{"id":219952,"date":"2019-09-04T14:15:34","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T18:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=219952"},"modified":"2020-07-22T00:43:17","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T04:43:17","slug":"there-is-urgent-need-to-safeguard-global-consensus-around-question-of-palestine-permanent-observer-stresses-as-palestinian-rights-committee-meets-press-release-ga-pal-1425","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/there-is-urgent-need-to-safeguard-global-consensus-around-question-of-palestine-permanent-observer-stresses-as-palestinian-rights-committee-meets-press-release-ga-pal-1425\/","title":{"rendered":"There Is Urgent Need to Safeguard Global Consensus Around Question of Palestine, Permanent Observer Stresses, as Palestinian Rights Committee Meets – Press Release (GA\/PAL\/1425)"},"content":{"rendered":"
GA\/PAL\/1425<\/strong>
\n4 SEPTEMBER 2019<\/strong>
\n396TH MEETING (AM)<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

There is urgent need to safeguard the global consensus on the Palestinian question, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, expressing hope that forthcoming elections in both Israel and the United States will offer a path towards shifting the political dynamics around the two-State formula.<\/p>\n

Addressing the Palestinian Rights Committee, Permanent Observer Riad Mansour said the current situation is characterized by intensified illegal settlement activities on the part of Israel\u2019s extreme\u2011right Government, in defiance of Security Council resolution\u00a02334<\/a>\u00a0(2016).\u00a0 Besides home demolitions around occupied East Jerusalem, including Area\u00a0A, he added, such actions prompted his office to send letters encouraging the Security Council to condemn those actions and to shoulder its responsibility.\u00a0 Meanwhile, settler groups escalated their attempts to storm holy sites, disregarding Palestinian worshipers, whether Muslims or Christians, while military operations against the Gaza Strip compounded the situation in that besieged enclave.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, is trying to appease extreme-right elements ahead of Israel\u2019s elections, which are two weeks away, having embarked on offensive visits to settlements near Ramallah and atop a mountain overlooking that city.\u00a0 Today, he was at a settlement in Hebron, trying to gain as many votes as possible.\u00a0 \u201cThe situation is extremely volatile,\u201d said Mr.\u00a0Mansour, emphasizing that competition among right-wing political parties has led to further attacks in East Jerusalem.\u00a0 Recalling the most recent Security Council debate on the question of Palestine, he noted that 14\u00a0of its 15\u00a0members repeated the common international position that there is no \u201cplan\u00a0B\u201d other than a two-State solution, that East Jerusalem is occupied and that a just solution to the refugee question must be found on the basis of international law.<\/p>\n

While Israel and the United States stand apart from that global consensus, \u201cthe international community is refusing to deviate from what we have agreed to over the course of the last 25\u00a0years\u201d, he noted.\u00a0 To be sure, the Committee need not react to anything \u201con the fringe\u201d, he said, while welcoming its defence of the consensus.\u00a0 \u201cIf there are ideas in conflict with the global consensus, it is our responsibility \u2014 all of us \u2014 to defend it,\u201d he asserted.\u00a0 The United States violated international law by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital and moving its embassy there, he said, adding that the Committee was successful in deterring others except for two countries, one in Central America and the other in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

He called for defending the global consensus going forward, and for ensuring that the General Assembly, and its various committees, adopt a package of resolutions relating to Palestine, as in years past.\u00a0 The international position on Palestine must be reflected in such texts, he added.\u00a0 The State of Palestine, for its part, is working with the Arab Group,\u00a0<\/strong>Organization of Islamic Cooperation\u00a0(OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the European Union, the African Group and others to maintain that principled position.<\/p>\n

Highlighting the massive political support for the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA), he said the Secretary-General is leading that effort, pointing to the $400\u00a0million raised in\u00a02018 towards bridging the Agency\u2019s deficit.\u00a0 \u201cWe are required to do likewise this year,\u201d he added, encouraging the four Arab countries that previously stepped in to help meet current needs amounting to $200\u00a0million.<\/p>\n

In other business, Ana Silvia Rodr\u00edguez Abascal\u00a0(Cuba), Committee Vice\u2011President, provided updates on recent activities, recalling that the Â鶹APP Forum on the Question of Palestine was held on 3\u00a0April under the theme \u201cThe threat of de-facto annexation \u2014 What next for Palestine?\u201d.\u00a0 Participants recommended international pressure to push Israel into compliance with Security Council resolutions and to pursue legislative measures to prevent commercial activities within the settlements.\u00a0 The Forum was preceded by consultations with civil society representatives from Palestine, Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n

