United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379

In July 1920, at the San Remo conference, a Class "A" League of Nations mandate over Palestine was allocated to the British. The preamble of the mandate document declared:

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.[2]

On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending "to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union" as Resolution 181 (II).[3] The plan contained a proposal to terminate the British Mandate for Palestine and partition Palestine into "independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem." On 14 May 1948, the day on which the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved a proclamation which declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.[4]

On 11 May 1949, Israel was admitted to membership in the United Nations.[5]

The full text of Resolution 3379:[6]

3379 (XXX). Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 1904 (XVIII) of 20 November 1963, proclaiming the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and in particular its affirmation that "any doctrine of racial differentiation or superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous" and its expression of alarm at "the manifestations of racial discrimination still in evidence in some areas in the world, some of which are imposed by certain Governments by means of legislative, administrative or other measures",

Recalling also that, in its resolution 3151 G (XXVIII) of 14 December 1973, the General Assembly condemned, inter alia, the unholy alliance between South African racism and zionism,

Taking note of the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace 1975, proclaimed by the World Conference of the International Women's Year, held at Mexico City from 19 June to 2 July 1975, which promulgated the principle that "international co-operation and peace require the achievement of national liberation and independence, the elimination of colonialism and neo-colonialism, foreign occupation, zionism, apartheid and racial discrimination in all its forms, as well as the recognition of the dignity of peoples and their right to self-determination",

Taking note also of resolution 77 (XII) adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its twelfth ordinary session, held at Kampala from 28 July to 1 August 1975, which 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",

Taking note also of the Political Declaration and Strategy to Strengthen International Peace and Security and to Intensify Solidarity and Mutual Assistance among Non-Aligned Countries, adopted at the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975, which most severely condemned zionism as a threat to world peace and security and called upon all countries to oppose this racist and imperialist ideology,

Determines that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/86, adopted on 16 December 1991, revoked the determination in Resolution 3379, which had called Zionism a form of racism.[1] Israel had made revocation of Resolution 3379 a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference, in progress in the last quarter of 1991.[15]

The resolution was raised under pressure from the administration of US President George H.W. Bush.[16] The text of the revocation was simply:

"The General Assembly Decides to revoke the determination contained in its resolution 3379 (XXX) of 10 November 1975."

The motion was supported by 111 (including the 90 nations who sponsored the resolution), opposed by 25 nations and abstained by 13 nations.

Voting record for Resolution 46/86

Voting record

In favour (111) 88 states sponsoring	Abstaining (13)	Against (25)	Absent (15)
Albania  Antigua and Barbuda  Argentina  Australia  Austria  Bahamas  Barbados  Belarus  Belgium  Belize  Benin  Bhutan  Bolivia  Botswana  Brazil  Bulgaria  Burundi Cambodia  Cameroon  Canada  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chile  Congo  Costa Rica  Côte d’Ivoire  Cyprus Czechoslovakia  Denmark  Dominica  Dominican Republic  Ecuador  El Salvador  Estonia  Fiji  Finland  France  Gabon  The Gambia  Germany  Greece  Grenada  Guatemala  Guyana  Haiti  Honduras  Hungary  Iceland  India  Ireland  Israel Italy  Jamaica  Japan  Kenya  Lesotho  Latvia  Liberia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Madagascar  Malta  Malawi  Marshall Islands  Mexico  Mongolia  Micronesia  Mozambique  Namibia  Nepal  Netherlands  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Nigeria  Norway  Panama  Papua New Guinea  Paraguay  Peru  Philippines  Poland  Portugal  South Korea  Romania  Rwanda  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  São Tomé and Príncipe  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Singapore  Solomon Islands  Soviet Union  Spain  Suriname  Swaziland  Sweden  Thailand  Togo  Ukraine  United Kingdom  United States  Uruguay Venezuela  Yugoslavia  Zaire  Zambia	Angola  Burkina Faso Ethiopia  Ghana  Laos  Maldives Mauritius Myanmar  Trinidad and Tobago  Turkey  Uganda  Tanzania  Zimbabwe	Afghanistan  Algeria  Brunei  Bangladesh  Cuba  North Korea  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Lebanon  Libya  Malaysia  Mali  Mauritania  Pakistan  Qatar  Saudi Arabia Somalia  Sri Lanka  Sudan  Syrian Arab Republic  United Arab Emirates  Vietnam  Yemen	Bahrain  Chad  China  Comoros  Djibouti  Egypt  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau Kuwait  Morocco  Niger  Oman  Senegal  South Africa  Tunisia  Vanuatu
Source: United Nations Bibliographic Information System[17]

• World Conference against Racism
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

• United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (10 November 1975) (Official UN site)
• Report of the Plenary Meeting A/PV.2400 (Official UN site)
• Israeli Ambassador Herzog's response to Zionism is racism resolution (10 November 1975)
• Ambassador Moynihan's response to Zionism is racism resolution
• Video footage of Ambassador Herzog concluding his remarks and tearing the resolution in half (10 November 1975)
• American Jewish Committees' extensive archive of materials on the Zionism is Racism controversy