The 33rd session of the General Assembly recessed Dec.21, the same way it opened three months ago: almost ignored and unnoticed. There was no better example to illustrate the growing irrelevance of the world organization than the issue of the Mideast.
The Assembly began Sept.19, only two days after the historic Camp David agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt. The United Nations, which devotes so much time to acrimonious Mideast debates and attacks on Israel, was at once over-shadowed by the historic achievements of Camp David. Although diplomats said that the General Assembly did not follow the “spirit” of Camp David, the unprecedented breakthrough between Egypt and Israel, the accords nevertheless had their impact, at least during the first few weeks of the Assembly.
Historically united in its hatred of Israel, the Arab camp found itself suddenly divided in the wake of Camp David. Determined to sabotage the Egyptian-Israeli impending peace treaty, the extremist Arab states–Iraq, Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen–with their chief supporter, the Soviet Union, joined forces to have the General Assembly serve their aims. The United Nations, which was established to advance and promote peace between its members was being used to delay and obstruct peace in the Mideast.
ISRAEL UNDER FIRE
While the influence of Camp David was felt during the first half of the General Assembly, with Israel enjoying a relative period of quiet, the Jewish State came under fire during the last weeks of the Assembly.
Most notable of all the anti-Israel resolutions was an Iraqi-inspired resolution calling on the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Although it was clear that the United States–and other Western powers–would block such a move by their veto power, observers here viewed the Iraqi-inspired resolution as bringing a new dimension in the struggle against Israel by alleging a nuclear collaboration between Israel and South Africa.
Israeli sources pointed out that Egypt, while conducting peace negotiations with Israel in Washington, gave its sponsorship to the arms embargo resolution against Israel, contrary to all expectations. In the opinion of diplomats, had Egypt disassociated itself from that resolution it would not have been adopted by a two-thirds majority.
As in previous Assemblies, there was no shortage of anti-Israel resolutions, ranging on issues from Israel’s occupation of Arab land to its relations with South Africa. But the “novelty” of this year’s Assembly was the celebration of “Palestine Day” on Nov. 29- – the same date of the 1947 UN partition resolution which recommended the establishment of Israel as a Jewish State.
PLO’S STANDING STRENGTHENED
The celebration of “Palestine Day” was yet another UN peculiarity. The “Palestine Day” was sponsored by the Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, an anti-Israeli body comprised of 23 members of which 19 have no diplomatic relations with Israel. The committee is devoted to promoting the political goals of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Ironically, while the standing of the PLO in the Arab world in general, in Lebanon in particular and in major Western capitals has been reduced to zero as a result of the civil war in Lebanon and the Camp David accords, its standing in the UN was strengthened during the 33rd Assembly session.
While each member state has to finance its own propaganda activities at the UN. the PLO which has observer status, disseminates its anti-Israel propaganda through a “Special Unit for Palestinian Rights” within the UN Secretariate, which has a budget of $ 500,000. In addition, the PLO managed–with the massive Arab vote at the UN–to pass a resolution requiring the United Nations Development Program “to consult and cooperate” with the PLO on practical projects to improve the social and economic conditions of the Palestinians. In the view of diplomats here, such resolutions enhance the political standing of the PLO at the world organization.
With the Camp David accords and the Blair House peace negotiations in the background of the 33rd session of the General Assembly, the irrelevance of the UN to peace in the Mideast was clearer than ever. Some even felt that the UN had turned into an obstacle to a peaceful Mideast solution.
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