Overview
At its meeting on 17 May 2017, the Committee approved two provisional programmes, namely the programme for the UN Forum marking 50 years of occupation which will be held at UNHQ on 29-30 June 2017 and the progamme for the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem which will convene in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 20-21 July 2017. The Committee also decided to convey to the Secretary-General its position on the quarterly reports on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), namely that the reports should be in writing, be substantive, and clearly address compliance of the parties. Furthermore, the Rapporteur of the Committee (Malta), briefed on the International Roundtable in Managua, Nicaragua and the Committee Delegation visit to Mexico in February 2017, as well as the Capacity Building Workshop for staff of the Palestinian Government, in Beirut, Lebanon, in April 2017. The Committee also heard a briefing by the Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem, which focused on Israel’s continued settlement activity in the OPT, the ongoing hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners and the dire funding situation of UNRWA. In conclusion, the Chairman of the Committee (Senegal), urged members to share with the Committee at their earliest convenience updates on their activities related to the question of Palestine and contribute to the expansion of the Committee’s capacity building programme within framework of implementation of Agenda 2030 and South-South and Triangular Cooperation.