Palestinian Priorities during the 53rd
Session of the General Assembly
The 53rd session of the United Nations
General Assembly has begun against the backdrop of the strong and clear results of the 52nd
session on Palestinian issues, as well as the results of the Tenth Emergency Special
Session (ESS) on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the
Occupied Palestinian Territory. Only recently, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted
resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998 on the upgrade of Palestines representation at the
U.N., and the 10th ESS resumed twice in the period of that session, adopting
two strong resolutions. Obviously, these achievements were possible largely because of the
conviction of Member States of the need to realize the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, as well as their concerns about the deteriorating situation in the
Middle East and the stalemate in the peace process due to the policies and positions of
the Israeli Government. During the 53rd session, we must build upon the results
achieved in the 52nd session with the hope that forthcoming achievements will
help create a new situation for Palestine and the Middle East, reviving the peace process
and bringing it to its ultimate fruition.
The following are the priorities of the Permanent Observer Mission of
Palestine to the United Nations for the 53rd Session of the General Assembly:
- The package of annual resolutions:
Last session, the Assembly adopted 19 Palestinian
resolutions, plus one on Palestines participation. We believe that the package was
reasonable, comprehensive and balanced and should be reaffirmed. One important change
should be effected, however, with regard to the resolution on the right of the Palestinian
people to self-determination, in which we intend to add the right to establish an
independent state. Under the current circumstances, we expect that the resolution will
continue to enjoy overwhelming support. We also hope that the votes will improve on the
resolutions on the mandates of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable of the
Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices
Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories. Both have carried out necessary and valuable work.
- Israeli credentials:
We believe that the Israeli representation in the work of the
General Assembly should be in conformity with the international law, thus ensuring that
Israeli credentials do not cover the occupied territories since 1967, including Jerusalem.
This exact language was adopted by the Twelfth NAM Summit, held in Durban, South Africa,
which alone could provide for the adoption of an amendment of this nature to the General
Assembly resolution on the report of the Credentials Committee. We do hope, however, that
such a step would receive wide support since it is perfectly in line with the established
position of the international community on the illegality of the Israeli occupation and
the status of the occupied territory.
- The convening of the conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention on measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including Jerusalem, and to ensure its respect in accordance with common article 1:
The convening of this conference was recommended by resolutions, ES-10/3, ES-10/4 and
ES-10/5. A meeting of experts of a general nature is scheduled to take place in Geneva
near the end of October (as part of a package proposed by the Swiss Government). During
that meeting, we will ask the participating High Contracting Parties to adopt a decision
on the convening of the conference in implementation of the recommendations of the 10th
ESS, hopefully before the end of this year. In general, we must follow up, in a serious
manner, the results of the 10th ESS, especially with regard to the
recommendation for States to take the necessary measures on a national or regional level
in fulfillment of their obligations under article 1 of the Convention, to ensure respect
by Israel, the occupying Power, of the Convention, as well as its recommendation to Member
States to actively discourage activities which directly contribute to any construction or
development of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
Jerusalem, as those activities contravene international law. We will, of course, request
the resumption of the 10th ESS if the Israeli side takes any steps in violation
of the demands made in the resolutions of the 10th ESS, especially with regard
to Jerusalem and in particular with regard to Jabal Abu Ghneim and Ras al-Amud.
- Bethlehem 2000:
A new item (159), entitled "Bethlehem 2000" has been added
to the General Assemblys agenda for the 53rd session. The item was
proposed by the members of the Bureau of the CEIRPP in recognition of the significance and
relevance of the Bethlehem 2000 commemoration for all humankind and the need for the U.N.
to address this issue through the General Assembly. We hope that a resolution will be
adopted by consensus on this matter, and we will strive to attain this in cooperation with
all interested delegations.
Another extremely important issue will be pursued later in the 53rd
session, as the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly announced its intention to reaffirm
the declaration of independence of the State of Palestine in May 1999 by the end of the
five-year transitional period in accordance with the existing Palestinian-Israeli
agreements. Accordingly, the immediate issue thereafter will be the full membership of
Palestine at the U.N. In this regard, it is our hope that the Security Council will be
enabled to adopt the necessary recommendation to the General Assembly in this regard, with
the support of all five permanent members of the Council for this historic and natural
development.
The Palestinian side has always maintained a clear vision with regard
to the necessary work of the United Nations on Palestinian issues. This has been based on
positions of principle, the most important of which is the permanent responsibility of the
United Nations towards the question of Palestine until it effectively resolved in all its
aspects. |