Final Declaration of the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference,

adopted at Fez on 9 September 1982 (20 ZU'LGA'DAH 1402 A.H. [Original: Arabic]

The Twelfth Arab Summit Conference was convened in the city of Fez on 27 Muharram 1402 A.H., corresponding to 25 November 1981 A.D.

After suspension, it resumed for the period from 17 to 20 Zu'lga'dah 1402 A.H., corresponding to 6 to 9 September 1982 A.D., under the presidency of His Majesty King Hassan II, King of the Kingdom of Morocco.

All the Arab States participated in the work of the Conference, with the exception of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

In view of the grave and delicate circumstances through which the Arab nation is passing and inspired by awareness of historic national responsibility, Their Majesties, Their Excellencies and Their Highnesses, the Kings, Presidents and Amirs of the Arab States examined the important questions before the Conference and took the following decisions.

I. The Arab-Israeli conflict

The Conference paid a tribute to the resistance of the forces of the Palestinian revolution, the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples and the Syrian Arab armed forces, and declared its support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for the restoration of their inalienable national rights.

Convinced of the ability of the Arab nation to achieve its legitimate objectives and to put an end to the aggression, on the basis of the fundamental principles laid down by the Arab Summit Conferences, in view of the desire of the Arab States to continue to strive by every means for the achievement of peace based on justice in the Middle East region, taking account of the plan of His Excellency President Habib Bourguiba, which holds international legality to be the basis for the solution of the Palestinian question, and of the plan of His Majesty King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz for peace in the Middle East and in the light of the discussions and observations of Their Majesties, Their Excellencies and Their Highnesses, the Kings, Presidents and Amirs, the Conference adopted the following principles:

1. The withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied by it in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem;

2. The dismantling of the settlements established by Israel in the Arab territories since 1967;

3. The guaranteeing of freedom of worship and performance of religious rites for all religions in the Holy Places;

4. The reaffirmation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the exercise of their inalienable and imprescriptible national rights, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole and legitimate representative, and the indemnification of those who do not desire to return;

5. The placing of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the supervision of the United Nations for a transitional period not exceeding a few months;

6. The establishment of an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital;

7. The establishment by the United Nations Security Council of guarantees of peace between all States of the region, including the independent Palestinian State;

8. The guaranteeing by the Security Council of the implementation of these principles.

II. The Israeli aggression against Lebanon

1. The Conference declares its strong condemnation of the Israeli aggression against the people and territory of Lebanon and against the Palestinian people and draws the attention of international public opinion to the seriousness of this aggression and its consequences for the stability and security of the region.

2. The Conference decides to support Lebanon in everything that will lead to the implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council, particularly resolutions 508 (1982) and 509 (1982), which demand the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanese territory back to the internationally recognized frontiers.

3. The Conference reaffirms the solidarity of the Arab States with Lebanon in its tragedy and its readiness to provide any assistance requested by Lebanon for dealing with this tragedy and putting an end to it.

The Conference has been informed of the decision of the Lebanese Government to terminate the functions of the Arab deterrent forces in Lebanon, on the condition that negotiations are to be conducted between the Lebanese Government and the Syrian Government for the adoption of measures in the light of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

III. The Gulf war and the Arab position thereon

The Conference, having studied the situation in the Gulf and having noted with great affliction and regret the continuation of the Iraq-Iran war, despite repeated attempts to reach a cease-fire and despite offers of mediation and good offices on the part of international organizations, appreciating Iraq's positive initiative of withdrawing its military forces back to the international frontiers;

On the basis of the principle of solidarity and the unity of Arab ranks and out of concern to see an atmosphere of serenity, harmony and good-neighbourliness prevail between the Arab countries and their neighbours, has decided to proclaim its commitment to the defence of all Arab territories and to consider any aggression against any Arab country as being aggression against all Arab countries;

To call upon the two parties to the conflict to comply fully with Security Council resolutions 479 (1980) and 514 (1982) and to endeavour to implement them;

To ask all States to refrain from taking any measure likely to encourage directly or indirectly the continuation of the war.

IV. The Horn of Africa

The Conference took note of the submission of the Somali Democratic Republic concerning the incursion of Ethiopia into Somali territory and decided:

1. To support the Somali Democratic Republic in facing the exigencies of safeguarding its sovereignty over its territory and expelling the Ethiopian force from Somali territory;

2. That the two countries, Ethiopia and the Somali Democratic Republic, respect the sovereignty of each over its territory and the independence of each after the withdrawal of Ethiopia from Somali territory;

3. To support peaceful efforts to resolve the problems between the two parties on these bases.

The Conference decided to establish, a committee to undertake contacts with the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in order to follow up the decisions of the Conference relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict and to become informed of their positions and of the recently stated position of the United States of America concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict. The committee is to submit the results of its contacts and efforts to the Kings and Heads of State on a regular basis.