GA 53rd regular session – Preliminary list of items for provisional agenda (excerpts)

Annotated preliminary list of items to be included in the provisional agenda of the fifty-third regular session of the General Assembly*

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* The unannotated preliminary list was issued on 17 February 1998 (A/53/50). Drafting changes made since that date have been included in the present document and will be reflected in the provisional agenda, which will be issued on 10 July 1998 (A/53/150).

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Assistance for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon

The General Assembly considered this question at its thirty-third to fifty-first sessions (resolutions 33/146, 34/135, 35/85, 36/205, 37/163, 38/220, 39/197, 40/229, 41/196, 42/199, 43/207, 44/180, 45/225, 46/173 and 47/155 and 51/30 C, and decision 48/450).

At its fifty-second session,⁴⁵ the General Assembly appealed to all Member States and all organizations of the United Nations system to intensify their efforts with a view to considering an increase of all forms of support, including financial grants and soft loans given for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon, in particular, donor countries were requested to consider playing a full part in the consultative group to be established on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Lebanon; called upon all organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to support governmental requirements for national capacity-building and institutional renewal in the areas of social reconstruction and development, environmental management, public services provision and support for private-sector development, and for implementing priority field-based programmes in the rehabilitation and reintegration of displaced persons and in the reconstruction and development of Baalbeck-Hermel and the south Lebanon region; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/169 D).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/169 D).

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⁴⁵ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 20 (b)):

(a) Report of the Secretary-General: A/52/341;

(b) Draft resolution A/52/L.36/Rev.1 and Rev.1/Corr.1 and Rev.1/Add.1;

(c) Resolution 52/169 D);

(d) Plenary meeting: A/52/PV.73.

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(d) Assistance to the Palestinian people

The Economic and Social Council, in its resolutions 2026 (LXI) of 4 August 1976 and 2100 (LXIII) of 3 August 1977, called upon the United Nations Development Programme, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to intensify, in coordination with the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, their efforts in identifying the social and economic needs of the Palestinian people. It also urged those agencies and organizations to consult and cooperate with the Palestine Liberation Organization in establishing concrete projects to improve the social and economic conditions of the Palestinian people.

The General Assembly considered this question at its thirty-third to fifty-first sessions (resolutions 33/147, 34/133, 35/111, 36/70, 37/134, 38/145, 39/224, 40/170, 41/181, 42/166, 43/178, 44/235, 45/183, 46/201, 47/170, 48/213, 49/21 N, 50/58 H and 51/150).

At its fifty-second session,⁵⁴ the General Assembly stressed the importance of the work done by the United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories; urged Member States, international financial institutions of the United Nations system, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and regional and interregional organizations to extend economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people in order to assist in the development of the West Bank and Gaza; and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the implementation of the resolution, including an assessment of assistance actually received by the Palestinian people as well as of the needs still unmet and specific proposals for responding effectively to them (resolution 52/170).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/170).

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⁵⁴ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 20 (d)):

(a) Report of the Secretary-General: A/52/159-E/1997/69;

(b) Draft resolution A/52/L.57/Rev.1 and Rev.1/Add.1;

(c) Resolution 52/170;

(d) Plenary meeting: A/52/PV.73.

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39. Question of Palestine¹

This item, which had been on the agenda of the second and third sessions of the General Assembly, was included in the agenda of the twenty-ninth session, in 1974, at the request of 55 Member States (A/9742 and Corr.1 and Add.1-4). At that session, the Assembly invited the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the representative of the Palestinian people, to participate in its deliberations on the question of Palestine in plenary meetings (resolution 3210 (XXIX)). At the same session, the Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine, emphasizing that their realization was indispensable for the solution of the question of Palestine (resolution 3236 (XXIX)). The Assembly also invited the PLO to participate, in the capacity of observer, in its sessions and its work and in all international conferences convened under its auspices; and considered that the PLO was similarly entitled with regard to all international conferences convened by other organs of the United Nations (resolution 3237 (XXIX)).

