CourinternationaledeJustice
Enregistréau Greffele:
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InternationalCourtof Justice
Filed inthe Registryon: 3 0 JAN 2.004/34~
Dear Mr. Presideiît,
trclai~d, Pi-cçidciol*tl'iEuropcan Lliiioirc-Ccrsnlhc requcst bj UIZGeilcral
Asseinbly to thcin~cma~iona lourt ofJusticc Torailadvisos. opiiiion011ihc legal
cnncequeiices or ClieconstrucLinioi a walliii~beoccupied Palestii~i~i~e~-ri!orvThis
lelicrtogelhzr wi~lî 11et'iclos~ir,re provlde asdaufriliens~~le~iiènt
ftis rcccillcIha~t!~eEuroperin Unionlias preseiîieda resoiutionES/10-13 cippriivecl
by the Geneial ,Lasseinblyoi21.''Octobcr dei-riaiidrIsrcieto stopand reieibe the
conslruc~ionorth2 l3mri-ieir~wie 111occupted Pale~ti-i~ianen-iic-iii,icludil~IIIanci
arnund EastJerusalem, i~hicl~is in departiire oîthc ariîiistice 11neof 1939 1sin
contradictioi~totlicrclevantprovisions oî intcrnatioiial la\v.1-lowcvcr,tEU
belicves that the proposed requtlsFerailAclvisoryOpinion froni tl~cInlcniatioiîai
Cour1 of Justice is iIIappropricItwill no1help die efrorts of the twn partietorc-
l~ui~c1a1pollt~çüldialogue.
Fnclased arethc texlsoT~he decJara~ioi~isade by the Presidency OC the Council of
the EciropeanUnlon al theGenerai Asçeiriblyofthe UriltcdNations aficrthc adoption
of ResoiutioilsA!RES/ES- 1O/14 and AIRESIES- 10113.
beland uoulcl11kei,op~ji~toiieliaihe Acceding Siatsstothe Eurnpcan Union, 1.c
Cyprus, the Czecli Rep~iblic,Estonta. i-lingary. Lai-~1,iih~ianiaMalia, Polai~d.
Slovakia aiid Slovenia: align tl-ieinselves~vitis statznleiv,
Please accept.Xfï. Pïesident, ~1~SSUI-a~iocçf~iiyhigliesconsidcratit>n
13iialCiiv~crlT.D.
Min istcrli>rForeignAÎSairsof lrclaiid
Prcsidenl oixllcCouticiloi'h4inis~cssol'ihs Euïopcm Uilrot] 5gtSESSION
OFTHEUPJITED NATIONSGENEML ASSEMBLY
PLENARU
TENTH EMERGENCY SPECIALSESSION
ILLEGALISRAELIACTION IN OCCUE'IEDEASTJERUSALEM ANI)
THE REST OF THE OCCUPIEDPALESTINIANTERFUTOR'U
Statemeby
H.EMarcelloSpatafora,Ambassaalsr
Permanent Representative of IItaly
to the United Nations
on behalf Europeanlfamiom
NEW YOM
8 Decemb2003
Checagainse delive21 have the hsnor t~ spcak on behatf of the European Union. The Acccding Corntries
Cyprus. he Czech Republic. Estania, Iiungary, Lntvia,I,ithuania, h'lalra, Poland, tfie
Slovaki aad Slovenia,ille AssociateclCountriesBulgaria,aiidRomzma, Co.mtnes of
thc S~abilizationand Association Process and potentiai candidates. Albrànxa, osniamd
Herzegovina, Croatia, the Fornier Yugoslav Rcpublic of kiiaîcdoma Serbia and
Montenegr0 as well the EFTA countnes Iceland and Nonvay, members of the
European Economic Area, aligil themselves with thi statement
Mr. President,
afitr less &an twa months from itslas\meeling an 20 Octobcr thls ElîiûrgencySpecid
Session is convened agctinto discuss the issueof the Bamcr that lsrsel is building in
departurefiom the"GreenLine"wihn the occupiedtewitoiyof thcWest Bank
TileEuropeanUliion isparticularlyconcemed by the routemarked out for the Bm-k~in
the OccupiedUtest Bank. The envisaged departure of the Barrier hm the "Green Line"
could prejudge futute negotiationsand make the WoState solutlon physically impossible
to ~mplemeni. It would cause furtherbumanltman md economic hardshig to the
Palestinims. Thousmds of Palcstiniminwsestof thc fençe are bringcutoff fiom essential
services in theWest Bsnk, Palestinims eaçt of the fencewill.lcrseaccess te land mci
waier tesoutces. Intl~ cisntextthe EU 1s almed by the designiationoTlmd between the
Bakr andthe "green line"as a closed inihtary zone. Tkîsi;a de-facto change ln the
legalstatus ofPalestinianslivingin Lliiareawhich makes lifcforihem evcn harder.
Heilce the European Ucioe has preseated resolutionESIZO-13approvedby thc Generd
Assembly on 21''Ocrober demanding Israel to stop and reversethe construction of the
Barr-ier inside the occupied Palestinian terntories,inriiudingin and xound Easr
Jenisalem. which isIn departure of the armistice line of1949 and1sln conîradictron to
the relevap ntovisions of internationalIsw.
Tho EuropcrurUnion tlrcinkstheSccretaq~-Gcnctralforthe dx&Ied and pwtinnill reporthe
presented piirsuant to this resolutiThe Europem Unionshares the csnrcems expressed
by the Secretay-General inthis report anfullysupports theobscrvat~onshe made.
TheEuropeanUnion regretsthe fx: rhaiIsrael,according ;Othe repvrt of thSecretqr-
Generai gursuant to Generai Assemblyresolutioi~ES-1OI13, isiloin cornpliancewiti~the
,4sçcmbly'sdcmand thatitstops ahdreverses thecomlmcliun of the wa!!in theOrr>ip;ed
PalestiniaqTerritories.
The EU beliwes that rhc proposed request for an Advisory Op~n~on from the
International Court of Justice wilnot help ilie efforts of ttwo parties tote-launch a
political dialogue and1s therefore inappropriate lt is for thisreasothat theEwopem
Union will abstainon the relevantdraR resulutionsubmitied io the considerationof bis
Ernergency Special SessionMr. President,
TheEuropeati Union remains finnlycommitted tothe clearobjec!rveof two States, Israel
and a viable and clemocraticPalestifiinStateliving sideby sideinpeace and secunty. ln
the fkcunework of acomprehensive peace 111thc Middle East,aslad out in the Road Map
prcsented by the Quartetlo thepaies on 30 April2003. In this context thEU welcomes
the ui~anirnoas endorsement of the Road Map by the Security Council in resoluticln155
(2003).
The European Union 1sdeepljr concerned by the sihiatio!in the reson and has noted
that, despite support given by the intemattonal commuty to d~equeséfor a jusi and
lastingsolution,insilfficlenefforhas so far beenmade by theconcerned partles to seize
the opportunity for pencesetout intheRoad Map
The European Unionthereforc çallçonce again onbothpartie5 -Israeland the Palestintai
Authority - tolive upto thecommitments theyundertook attheAqabasunimit on 4 Sune
2003 and stresses the need fa the spcedy implernentationof the lioad Map and
cornpliance with 11provisions.
TheEuropean Uxijooalso urges alsides inthe regionto ir,meciialelyimplementpoucies
conducive to dialogue and negotiatioxis.The EU relattomhip with iirose who will îake
steps tothe contraïywill be inevitablaffectedby suchbehavior.
Notwithstanding Phcb)o& pictuo rfethe1st manths, the European Union 1sencourageû
and welcomes mitiatives from israeii and Palestintan civil societiesairn21prûmîtting
rapprochçment, confidence buildmgand the establishment of alastrng pacc,
The Geneva initiative, confirms the willingness whch exists withiricivil societieto
achieve peaccfiil coexisten incwo independent, viabl andprosgerous staleslivingside
by side in securi~yro the benefitof al1israelis =Pafcstiniansaswell asof ailcounules
rn the region Is also helphltoincrease cheawarcness of thepublic opinion ofbotfisjdes
on the iieed 10 jdantie the necessary eflvris wr! reciprocal concessions in ordcr to
achieve a negotiated setllement otheconflict.
