UN General Assembly resolution 194

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The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 was posted on 11. December 1948 , just before the end of the Palestine War , adopted. It pays tribute to the achievements of UN envoy Folke Bernadotte , who was killed on September 17, 1948 in an assassination attempt by members of the Lechi . In addition, with Resolution 194, a UN mediation commission was created to help end the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.

text

Resolution 194 consists of a total of 15 articles. The German translation is:

The General Assembly, after further discussion of the situation in Palestine

  1. Expresses its greatest appreciation for the progress made through the mediation efforts of the departed UN mediator in promoting a peaceful settlement of the future situation of Palestine for which he sacrificed his life; thanks the acting mediator and his staff for their continued efforts and duties in Palestine;
  2. sets up an arbitration commission consisting of three member states of the United Nations (France, Turkey and USA) with the following tasks:
    (a) To perform the duties assigned to the UN Mediator by General Assembly Resolution 186 (S-2) of May 14, 1948, if it deems it necessary in the circumstances;
    (b) Carry out the specific duties and instructions given to it by this resolution as well as additional duties and instructions further given by the General Assembly or the Security Council;
    (c) To assume, at the request of the Security Council, all tasks for which the UN mediators for Palestine or the UN Armistice Commission are currently responsible based on Security Council resolutions; following such a request from the Security Council to the Conciliation Commission with regard to all remaining tasks of the UN mediator for Palestine on the basis of Security Council resolutions, the office of mediator is to be terminated;
  3. Resolves that a committee of the Assembly consisting of China , France , the Soviet Union , Great Britain and the USA , before the end of the first part of the present session of the General Assembly, submit a proposal for the nomination of the three states which are to form the arbitration commission for approval by the Assembly should submit (France, Turkey and the USA have been determined);
  4. asks the Commission to take over its functions immediately in order to be able to establish liaison between the parties themselves and between them and the Commission as early as possible;
  5. calls on all governments and authorities involved to extend the scope of the negotiations provided for in the Security Council resolution of November 16, 1948, and to strive for an understanding in negotiations, which are conducted either with the Conciliation Commission or directly, with the aim of ensuring that all of them remain between them finally settle open problems;
  6. Instructs the Conciliation Commission to take steps to assist the governments and authorities concerned in the final resolution of any questions pending between them;
  7. Decides that holy places, including Nazareth, as well as places of worship and religious sites in Palestine, should be protected and free access to them ensured, in accordance with existing rights and traditional practice; that the arrangements made to this end should be under the effective control of the United Nations; that the UN Conciliation Commission, when submitting its detailed proposals for a permanent international regime for the Jerusalem area to the fourth regular session of the General Assembly, should add recommendations regarding the holy places in that area; that with regard to holy places in the rest of Palestine, the Commission should request the political authorities of the area concerned to issue appropriate formal guarantees for the protection of the holy places and free access to them and that these guarantees should be submitted for confirmation by the General Assembly;
  8. Decides that, because of its importance to three world religions, the area of ​​Jerusalem, to which the present municipality and the surrounding rural and urban parishes belong, its easternmost Abu Dis, southernmost Bethlehem, westernmost Ain Karim (including the built-up area of ​​Motsa) and northernmost Shu 'fat is to be given special treatment separate from the rest of Palestine and put under effective UN control ; Requests the Security Council to take further steps to demilitarize Jerusalem as soon as possible; instructs the Arbitration Commission to submit detailed proposals to the fourth regular session of the General Assembly for a permanent, international regime for the district of Jerusalem, which is to grant various groups the greatest possible local autonomy under the special international status of the district of Jerusalem. The Conciliation Commission is empowered to appoint a UN representative to work with local authorities on the interim administration of the Jerusalem area;
  9. Decides that all Palestinian residents should be given the greatest possible freedom of access to Jerusalem by road, rail or air pending an agreement between the governments and authorities concerned on more detailed arrangements;
  10. instructs the Conciliation Commission to report immediately to the Security Council of any attempt by any party to prevent such access so that that body can take appropriate action; Instructs the Conciliation Commission to reach agreements between the governments and authorities concerned that are appropriate to promote the economic development of the area, including agreements on access to ports and airports and on the use of traffic and communication facilities;
  11. Resolves that those refugees who wish to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be allowed to do so at the earliest possible opportunity, and that the property of those who choose not to return and any loss or damage to property should be allowed to be paid, on the basis of international law or on an equitable basis, by the responsible governments and authorities;
  12. instructs the arbitration commission to set up such auxiliary bodies and technical experts under its supervision as it deems necessary for the effective fulfillment of its task and responsibility under the present resolution. The arbitration commission will have its seat in Jerusalem. The authorities responsible for maintaining order in Jerusalem are responsible for taking all necessary measures to ensure the security of the Commission. The Secretary General provides a limited number of guards to protect the relatives and the establishment of the Commission;
  13. Instructs the Conciliation Commission to report periodically to the Secretary-General on progress for transmission to the Security Council and the members of the United Nations;
  14. calls on all governments and authorities concerned to cooperate with the Conciliation Commission and take all possible steps to assist in the implementation of this resolution;
  15. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the necessary staff and facilities and to make appropriate arrangements to raise the funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution.

Legal status

The resolution was approved by 35 states, including all of today's EU member states, in the General Assembly at that time, 15 voted against and 8 abstained. It is controversial that the resolution was passed by the UN General Assembly but not by the UN Security Council.

interpretation

Many of the provisions of Resolution 194 have not yet been met. The approval of Resolution 194 by Israel was a condition for Israel's admission to the United Nations (see Resolution 273 of the UN General Assembly ). Unsurprisingly, Resolution 194 was quickly accepted by the Israeli government. The exact meaning and timing of the resolution was hotly debated from the start. By contrast, Egypt , Iraq , Lebanon , Saudi Arabia , Syria and Yemen voted against the resolution.

  • Article 11 of Resolution 194 has been increasingly cited since the late 1960s by those who see the article as the basis of the political demand for the return of Palestinian refugees. Israel has consistently opposed this interpretation, pointing out that the text merely states that refugees “should be allowed” to return to their homes at the “earliest possible date” and that this recommendation only applies to those who “it wish (...) to live in peace with their neighbors ” . In a conversation with the members of the Reconciliation Commission, the former Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion , in particular , insisted that as long as Israel could not rely on the will of the Arab states to remain “in peace with their neighbors” , the refugees should be resettled is not an obligation for his country. Ben-Gurion justifies this with the refusal of the Arab states to recognize Israel.
  • The question of a right of return for Jews who have fled from Arab states - mostly stated between 750,000 and 850,000 - for which Resolution 194 could also be applied, has not been resolved. These refugees could also ask for the right to return to their abandoned properties in Arab states or for compensation.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Right of Refugees to Return or Compensation, General Assembly - Resolution 194 (III). Retrieved July 23, 2018 .
  2. ↑ YEARBOOK OF THE UNITED NATIONS 1948-49 - III. Political and Security Questions DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, December 31, 1949 ( Memento of January 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Sean Gannon: Who's afraid of Resolution 194? ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) israelinsider, August 22, 2003
  4. ↑ Progress Report of the Conciliations Commission October 23, 1950, III: 9 ( Memento of April 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )