Letter dated 15 January 2004 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Guinea to the United Nations [translation]

Letter to the President of the Court from the Permanent Representative
of the Republic of Guinea to the United Nations

dated 15 January 2004

[ Translation]

Referring to the Order issued on 19 December 2003 entitled “L egal Consequences of the
Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Pales tinian Territory ” and pursuant to Article 66,
paragraph 2, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, I have the honour to inform you, on

the orders of my Government, as follows:

Israel’s construction of t he separation wall in the occupied Palestinian territor y, which is at
odds with th e relevant resolutions of t he Security Council and General Assembly of the United

Nations, is an illegal measure under international law.

Far fro m satisfy ing the need for security of t he Israeli p opulations, the continued
construction of this wall leads to reinforcing the feelings of frustration and h ate of the put-upon

Palestinian populations and, by extension, to deepening the lack of understanding between the two
parties. It imperils the very core of the painstakingly negotiated Road Map of the Quartet, whose
implementation is just beginning.

There should be no doubt that the sole purpose in constructing this separation barrier, whose
route cuts seriousl y and de eply into Palestinian territories, is to pursue, by per nicious means, the
settlement of the occupied territory and to depriv e the Palestinian people of a territorial elem ent
that is es sential to the full exercis e of i ts sovereignty. It is the expression of a policy known as

“bantustanization”, whose objective is to create enclaves that a re not viable , thus deny ing any
freedom of movement to the Palestin ian people and robbing i t of the most fertile and most
productive lands, for the sole benefit of the Israeli occupier.

This is an enterprise d oomed to failure, being counter to elementary standards of
international law, human rights and humanitarian law and aimed at underm ining the very basis of
the peace process in the Middle East. It clearly runs counter to historical development and to the
universally accepted vision of two States, Palestinia n and Israeli, living side by side, within secure

and internationally recognized borders. Worse, it is the most flagrant manifestation of the denial to
the Palestinian people of the exerci se of their right to full soverei gnty within the framework of an
independent, free and viable State.

Confident in the foregoing, the Republic of Guinea, committed to defending the legiti mate
rights of th e Palestinian people, un equivocally condemns the ongoin g construction of the
separation wall. It urges the Israeli Government to demonstrate common sense by immediately
ending this deplorable practice and b y restoring to the Palestinian people t he territories arbitrarily

confiscated from them, which would be the sign of a greater readiness to contribute to a just and
lasting solution to the crisis in the Middle East.

Accordingly, the Republic of Guinea re iterates its su pport for the application of resolution

A/RES/ES-10/14 adopted on 8 December 2003 by the Resumed Tenth Emergency Special Session
of the United Nations Gen eral Assembly on the illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusale m
and the rest of the Occupied Palestinia n Territory. It joins the many peace-loving nations of the
world in requesting the International Court of Justice urgently to render an advisory opinion on the

consequences arising u nder international law from the construction b y the Isra eli Government of
the separation wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.

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