Agenda Item 44

Question of Palestine 

Resolution 54/39 (Adopted on 1 December 1999/Vote: 105-3-48) 

Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People 

The General Assembly, 

Recalling its resolutions 181 (II) of 29 November 1947, 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, 3375 (XXX) and 3376 (XXX) of 10 November 1975, 31/20 of 24 November 1976, 32/40 A of 2 December 1977, 33/28 A and B of 7 December 1978, 34/65 A of 29 November 1979 and 34/65 C of 12 December 1979, ES-7/2 of 29 July 1980, 35/169 A and C of 15 December 1980, 36/120 A and C of 10 December 1981, ES-7/4 of 28 April 1982, 37/86 A of 10 December 1982, 38/58 A of 13 December 1983, 39/49 A of 11 December 1984, 40/96 A of 12 December 1985, 41/43 A of 2 December 1986, 42/66 A of 2 December 1987, 43/175 A of 15 December 1988, 44/41 A of 6 December 1989, 45/67 A of 6 December 1990, 46/74 A of 11 December 1991, 47/64 A of 11 December 1992, 48/158 A of 20 December 1993, 49/62 A of 14 December 1994, 50/84 A of 15 December 1995, 51/23 of 4 December 1996, 52/49 of 9 December 1997 and 53/39 of 2 December 1998, 

Having considered the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,  

Recalling the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements by the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993, as well as the subsequent implementation agreements, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, signed in Washington, D.C., on 28 September 1995, and the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 4 September 1999, 

Reaffirming that the United Nations has a permanent responsibility with respect to the question of Palestine until the question is resolved in all its aspects in a satisfactory manner in accordance with international legitimacy, 

            1.             Expresses its appreciation to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts in performing the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly; 

2.             Considers that the Committee can continue to make a valuable and positive contribution to international efforts to promote the Middle East peace process and the full implementation of the agreements reached, as well as to mobilize international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people during the transitional period; 

3.             Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee contained in chapter VII of its report; 

4.             Requests the Committee to continue to keep under review the situation relating to the question of Palestine and to report and make suggestions to the General Assembly or the Security Council, as appropriate;

5.             Authorizes the Committee to continue to exert all efforts to promote the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, to make such adjustments in its approved programme of work as it may consider appropriate and necessary in the light of developments, to give special emphasis to the need to mobilize support and assistance for the Palestinian people, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session and thereafter; 

6.             Requests the Committee to continue to extend its cooperation to and support to Palestinian and other non-governmental organizations in order to mobilize international solidarity with and support for the achievement by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights and for a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, and to involve additional non-governmental organizations in its work; 

7.             Requests the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, established under General Assembly resolution 194 (III), and other United Nations bodies associated with the question of Palestine to continue to cooperate fully with the Committee and to make available to it, at its request, the relevant information and documentation which they have at their disposal; 

8.             Requests the Secretary-General to circulate the report of the Committee to all the competent bodies of the United Nations, and urges them to take the necessary action, as appropriate; 

9.             Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Committee with all the necessary facilities for the performance of its tasks.

Agenda Item 44 

Resolution 54/40 (Adopted on 1 December 1999/Vote: 107-3-47) 

Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat 

The General Assembly, 

Having considered the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,  

Taking note in particular of the relevant information contained in chapter V.B of that report, 

Recalling its resolutions 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, 33/28 C of 7 December 1978, 34/65 D of 12 December 1979, 35/169 D of 15 December 1980, 36/120 B of 10 December 1981, 37/86 B of 10 December 1982, 38/58 B of 13 December 1983, 39/49 B of 11 December 1984, 40/96 B of 12 December 1985, 41/43 B of 2 December 1986, 42/66 B of 2 December 1987, 43/175 B of 15 December 1988, 44/41 B of 6 December 1989, 45/67 B of 6 December 1990, 46/74 B of 11 December 1991, 47/64 B of 11 December 1992, 48/158 B of 20 December 1993, 49/62 B of 14 December 1994, 50/84 B of 15 December 1995, 51/24 of 4 December 1996, 52/50 of 9 December 1997 and 53/40 of 2 December 1998, 

1.             Notes with appreciation the action taken by the Secretary-General in compliance with its resolution 53/40; 

2.             Considers that the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat continues to make a useful and constructive contribution; 

            3.             Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Division with the necessary resources and to ensure that it continues to carry out its programme of work as detailed in the relevant earlier resolutions, in consultation with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and under its guidance, including, in particular, the organization of meetings in various regions with the participation of all sectors of the international community, the further development and expansion of the documents collection of the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine, the preparation and widest dissemination of publications and information materials on various aspects of the question of Palestine, the provision of assistance in completing the project on the modernization of the records of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, and the provision of the annual training programme for staff of the Palestinian Authority; 

            4.             Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure the continued cooperation of the Department of Public Information and other units of the Secretariat in enabling the Division to perform its tasks and in covering adequately the various aspects of the question of Palestine; 

5.             Invites all Governments and organizations to lend their cooperation to the Committee and the Division in the performance of their tasks; 

6.             Notes with appreciation the action taken by Member States to observe annually on 29 November the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, requests them to continue to give the widest possible publicity to the observance, and requests the Committee to continue to organize, as part of the observance of the Day of Solidarity, an annual exhibit on Palestinian rights in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations.