She went on to describe the Committee\u2019s efforts to raise awareness of the difficult conditions in which Palestinians live, recalling that its fifth annual retreat, on 21\u00a0June, focused on the challenges it faces in carrying out its work, priority activities for\u00a02019\u20112020 and strategies going forward, given the \u201cunprecedented\u201d lack of international consensus on related issues.\u00a0 The Committee agreed that it must step up its collaboration with the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as with regional groups and the public at large.<\/p>\n

Touching on a visit to Berlin on 24\u00a0and 25\u00a0June, she recalled that Committee members encouraged German officials to ensure that unilateral measures do not become the new reality.\u00a0 In turn, Committee members heard expressions of support for a two-State solution, opposition to efforts to annex Palestinian territory and pledges of continued financial support for UNRWA.<\/p>\n

On 27\u00a0and 28\u00a0June, she continued, the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem, held in Geneva, focused on the theme \u201cPreserving the cultural and religious character of Jerusalem\u201d.\u00a0 A 13\u00a0July visit to Woodbridge, Connecticut, featured a lecture by a renowned scholar at the Palestine Museum, and on 24\u00a0July, the Committee held its annual meeting with the Secretary-General, during which they pledged support for the peace process towards a two-State solution.\u00a0 Finally, the Committee completed a three-year project to migrate its database to a modern platform, she said, noting that the new website,\u00a0www.un.org\/unispal<\/a>, contains updated information.<\/p>\n

Committee Chair Cheikh Niang (Senegal) highlighted upcoming activities, saying the first will be the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, to be held from 11\u00a0to 12\u00a0September in Ankara, Turkey.\u00a0 In mid-September, staff from Palestinian ministries will take part in a workshop on building capacity in strategic communications, organized at the request of the Palestinian Authority and undertaken in cooperation with the Â鶹APP Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization\u00a0(UNESCO) and the Â鶹APP Development Programme\u00a0(UNDP).<\/p>\n

On 4\u00a0and 5\u00a0October, he continued, a closed seminar will focus on the means to prevent annexation of Palestinian territory and \u201cpush back\u201d the spread of Israeli settlements.\u00a0 Organized with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland, participants will discuss the role of third States in modern international law and recommend ways to end Israel\u2019s settlement activity, as requested in Security Council resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016).\u00a0 He went on to say that hydrologists will organize a five-day visit to Senegal, where they will study best water management practices.\u00a0 In October, the Committee will hold a six-week training course to introduce two Palestinian diplomats to the rules and regulations of the Â鶹APP, among other topics.\u00a0 Finally, in mid-November, the Committee will convene to approve draft resolutions, and on 26\u00a0November, hold a special meeting in the Economic and Social Council from 10\u00a0a.m. to 1\u00a0p.m., which the Secretary-General and the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council will attend.<\/p>\n

In other business, the Committee approved, by consensus, its draft report to the General Assembly covering its work and relevant developments since 6\u00a0September\u00a02018 (document\u00a0A\/AC.183\/2019\/CRP.2).\u00a0 Outlining various recommendations, Ms.\u00a0Rodr\u00edguez\u00a0(Cuba) urged the international community to help foster the resumption of talks on a two-State solution based on the 1967\u00a0borders.\u00a0 \u201cThe Committee believes there is a need to rethink the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,\u201d she asserted, expressing support for a broad multilateral framework and an integral solution involving regional organizations playing an active role in promoting the resumption of talks.<\/p>\n

Advocating an end to the Gaza blockade, she also described unilateral decisions to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital as \u201cnull and void\u201d and in violation of Council resolution\u00a0476<\/a>\u00a0(1980).\u00a0 She stressed the need to preserve the multireligious nature of Jerusalem, underscoring the Committee\u2019s condemnation of Israel\u2019s indiscriminate use of force against Palestinian protestors.\u00a0 Expressing regret that Israel did not extend the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, he stressed the urgent need for an international protection mechanism to guarantee the well-being of Palestinians, as well as funding for UNRWA.<\/p>\n

Also speaking today were representatives of Indonesia, Afghanistan and Malta, as well as an observer for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Rights Committee \u2014 formally known as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People \u2014 will reconvene at a date and time to be announced.<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GA\/PAL\/1425 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 396TH MEETING (AM) Fran\u00e7ais There is urgent need to safeguard the global consensus on the Palestinian question, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, expressing hope that forthcoming elections in both Israel and the United States will offer a path towards shifting the political dynamics around the two-State […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2433,1329],"document-source":[1753,6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2401,1801,1961,1749,2137],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-219952","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-french-text","document-category-press-release","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-holy-places","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-jerusalem","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-settlements","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/219952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/219952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=219952"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=219952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}