Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination – Third Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

Third Committee

10th meeting

held on

Monday, 10 October 1993

at 3 p.m.

New York

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 10TH MEETING

Chairman:  Mr. KUKAN  (Slovakia)

CONTENTS

AGENDA ITEM 107:  ELIMINATION OF RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (continued)*

AGENDA ITEM 108:  RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION (continued)*

(a) RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION (continued)

________

* Items considered together.

The meeting was called to order at 3.25 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM 107:  ELIMINATION OF RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (continued) (A/48/18, A/48/76-S/25230, A/48/81, A/48/118, A/48/291-S/26242, A/48/423, 438 and 439)

AGENDA ITEM 108:  RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION (continued)

(a) RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION (continued) (A/48/94, 207, 211, 307, 330, 357, 384 and 385)

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6. Mr. AL-KINDI (United Arab Emirates) …

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9. His country welcomed the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, as a first step towards a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East on the basis of United Nations resolutions.  It also urged implementation of Security Council 425 (1978) calling on Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territory.

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15. Mr. AL-TAEE (Oman) said that his country had always attached great importance to the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.  As a long-standing advocate of a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian problem on the basis of United Nations resolutions and land for peace, it had participated in the Madrid Peace Conference on the Middle East, the multilateral negotiations and various committees on the subject.  Commending the role played by the United Nations in the Middle East conflict, he welcomed the Palestinian-Israeli agreement as a first step towards a lasting peace and stressed the need for more than moral support from the international community.

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17. Mr. KIM JAE HON (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) …

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18. His country welcomed the progress made towards achieving a lasting settlement of the Palestinian question and strongly believed that it would be a first step leading to full restoration of the national rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to establish a sovereign State, and to a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East question in the interest of the Arab people as a whole.

20. Ms. SAMONTE-LIMJUCO (Philippines) …

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21. While the recently concluded accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization offered hope that other seemingly intractable conflicts elsewhere would be solved, namely that the transition to a democratic non-racial nation in South Africa would be peaceful, racial and ethnic tensions in other parts of the world had spawned new forms of human rights abuses such as ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia which the international community must make every effort to stop.  The influx of labour from poor developing countries to more affluent developed ones had triggered tensions that in some cases led to violence against immigrants.  Women migrant workers in particular were placed in double jeopardy as a result of their gender and alien status.

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25. Mrs. BARGHOUTI (Observer for Palestine) said that although genuine efforts had been made to eliminate all forms of racism and racial discrimination, many people throughout the world still suffered from discrimination, inequality and denial of their fundamental human rights in addition to the denial of their right to self-determination.  In that regard, the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination had been on the agenda of the United Nations since 1949.  The General Assembly had repeatedly examined the problem of the subjugation of the Palestinian people, who for years had been subject to the most brutal forms of oppression and discrimination at the hands of the Israeli military authorities.  The establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements, the closure and isolation of areas in the occupied territories and the killing of defenceless Palestinian civilians continued despite recent positive developments.

26.  The Palestine Liberation Organization had been engaged in all levels of the Middle East peace process in the hope of achieving peace and ending the occupation and harsh treatment meted out to the Palestinian people.  The signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements between the PLO and Israel constituted a very important step towards achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.  It also demonstrated how serious the Palestinians were about resolving the conflict in a peaceful manner.  She

called upon the General Assembly to reaffirm once again the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to take immediate action to end their suffering.  Her delegation hoped that in the light of the recent encouraging developments such a position would receive unanimous support.

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The meeting rose at 4.55 p.m.