At its thirtieth session, the General Assembly called for the invitation of the PLO to participate on an equal footing with other parties in all efforts, deliberations and conferences on the Middle East that were held under the auspices of the United Nations and to take part in the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East as well as in all other efforts for peace (resolution 3375 (XXX)). At the same session, the Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; requested the Committee to consider and recommend to the Assembly a programme of implementation, designed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise the rights previously recognized; and requested the Security Council to consider the question of the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights (resolution 3376 (XXX)).

At its thirty-first and subsequent sessions, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the Committee (resolutions 31/20, 32/40 A, 33/28 A, 34/65 A, 35/169 A, 36/120 A, 37/86 A, 38/58 A, 39/49 A, 40/96 A, 41/43 A, 42/66 A, 43/175 A, 44/41 A, 45/67 A, 46/74 A, 47/64 A, 48/158 A, 49/62 A, 50/84 A and 51/23).

At its thirty-second session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to establish within the Secretariat a Special Unit on Palestinian Rights, which would prepare, under the Committee's guidance, studies and publications relating to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and would organize, in consultation with the Committee, commencing in 1978, the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B). The Assembly later requested that the Special Unit be redesignated as the Division for Palestinian Rights, with an expanded mandate of work.

At its thirty-sixth session, the General Assembly decided to convene, under the auspices of the United Nations, an International Conference on the Question of Palestine, and authorized the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to act as the Preparatory Committee for the Conference (resolution 36/120 C).

The International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983, called, inter alia, for the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of all parties to the conflict, including the PLO, as well as the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other concerned States, on an equal footing. At its thirty-eighth session, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the Conference (resolution 38/58 C).

At its forty-third session, the General Assembly acknowledged the proclamation of the State of Palestine by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988; affirmed the need to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their sovereignty over their territory occupied since 1967; and decided that, effective as at 15 December 1988, the designation “Palestine” should be used in place of the designation “Palestine Liberation Organization” in the United Nations system, without prejudice to the observer status and functions of the PLO within the United Nations system, in conformity with relevant United Nations resolutions and practice (resolution 43/177).

Since its forty-sixth session, the General Assembly has welcomed the developments in the peace process, in particular the convening at Madrid, on 30 October 1991, of the Peace Conference on the Middle East (resolution 46/75) and subsequent negotiations, and the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization on 13 September 1993 (resolution 48/158 A), as well as the subsequent implementation agreements; and has reaffirmed a number of principles for the achievement of a final settlement and comprehensive peace (resolution 48/158 D).

At its fifty-second session,⁷⁴ the General Assembly, reaffirming the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with respect to the question of Palestine until it is resolved in all its aspects in accordance with international legitimacy, considered that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People could continue to make a valuable and positive contribution to international efforts to promote the effective implementation of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements and to mobilize international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people during the transitional period; authorized the Committee to continue to promote the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, to make such adjustments in its approved programme of work as it might consider appropriate in the light of developments, to mobilize support and assistance for the Palestinian people, and to report thereon to the Assembly at its fifty-third session and thereafter; and requested the Committee to continue to extend its cooperation to non-governmental organizations in their contribution to heightening international awareness of the facts relating to the question of Palestine and promoting assistance to meet the needs of the Palestinian people, and to involve additional non-governmental organizations in its work (resolution 52/49).

At the same session, the General Assembly considered that the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat continued to make a useful and constructive contribution through the organization of seminars and meetings of non-governmental organizations, as well as through its research and monitoring activities, the preparation of studies and publications, and the collection and dissemination of information in printed and electronic form on the question of Palestine; and requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Division with the necessary resources, including for the further development of the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine, in consultation with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and under its guidance (resolution 52/50).

Also at its fifty-second session,74 the General Assembly considered that the special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Office of Communications and Public Information was very useful in raising the awareness of the international community concerning the complexities of the question and the situation in the Middle East; and requested the Office, in full cooperation and coordination with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to continue its special information programme on the question of Palestine for the biennium 1998-1999, with particular emphasis on public opinion in Europe and North America (resolution 52/51).