In lns regard, theEU consicers thedacurneni presenleü on1" December m Geneva as a
valuablc contribution by the'civil societyin supporiof the Quarket's Roaàmap wSich
rernainsthe only Easlçfor theirmncd:ateresampiion cfthe peace prrpêess.
Mr. Presidena.
The European Union wish alsoto empliasize once again its strangcondenmal~on of the
suicide attxks ad other acls 01violencetliathave occurred over the lasi pcriodInthe
region and cnlls upon al1sides 10refiain fkomany provocalive action whicll can finrtiicr
cscrilatl: the I~tiaun.Serrorist attacksagainsi Isracl have no justificationwhatsoever The European Union
reiterates that tlie fiagairtst terrorisrnrn a~tsforms remains one of thepzioritiesof
the EU xi well as of CLICcntire inteniational Comrnunity and that it is thc: dutof 31)
ccunines, in pariicular of thosein theregion, to actjvelycooperate 111the fight aganst
terronsm and to abstainftom al1support direct or indirecCOierronsl organiza~ions
The EuropeailUnion emphasizes once again that,iicornplimce with ihe Road Map, the
Palestltlian leadersh mipst concretely demonsuate itsdeterminatiotiin the fi&t againçt
extremrstviolenceand urges thePalestinianGovcment and the PalcstinianPreçident to
t&e imcdiate stepti toconfkont indiv~dualasnd groupsconducting and plmlng terrons:
attacks.The~uro~ianUnion stillbelievesthatthePalestinkm securityservices should be
conso!idated under the.controlofthe Prime Minister and the lnterior Minister.
%le reeognizi Insrael n'ghlto prstectitscihzens from terrcsriatlacks,üie European
Union urgcs the Govemmcnt of Isrsel, in exercising [bis nght, LO îùiiy respect
~liternationalaw,inparticularhuman righisand iniernationahunianiia aw ancluding
the FourthGeneta Conventionand to exen maximum efforttoavoid civiliaacasualt~es
and take no aclloil thai aggravates the humamtanan and economic p!ight of the
Palestman people. Ir also callsonIsraetoabslain hm anypunitive memures which are
not in acccrdance with internationallaw, including extra-judlcialkilltnparidta reverse
ilsseitlemeni policy andto dismanlle settlementsbuiltafier March2001.
Mr. Presidcnt,
In cûïicl.iisionthc Eulopca~iWniari wishes to reiierate once again ils determinâtion te
contnbitte, with its partnerin theQuariet, inthe effortsto re-lawnchthe peace process
thr~ugh anearly implementation of the Road Map and stresses the irnpo~anee and
urgency of setting up a credjble and effective third-paii m~nitoring rnechmism
includng al1tnetnber of theQuartet.
Th& you, hiir.PreçideneESS lllegal IçraeliPractices2011012003 - thewall
Mr. Bresidcnt,
Zbave thhonot tospe&on behslfcftheEuropeanUnionThe Acc&g C~untriesCypw, the
Czmhkpblic, E~foPtiH $ uagay,LamiaL, ithuaai$MaltBolmd,theSlowikaand Slaveda,tho
Ass~çi8kdCaw3pies B$h%gu k,mrllncin'furkcy,ligthemselveswiththPs~terneslt,
theEmpan Unionis @p;pd y~maumrx otthecleu objectioftwe StatcIsraead aviabland
danscrsdePalestbimSbtsati,dq &idebysideingeee andescwifyinth-~nmewsrk of a
compreheasivpw inthekliddl?astasldd outintheRoadMag.
TheEuropcanUkiianisdee-eglaraccimedythesitmtionitheregionandhmnotd &a?,despite
suppor tivaby tiaintenmtiad rvommunityotbaqucstforjwt and ~;ofutioa,
h6tient effobu bem mdc bythecontxrnedpartit. seiztbao?poxfuniffoxpwe sinout
inthe&ad MW, m&mwred bythement QuartctMUusteriaSltatemeiasd Septcrnber6
iaslOrathewnm, risi% \riaien3briaghgndded sufPèrimd des% tobcthfie isr~.sjima$
thePdesünim geoplasEuapuftinatnsk sccwitintheregionmdbeyand.