Agenda Item 44 

Resolution 54/41 (Adopted on 1 December 1999/Vote: 151-3-2) 

            Special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat 

The General Assembly, 

Having considered the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,  

Taking note in particular of the information contained in chapter VI of that report, 

Recalling its resolution 53/41 of 2 December 1998, 

Convinced that the worldwide dissemination of accurate and comprehensive information and the role of non-governmental organizations and institutions remain of vital importance in heightening awareness of and support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, 

Aware of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements signed by the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993, and of the subsequent implementation agreements, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip signed in Washington on 28 September 1995, the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 4 September 1999, and their positive implications, 

1.             Notes with appreciation the action taken by the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat in compliance with resolution 53/41; 

2.             Considers that the special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department is very useful in raising the awareness of the international community concerning the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East in general, including the achievements of the peace process, and that the programme is contributing effectively to an atmosphere conducive to dialogue and supportive of the peace process; 

3.             Requests the Department, in full cooperation and coordination with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to continue, with the necessary flexibility as may be required by developments affecting the question of Palestine, its special information programme for the biennium 2000-2001, and, in particular: 

(a)             To disseminate information on all the activities of the United Nations system relating to the question of Palestine, including reports on the work carried out by the relevant United Nations organizations; 

(b)             To continue to issue and update publications on the various aspects of the question of Palestine in all fields, including materials concerning the recent developments in that regard and, in particular, the prospects for peace; 

(c)             To expand its collection of audio-visual material on the question of Palestine, including the updating of the exhibit in the Secretariat; 

(d)             To organize and promote fact-finding news missions for journalists to the area, including the territories under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and the occupied territories; 

(e)             To organize international, regional and national seminars or encounters for journalists, aiming in particular at sensitizing public opinion on the question of Palestine; 

(f)             To continue to provide assistance to the Palestinian people in the field of media development, in particular to strengthen the training programme for Palestinian broadcasters and journalists initiated in 1995. 

4.             Requests the Department to promote the Bethlehem 2000 Project, within existing resources and until the Bethlehem 2000 commemoration comes to a close, including the preparation and dissemination of publications, audiovisual material, and the establishment of a “Bethlehem 2000” site on the United Nations Internet Home Page.

Agenda Item 44 

Resolution 54/42 (Adopted on 1 December 1999/Vote: 149-3-2) 

Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine 

The General Assembly, 

Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions adopted at the tenth emergency special session, 

Recalling also the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973, 

            Aware that it has been more than fifty years since the adoption of resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and thirty-two years since the occupation of Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, in 1967, 

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to the request made in its resolution 53/42 of 2 December 1998, 

            Reaffirming the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with regard to the question of Palestine until the question is solved in all its aspects, 

Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is imperative for the attainment of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, 

Aware that the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples is among the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, 

Affirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, 

Affirming also the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the territory occupied since 1967 and of Israeli actions aimed at changing the status of Jerusalem,

Affirming once again the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders, 

Recalling the mutual recognition between the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, and the signing by the two parties of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993, as well as the subsequent implementation agreements, including the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip signed in Washington, D.C., on 28 September 1995, 

Recalling also the withdrawal of the Israeli army, which took place in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area in 1995 in accordance with the agreements reached by the parties, and the initiation of the Palestinian Authority in those areas, as well as the subsequent redeployments of the Israeli army in the rest of the West Bank, 

Noting with satisfaction the successful holding of the first Palestinian general elections, 

Noting with satisfaction the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum on 4 September 1999, 

Noting the appointment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority and its positive contribution, 

Welcoming the convening of the Conference to Support Middle East Peace in Washington, D.C., on 1 October 1993, as well as all follow-up meetings and the international mechanisms established to provide assistance to the Palestinian people, including the donor meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on 14 and 15 October 1999, 

Expressing the hope that the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 4 September 1999 will be fully implemented towards full compliance with the existing agreements and the conclusion of the final settlement by the agreed time of September 2000, 

1.             Reaffirms the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in all its aspects; 

2.             Expresses its full support for the ongoing peace process which began in Madrid and the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements of 1993, as well as the subsequent implementation agreements, including the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 1995 and the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 1999, and expresses the hope that the process will lead to the establishment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East; 

3.             Stresses the necessity for commitment to the principle of land for peace and the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which form the basis of the Middle East peace process, and the need for the immediate and scrupulous implementation of the agreements reached between the parties, including the redeployment of the Israeli forces from the West Bank, and takes note with satisfaction of the commencement of the negotiations on the final settlement; 

4.             Calls upon the concerned parties, the co-sponsors of the peace process and other interested parties, as well as the entire international community to exert all the necessary efforts and initiatives to ensure the continuity and success of the peace process, and its conclusion by the agreed upon time; 

5.             Stresses the need for: 

(a)             The realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination; 

(b)             The withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967; 

6.             Also stresses the need for resolving the problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity with its resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948; 

7.             Urges Member States to expedite the provision of economic and technical assistance to the Palestinian people during this critical period; 

8.             Emphasizes the importance for the United Nations to play a more active and expanded role in the current peace process and in the implementation of the Declaration of Principles; 

9.             Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the parties concerned, and in consultation with the Security Council, for the promotion of peace in the region and to submit progress reports on developments in this matter.