At the same session, the General Assembly, affirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, the illegality of the Israeli settlements and actions aimed at changing the status of Jerusalem, and the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders, expressed its full support for the ongoing peace process which began in Madrid and the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for 1993, as well as the subsequent implementation agreements; stressed the need for commitment to the principle of land for peace and the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which formed the basis of the Middle East peace process, and the need for scrupulous implementation of the agreements reached between the parties, including the redeployment of the Israeli forces from the West Bank and the commencement of the negotiations on the final settlement; called upon the concerned parties, the co-sponsors of the peace process and other interested parties, as well as the entire international community to exert all the necessary efforts and initiatives to bring the peace process back on track; stressed the need for: (a) the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination, and (b) the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, and for resolving the problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity with Assembly resolution 194 (III); urged Member States to expedite the provision of economic and technical assistance to the Palestinian people during that critical period; emphasized the importance for the United Nations to play a more active and expanded role in the current peace process; and requested the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the parties concerned and, in consultation with the Security Council, for the promotion of peace in the region and to submit progress reports on developments in that matter (resolution 52/52).

Documents: 

(a) Report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Supplement No. 35 (A/53/35);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/52).

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¹ This item remains also on the agenda of the fifty-second session (decision 52/459 of 22 December 1997).

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⁷⁴ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 36):

(a) Report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: Supplement No. 35 (A/52/35);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General: A/52/581-S/1997/866;

(c) Draft resolutions: A/52/L.49 and Add.1, A/52/L.50 and Add.1, A/52/L.51 and Add.1 and A/52/L.52 and Corr.1 and Add.1;

(d) Resolutions 52/49 to 52/52 and decision 52/317;

(e) Plenary meetings: A/52/PV.58, 59 and 68.

40. The situation in the middle East¹

Various aspects of the Middle East have been dealt with by the United Nations, particularly by the General Assembly and the Security Council, since 1947. Following the hostilities of June 1967, the Security Council, in November 1967, set forth principles for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East (resolution 242 (1967)).

The General Assembly considered the item on the situation in the Middle East at its twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh sessions, from 1970 to 1972 (resolutions 2628 (XXV), 2799 (XXVI) and 2949 (XXVII)), and at its thirtieth to fifty-first sessions, from 1975 to 1997 (resolutions 3414 (XXX), 31/61, 31/62, 32/20, 33/29, 34/70, 35/207, 36/226 A and B, 37/123 A to F, 38/180 A to E, 39/146 A to C, 40/168 A to C, 41/162 A to C, 42/209 A to D, 43/54 A to C, 44/40 A to C, 45/83 A to C, 46/82 A and B, 47/63 A and B, 48/58, 48/59 A and B, 49/87 A and B, 49/88, 50/21, 50/22 A to C, 51/27, 51/28 and 51/29).

At its fifty-second session,⁷⁵  the General Assembly determined that the decision of Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem was illegal and therefore null and void; deplored the transfer by some States of their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem in violation of Security Council resolution 478 (1980) and their refusal to comply with the provisions of that resolution; called once more upon those States to abide by the provisions of the relevant United Nations resolutions; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/53).

At the same session, the General Assembly, inter alia, declared that Israel had failed so far to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981); declared also that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and had no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by the Security Council in its resolution 497 (1981), and called upon Israel to rescind it; determined once more that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation constituted a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region; called upon Israel to resume the talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to respect the commitments and undertakings reached during the previous talks; demanded once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/54).

Documents: Reports of the Secretary-General (resolutions 52/53 and 52/54).

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¹ This item remains also on the agenda of the fifty-second session (decision 52/459 of 22 December 1997).

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⁷⁵ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 37):

(a) Reports of the Secretary-General: A/52/467 and A/52/581-S/1997/866;

(b) Draft resolutions: A/52/L.54 and Add.1 and A/52/L.55 and Add.1;

(c) Resolutions 52/53 and 52/54;

(d) Plenary meetings: A/52/PV.60, 61 and 68.

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68. Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East

This item was included in the agenda of the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly, in 1974, at the request of Iran, later joined by Egypt (A/9693 and Add.1-3).

