Conferences, meetings
and other events in 2003 relevant to the question of Palestine. 
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| December |
16-17 December 2003,
Beijing, China
United
Nations Meeting for Asia and the Pacific on the Question of Palestine
18 December 2003, Beijing, China
Public Forum in Support of Middle East Peace
The Meeting was held under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in order to mobilize international support for a peaceful solution of the question of Palestine. Participants reviewed the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and expressed grave concern about its deterioration. They discussed the Road Map and emphasized that it remained the principal mechanism for moving towards a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They welcomed recent civil society initiatives, such as the Geneva and People’s Voice initiatives as important steps to stimulate the necessary debate among Palestinians and Israelis on the factors that must be resolved to end the conflict.
The Meeting was followed, on 18 December, by the Public Forum in Support of Middle East Peace co-sponsored by the United Nations and Peking University. It provided civil society organizations with an opportunity to exchange views on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, meet with the experts at the Meeting for Asia and the Pacific, and discuss recent international efforts to resume the political process as well as the role of the United Nations in that regard. The experts interacted with all participants in discussing public perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the impact and educational responsibility of think tanks and academic institutions, and the role of civil society.
| November |
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 2003
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was observed on Monday, 1 December 2003. Special events were organized at United Nations headquarters in New York, as well as at United Nations offices at Geneva and Vienna.
| September |
United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People
The Conference, held on the theme “End the occupation!”, heard presentations of 20 speakers and discussed in four plenary sessions the situation on the ground, the work of and obstacles faced by civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, efforts by the international community, including civil society to revive the political process between the parties, and civil society initiatives to end the occupation. It concluded its work with the adoption of a Plan of Action. Participating civil society organizations also addressed a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Steering Committee of the Conference decided to constitute itself as International Coordinating Network of NGOs on Palestine (ICNP) and focus its work on the implementation of the Plan of Action.
United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People
The Seminar was held under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in accordance with its mandate to mobilize international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people. The theme of the Seminar was “Prerequisites for Palestinian economic recovery – the role of the international community”. Representatives of donor countries and United Nations system entities, as well as Palestinian and other experts assessed the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, highlighted the dimensions of the Palestinian economic crisis, discussed the challenges of the current situation, assessed the relief efforts of the donor community, defined priorities for humanitarian and economic assistance, and strategies for Palestinian economic recovery.
United Nations International Meeting in Support of Middle East Peace
15 May 2003, Kyiv, Ukraine
Public
Forum in Support of Middle East Peace
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President of Ukraine H.E. Mr. Leonid Kuchma greets H.E. Mr. Papa Louis Fall, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Kyiv, 12 May 2003 |
A meeting of the delegation of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and Mr. Danilo Türk, Representative of the Secretary-General, with the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, 12 May 2003 |
The International Meeting was held under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in order to promote support for international efforts to contain the current crisis and restart the political process. The theme of the Meeting was “Promoting a comprehensive dialogue on the political, security and economic factors critical for resolving the current crisis and resuming the peace process”. Experts assessed the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, reviewed various initiatives aimed at resuming the peace dialogue and discussed the urgency of addressing the root causes of the conflict. The venue of the Meeting was the Ukrainian House in the center of Kyiv.
The Meeting was followed, on 15 May, by the Public Forum in Support of Middle East Peace at the Kyiv Institute of International Relations. It provided civil society organizations with an opportunity to exchange views on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, meet with the experts at the International Meeting, and develop action-oriented proposals in support of the Palestinian people. The experts interacted with all participants in discussing public perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the impact and educational responsibility of think tanks and academic institutions, and the role of civil society.