressions against Palestinians as the best way to support the Palestinian people.

 

Gharibabadi concluded by stating, “During part of the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Islamic countries, at the request of some members, the issue of lifting the suspension of Syria's membership in the OIC was also included in the agenda and approved.”

 

“The Iranian delegation, while explaining the principled positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressed hope that the move would contribute to enhancing peace, stability, and security in Syria and lead to the establishment of an inclusive government that respects and safeguards the interests of all Syrians. It was also emphasized that Iran had opposed the decision to suspend Syria's membership in the OIC in 2012.”

 

“The Iranian delegation, in light of the Zionist regime's aggressions against Syrian territory, reaffirmed Syria's independence and territorial integrity and called for a coordinated and unified action by Islamic countries to end the occupation of Syrian territory and effectively counter the expansionist and occupying policies of the Zionist regime in Syria and other Islamic countries.”