Arab Foreign Ministers Council issues final statement

The Arab League Foreign Ministers Council has stressed the importance of supporting Iraq's war against Daesh in Iraq and the Levant, backing the Palestinian cause, as well as condemning the destruction of religious and cultural heritage in Iraq, and protecting Iraq's water rights.
The ministries council issued a final statement at the end of its 143rd meeting during which they expressed adherence to the content of the United Nation (UN) Security Council resolutions related to fighting terrorism, especially Daesh.
The statement, carried by the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, called on the world countries to take strict measures to prevent the movement of terrorists through their territories, and to implement the UN Security Council resolution number 2178 strictly and comprehensively in order to dry up the resources of terrorism.
It indicated that Daesh continues to finance operations for recruitment, explosions, and purchase of weapons from various sources including, sale of oil, donations from charities, kidnapping and reception of ransoms, as well as illegal trade, besides other means.
The council condemned the intended destruction of religious and cultural heritage in Iraq by terrorist organisations, including the burning of thousands of rare books and manuscripts, calling on world countries not to deal with the stolen ruins and to return them back to Iraq.
It also called on the international community to help Iraq in offering humanitarian relief to locally displaced Iraqis who fled their homes due to Daesh's seizure of their lands, as well as supporting Syrian refuges in the country.
A total of 260,000 Syrian refugees are residing in Iraq, thus imposing financial burden on the country, it affirmed. The council also called for activating the Arab League's Joint Defence Council to protect the member countries from all dangers threatening Arab national security.
Meanwhile, the Arab Foreign Ministers supported the Palestinian leadership for requesting the International Criminal Court (ICC) to file law suits against the Israeli leaders for war crimes against the Palestinian people.
The council demanded the international community to immediately and urgently force the Israeli authorities to halt all their settlement construction activities in the Palestinian occupied territories, especially in East Jerusalem, as well as removing such settlements from the Palestinian lands, considering this act as a war crime punishable under international law.
It applauded the role of the international community and its institutions in the field of human rights, as it supported the resilience of the Palestinian people in Negev, which worked to foil the Israeli Power plan that aims at expelling Palestinians out of their lands.
It called on the European Union (EU) and its member countries to boycott the products of the Jewish settlements.
The council also called on the United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to adhere to its commitment in serving Palestinian refugees and meeting their needs, calling on the UN Secretary-General to prepare comprehensive statistics of the number of Palestinian refugees and their properties.
It also shed light on the Arab ministerial delegation tasked with holding negotiations with the UN Security Council, US administration, Russia, China, and the European Union in support of the Arab peace initiative.
The council stressed the importance of setting a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation, besides setting a supervisory means to guarantee the accurate implementation to achieve fair and permanent peace in the region.
The council members expressed their thanks and appreciation to the efforts exerted by The Arab Peace Initiative Committee (APIC) chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, in offering political and financial support to the Palestinian cause. It hailed the active diplomatic efforts of Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled in various international arenas as well.
The council called on all Arab nations to extend additional financial support to Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem Funds, condemning all judaisation forms of Jerusalem and the construction of more Israeli housing units in eastern Jerusalem.
It also condemned the Israeli authorities' continuous excavations and digging of tunnels under and around the Holy Aqsa Mosque, and in the area of Selwan.
Meanwhile, the council criminalised the usage of irrigation facilities and dams during times of war and by terrorist activities. It stressed the importance of protecting water resources in the Arab World and to best serve humanitarian objectives, thus, contributing to sustainable development.
The council supported Iraq's rights for its waters through taking joint positions to face the policies of neighbouring countries like Turkey and Iran in exploiting common river waters.
Source: WAM