TheEwm Udon thasefrroodtsn botyi~tas-bmei md tbePai~rtinikuthontytalivcup
tathoocrdûnw thoyua;$artooa4theAqabaammit an 4 fune2003
The hs~pbl~~Unionwges dl sidah theregiotQhmediâtefy hpiernsnt pofi~içoaid~~cta
dimilopmd negotia9isin. é tre1atic;~spiit&o6s who wiltakestepto thwntmy w~ll.
beineriia ~ffa~tdbyeurzhbe'heaviow.
Tih empem U&Q B eIeome$initiatihm civilswictyan bethsideaad isreadtoh%er
aasistntheeffortopmrnoterapprochement~~dence bui?ldinmgdthege~nychorRlasfiag
pwt.
The Empm Uninac3bonglçodemnei theintansific~ofasuicidattacksandothcrWU of
violencthtdbvs s~cwed overth1st fewwecks andcallupondl sidetorofiaîhm my
prov~carivtc$isiskkh cm fttdheescdateihtemion,
The E~mpelltUnionsmtiglycuirdema theviltcmrist8ttaet$atookdieliwegofthmeUS
citizm mcatheEr& checkpoinittheGaza seigon15 Octoh~rancexpressesiescondofçnmfo
thekvtd fdi9es.The EU expeatbt thperpatmton~iilbebroragh~ajustice.
TRpmnatatkck agdrt PsraalhavenojustificationwhaUocv,fieEwaapsa nnionreiteratbt
thefi& agtiirîmrcrisrin dl ifoma remah onecrthagrîaritiof&t EUa wellM ofthe
cnh intermtiond Coxreniiumd thatiioithdutyofal(riiuntnen,yartfculofthoseinthr
regiontaaicbivewopwatein thefighageiinlem&irraand tsabstalnfioali mpp6tdircctor
indkfi,totcrlrorrsrgmiiwtiom.
TheihropeanUniotremphasizseonceagainthathePaiestiniAtathority wtccsncmtefy
dcnnrrnst~atsdetcminatio, thefightagaiiFxtrenniviolen~emd mg69 thePA md its
~residcntotak cnrunedi daecaivstepto consolidadl Pdestiniaa sc6:witysemviader
clamwnkol ofedutyempawed PrimaMinisteraadhkdor Mitusaet,pxwn£rcrntndividu&
and groupçonductingandplandng temnstattincbTjheEwpem Ilrairewws Iisrtxri&
topmtectitrcitkxm bw termfilbtoacb.urgestheOavernmen otfIsrwlincxercisinhs
rigbttoatrtmaximumeffort toaivoiçikiliancamalilendtaknoactionthataggravateikie
huoa~*&a andeeonomic pli& ofthePdostiniapople. falsoçaiionlsractoab$& Bornmy puhitivrnaanue ~&ic&euenotinaccurdanccithinternatiolaw,hcludhgextrajueiieid
kiiiings,
TheEwopctuiUnion ispaxticulaconccrnebytheroutanarkcdoutforth80-callcdsccuriq
few int.lOcsupieWest Bank,Theeovisagedegarturofth routehm the "geenline"cuuld
prejudgfutur~&~otiatioasadmakethetwo-State-solutnhysicalimpossiblioimplement.
Itwouîdcaus ewtherbu~itzuim andeconomichardshitorhePdilestiniT.housandof
Palcatiniawcstof&a fcncarc&in& cutofffiomessonddservicintheWest Bank,
Patestullac9sotthefmce willoseacccstolandandvratn~sowcts
TlncEmpcaa Union d9 onlsraeltreversi~ settlemctolicyantbdismtle settlemmte
builtaftMarth 2001,
The EwopemUnion ni te ritsdetrminatiotr,ontribuindl wpatsofabebpicrnenb?icn
oftheKoaB Map d sttesttshSmpartancandutg~ncyofsettinupacrediblesneffectivs
Wpmîy monitorinmrchenism4
Statement of Ireland on behalf of the European Union