AJCommittee Begins Meetings With Over 40 Foreign Ministers, In Conjunction With Opening Of 52nd Session Of United Nations General Assembly

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 23 September 1997

In conjunction with the opening of the 52nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the American Jewish Committee has embarked on an unprecedented series of substantive meetings with the Foreign Ministers of more than 40 nations. The meetings, scheduled over an intensive three-week period in New York and Washington, DC, are focused on several critical issues, including the continued discrimination against Israel within the United Nations system, weapons proliferation among rogue states, international terrorism, the well-being of Diaspora Jewish communities, international human rights, and other political and strategic concerns.

Throughout its history, AJC has developed extensive relationships with world leaders and is viewed as a trusted and respected voice of the American Jewish community.

In one of its first meetings yesterday with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, an AJC delegation focused the discussion on reports of Chinese sales of ballistic missiles and non-conventional weapons technology to rogue states, especially Iran, on China's pattern of General Assembly votes on resolutions regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, and on Chinese human rights practices, including the imprisonment of political prisoners.

AJC President Robert S. Rifkind cited to Minister Qian the grave dangers posed by Iranian acquisition of non-conventional weapons (nuclear, chemical, biological) and the development of ballistic missile systems to deliver them. Minister Qian denied Western intelligence and media reports that China was selling these technologies to Iran. Mr. Rifkind asked China to use its influence with North Korea, reportedly a key partner in Iranian missile development, to prevent such sales.

On the issue of human rights practices, Mr. Rifkind suggested that a release of political prisoners by China prior to the visit of China's president to Washington next month would contribute to the positive climate surrounding U.S.- Chinese relations.

Mr. Rifkind and David A. Harris, AJC Executive Director, pressed the Chinese Minister to reevaluate his country's position on the annual series of anti-Israel resolutions debated in the General Assembly. On 23 such resolutions presented to the General Assembly in last year's session, according to the just-published AJC report, "One-Sided: The Ongoing Campaign Against Israel in the United Nations," China supported every antagonistic measure, most of which passed by lopsided margins. Minister Qian expressed an interest in studying further the issue of the discriminatory focus on Israel in the UN, and he acknowledged that Israel's predicament in its relations with the Palestinians and the Arab states is not fairly reflected in the General Assembly measures.

AJC delegations are scheduled to meet with Foreign Ministers from every continent, including many from the Arab states with whom the organization has had ongoing discussions since the 1991 Madrid Conference.

In its meeting with European Ministers, AJC is pressing for the acceptance of Israel into the UN's Western Europe and Others Group, a regional bloc. Israel's exclusion from any of the UN's regional groups prevents it from serving on the Security Council and other UN bodies -- a further instance of Israel's mistreatment that AJC is now addressing in an international public education campaign, including full-page advertisements in major U.S. and foreign publications, including today's New York Times, as well as on its website at http://www.ajc.org.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org