Further requests the Secretary. General to submit a first progress report to the Security Council by the first week of March 1991 and to report every four months thereafter, and decides to remain seized of the matter as necessary. Speaking after the vote, the representative of Xxxxx said he considered the essence of resolution 681 (1990) to be its request to the Secretary-General to continue examining the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and to report to the Council on any human rights violations by the security forces. He supported the convening of a meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention 226 S/PV.2970 (Part II), pp. 4-7. 227 Ibid., pp. 7-10. and the convening of an international peace conference.228 The representative of Finland supported a meeting of the High Contracting Parties which could produce an authoritative interpretation regarding the scope and applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention.229 The representative of Malaysia noted what he saw as three important elements in the resolution. The first was the convening of a meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The second was the request that the Secretary-General monitor and observe the situation in the occupied territories. In his view, that was the core of the resolution and should serve as the centrepiece of all future efforts by the Council to protect Palestinians. The third was the Council’s acceptance of the convening at an appropriate time of the international peace conference on the Middle East, which was by necessity in the form of a presidential statement. This was a major event. For the first time what had been urged by the General Assembly year after year had been accepted by all members of the Council. The resolution also restored the proper reference to Jerusalem as part of the occupied Palestinian territories. Future action by the Council should be free of the tendencies to set barriers, including procedural devices, deliberately used to delay the proper and early consideration of the issue.230 The representative of the United Kingdom explained that his Government had pursued three objectives in the negotiations. First, to endorse proposals which might improve the well-being of the Palestinians. Second, to address the wider issue of the Arab-Israeli peace process. The British Government accordingly supported the convening of an international conference at an appropriate time. Third, to ensure that any reference to the conference did n...