The General Assembly continued to consider this question at its thirtieth to thirty-second, tenth special session, and thirty-third to fifty-first sessions (resolutions 3474 (XXX), 31/71, 32/82, S-10/2, para. 63 (d), 33/64, 34/77, 35/147, 36/87 B, 37/75, 38/64, 39/54, 40/82, 41/48, 42/28, 43/65, 44/108, 45/52, 46/30, 47/48, 48/71, 49/71, 50/66 and 51/41).

At its fifty-second session,¹⁰¹ the General Assembly urged all parties directly concerned to consider seriously taking the practical and urgent steps required for the implementation of the proposal to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, and, as a means of promoting that objective, invited the countries concerned to adhere to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; called upon all countries of the region that had not done so, pending the establishment of the zone, to agree to place all their nuclear activities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards; took note of resolution GC(41)RES/25, adopted on 3 October 1997 by the General Conference of IAEA at its forty-first regular session, concerning the application of Agency safeguards in the middle East; noted the importance of the ongoing bilateral Middle East peace negotiations and the activities of the multilateral Working Group on Arms Control and Regional Security in promoting mutual confidence and security in the Middle East, including the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone; invited all countries of the region, pending the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East, to declare their support for establishing such a zone, consistent with paragraph 63 (d) of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and to deposit those declarations with the Security Council; also invited those countries, pending the establishment of the zone, not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or permit the stationing on their territories, or territories under their control, of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices; invited the nuclear-weapon States and all other States to render their assistance in the establishment of the zone and at the same time to refrain from any action that ran counter to both the letter and the spirit of the resolution; invited all parties to consider the appropriate means that might contribute towards the goal of general and complete disarmament and the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the region of the Middle East; requested the Secretary-General to continue to pursue consultations with the States of the region and other concerned States, in accordance with paragraph 7 of resolution 46/30 and taking into account the evolving situation in the region, and to seek from those States their views on the measures outlined in chapters III and IV of the study annexed to his report (A/45/435) or other relevant measures, in order to move towards the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East; and also requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its fifty-third  session a report on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/34).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/34).

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¹⁰¹ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 67):

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75. The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East

This item, previously referred to as “Israeli nuclear armament”, was included in the agenda of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in 1979, at the request of Iraq (A/34/142). The Assembly considered the question at each session from the thirty-fourth to the fifty-first (resolutions 34/89, 35/157, 36/98, 37/82, 38/69, 39/147, 40/93, 41/93, 42/44, 43/80, 44/121, 45/63, 46/39, 47/55, 48/78, 49/78, 50/73 and 51/48).

At its fifty-second session,¹⁰⁸ the General Assembly called upon the only State in the region of the Middle East that was not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to accede to it without further delay, and not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons and to renounce possession of nuclear weapons, and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as an important confidence-building measure among all States of the region and as a step towards enhancing peace and security; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/41).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/41).

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¹⁰⁸ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 74):

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77. Strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region

At its thirty-sixth session, in 1981, the General Assembly, in the course of its consideration of the item entitled “Review of the implementation of the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security”, considered that further efforts were necessary for the transformation of the Mediterranean into a zone of peace and cooperation (resolution 36/102).

At its thirty-seventh session, the General Assembly decided to include the present item in the provisional agenda of its thirty-eighth session (resolution 37/118).

At its thirty-eighth to fifty-first sessions, the General Assembly continued its consideration of this question (resolutions 38/189, 39/153, 40/157, 41/89, 42/90, 43/84, 44/125, 45/79, 46/42, 47/58, 48/81, 49/81, 50/75 and 51/50).

At its fifty-second session,¹¹⁰ the General Assembly reaffirmed that security in the Mediterranean was closely linked to European security as well as to international peace and security; expressed its satisfaction at the continuing efforts by Mediterranean countries to contribute actively to the elimination of all causes of tension in the region and to the promotion of just and lasting solutions to the persistent problems of the region through peaceful means, and therefore called for full adherence to the principles of non-interference, non-intervention, non-use of force or threat of use of force and the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, in accordance with the Charter and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations; called upon all States of the Mediterranean region that had not yet done so to adhere to all the multilaterally negotiated legal instruments related to the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, thus creating the necessary conditions for strengthening peace and cooperation in the region; encouraged all States of the region to favour the necessary conditions for strengthening the confidence-building measures among them by promoting genuine openness and transparency on all military matters, by participating, inter alia, in the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of military expenditures and by providing accurate data and information to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms; and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on means to strengthen security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region (resolution 52/43).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/43).

