Statement by OIC Secretary General at the High-level Event Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Nakba (Non-UN Document)

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Your Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine
Your Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Your Excellency Ambassador Sheikh Niang, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me at the outset to extend my thanks and appreciation to the organizers of this important event. The resolution of the United Nations General Assembly of November 30, 2022 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba is an acknowledgment of this historical grievance and human crime against the Palestinian people, which still constitutes a dark mark in the memory and the human conscience. Furthermore, it represents a setback for the values of freedom and justice, with the establishment of Israel, the colonial occupation power, and the accompanying systematic state terrorism, forcible mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, confiscation of lands and property of the indigenous Palestinian people, and denial of their legitimate national rights

On this occasion, we express our admiration and esteem for the Palestinian people, who have been able, despite the recurring dark chapters and repercussions of this painful catastrophe over the decades, to continue their just struggle in all its forms, presenting a proud example of steadfastness, sacrifice, faith in the justice of their cause, and the miracle of rebirth and survival. They proved their ability to establish and protect their national identity, assert their legitimate rights, defend their land, cradle of civilizations, cultures and monotheistic religions, and attain recognition of their existence and their state. They worked tirelessly towards achieving their freedom, independence and sovereignty on their national soil.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Commemorating the painful Nakba this year places the international community before a historic obligation. It also reminds it of its political, legal, humanitarian and moral responsibilities and duties towards ending the Israeli occupation and holding Israel, the occupying power, accountable for its crimes against humanity, correcting the historical injustice that still befalls the Palestinian people, and finding a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to their cause in accordance with the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

On this occasion, the OIC reiterates its call for action to restore peace to the land of peace. It stresses that the intervention of the international community has become more than ever an urgent necessity, not only to address the mistakes and silence that prevailed in the past, or to prevent adding a new grim chapter to the Nakba, but also to help the Palestinian people turn the page on tragedy, asylum and displacement, and enable them to achieve their rights and hopes for peace, freedom, justice, equality, development and self-determination.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Living up to the cause of Palestinian refugees requires protecting their rights, strengthening their steadfastness, meeting their growing needs, enabling them to live in dignity, and alleviating their human suffering until their right to return and compensation is fulfilled in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions. While appreciating, in this regard, the role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and its relentless efforts in providing basic services to Palestinian refugees, the OIC stresses the need to adhere to the political, legal and humanitarian mandate of this UN institution, and to continue its role as the living international witness to the tragedy of the refugees, and the embodiment of the commitment of the international community towards the implementation of UN resolutions, and the necessity to find a just and lasting solution to the question of the Palestinian refugees.

As we renew our support, on this occasion, for the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland and property as an imprescriptible and vested right approved by relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, we reaffirm that this right is inalienable and is organically linked to the right to self-determination. We also call for intensified international efforts to force Israel, the occupying power, to assume its political and legal responsibility under the relevant UN resolutions, especially Resolution 194, which is a basic reference for the refugee issue.

The Israeli extremist government has continued its policies of colonial settlement construction, terrorism, incitement and violence at an alarming rate. Ultimately, key international actors are urgently invited to engage in a multilaterally sponsored peace process aimed at ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a just and lasting peace, in line with international Law, relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

In conclusion, the OIC reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for the recovery and exercise of their national rights, foremost of which their right to return and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine on the pre1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also calls on Member States to support the inalienable rights of Palestinians and recognize the State of Palestine as a full Member State of the United Nations.

I thank you and wish your meeting every success.