UN General Assembly Resolution 3379
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United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on November 10, 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), equated Zionism with racism. The resolution was revoked by Resolution 4686 on December 16, 1991, and is often referenced in debates of Zionism and racism.
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Background
The 1975 resolution was one of many incidents that reflect a long-standing UN condemnation of Zionism, which many find ironic and hypocritical, considering that it was 1947 UN Partition Plan that established the State of Israel.
The amount of Soviet propaganda against Israel increased after the 1967 Six-Day War (see Zionology), and the Arab oil boycott following the 1973 Yom Kippur War greatly increased their funds available for anti-Zionist efforts.
On September 12, 1972 the president of Uganda Idi Amin sent a cable to the UN secretary-general in which he approved of the Holocaust, and proposed to erect a statue to Adolf Hitler in Uganda, since it had not been erected in Germany.
On October 1, 1975 the UN had a reception welcoming Idi Amin, then the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity. He received a standing ovation before he began his speech, another standing ovation when he sat down and it was frequently interrupted by applauds. He condemned the "Zionist-American conspiracy" and called for the exclusion of Israel from the UN and its "extinction". The following day the UN secretary-general and the president of the General Assembly gave a public dinner in his honor.
The resolution of 1975
The resolution stated in its conclusion that:
- "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination."
The resolution "took note" of several previous statements at international meetings calling for the elimination of Zionism:
- The Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace, stated that "...international co-operation and peace require [...] the elimination of [...] Zionism."
- Resolution 77 of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, considered "that the racist regime in occupied Palestine and the racist regime in Zimbabwe and South Africa have a common imperialist origin, forming a whole and having the same racist structure and being organically linked in their policy aimed at repression of the dignity and integrity of the human being."
- The Political Declaration and Strategy to Strengthen International Peace and Security and to Intensify Solidarity and Mutual Assistance among Non-Aligned Countries by the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries (Lima, Peru) condemned Zionism as racist, imperalist, and a threat to world peace and security.
The Israeli ambassador immediately condemned the resolution: "For us, the Jewish people, this resolution based on hatred, falsehood and arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal value."
Voting record
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Sponsored by: (25) Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cuba, Dahomey, Egypt, Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Republic, Mauritania, Morocco, North Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Yemen, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates.
Voted yes: (72) The 25 sponsoring nations above, and additionally 47 nations: Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, People's Republic of China, Congo, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, German Democratic Republic, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Voted no: (35) Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Swaziland, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay.
Abstaining: (32) Argentina, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burma, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Upper Volta, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia.
Aftermath
Majority votes of various UN agencies and bodies continued to assert the phrase "Zionism is racism" as the consensus in their agendas and conclusions, reflecting persistence of this view apart from the resolution. However, under pressure from the United States, under George W. Bush's administration, the phrase was omitted from the agenda of the United Nations Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, and its final communiqué.
External links
- United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (November 10, 1975) (http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/UN/unga3379.html)
- Palestinefacts: What was behind the UNGA resolution equating Zionism and racism (http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_un_zionism_racism.php)
- Israeli Ambassador Herzog's response to Zionism is racism resolution (November 10, 1975) (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/UN/herzogsp.html)