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¹¹⁰ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 76):

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84. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

At its third session, in 1948, the General Assembly initiated United Nations assistance to Palestine refugees (resolution 212 (III)). At that session, the Assembly established the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, composed of France, Turkey and the United States of America (resolution 194 (III)).

At its fourth session, the General Assembly established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (resolution 302 (IV)). Since May 1950, the Agency, which is supported by voluntary contributions, has been providing education, training, health, relief and other services to Arab refugees from Palestine. In 1967 and 1982, the functions of the Agency were widened to include humanitarian assistance, as far as practicable, on an emergency basis and as a temporary measure, to other displaced persons in serious need of immediate assistance, as a result of the 1967 and subsequent hostilities (resolutions 2252 (ES-V) and 37/120 B). The Agency’s mandate has been extended several times, most recently until 30 June 1999 (resolution 50/28 A).

By its resolution 302 (IV), the General Assembly established an Advisory Commission to advise and assist the Director (now Commissioner-General) of the Agency in the execution of its programme. At present, the Advisory Commission of UNRWA is composed of the following 10 Member States: Belgium, Egypt, France, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America. In the same resolution, the Director (now Commissioner-General) of the Agency was requested to submit to the Assembly an annual report on the work of the Agency and to the Secretary-General such other reports as the Agency might wish to bring to the attention of the United Nations or its appropriate organs.

At its twenty-fifth session, the General Assembly, in view of the Agency’s deteriorating financial situation, established the Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to study all aspects of the financing of the Agency (resolution 2656 (XXV)). The Working Group submitted recommendations to the Assembly at its twenty-fifth session and every subsequent session, and the Assembly has annually extended the Working Group’s mandate. The Working Group is composed of the following nine Member States: France, Ghana, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America.

At its fifty-second session,¹¹⁸ the General Assembly adopted seven resolutions under this item (resolutions 52/57 to 52/63).

In the first resolution, entitled “Assistance to Palestine refugees”, the General Assembly noted with regret that repatriation or compensation of the refugees, as provided for in paragraph 11 of resolution 194 (III), had not been effected; recognized that the Agency was doing all it could within the limits of available resources; noted the significant success of the Peace Implementation Programme of the Agency since the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements; welcomed strengthened cooperation between the Agency and the World Bank and other specialized agencies; urged all Member States to extend and expedite aid and assistance with a view to the economic and social development of the Palestinian people and the occupied territories; reiterated its deep concern regarding the persisting critical financial situation of the Agency; noted with profound concern that the structural deficit problem confronting the Agency portended an almost certain decline in the living conditions of the Palestine refugees and therefore had possible consequences for the peace process; and called upon all Governments, as a matter of urgency, to make the most generous efforts possible to meet the anticipated needs of the Agency, and urged non-contributing Governments to contribute regularly and contributing Governments to consider increasing their regular contributions (resolution 52/57).

In the second resolution, entitled “Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East”, the General Assembly requested the Working Group to continue its efforts, in cooperation with the Secretary-General and the Commissioner-General, for the financing of the Agency for a further period of one year (resolution 52/58).

In the third resolution, entitled “Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities”, the General Assembly reaffirmed the right of all persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities to return to their homes or former places of residence in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967; endorsed the efforts of the Commissioner-General of the Agency to continue to provide humanitarian assistance, as far as practicable, on an emergency basis and as a temporary measure, to persons in the area who were currently displaced and in serious need of continued assistance as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities; and requested the Secretary-General, after consulting with the Commissioner-General, to report to the Assembly before its fifty-third session on the progress made with regard to the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/59).

In the fourth resolution, entitled “Offers by Member States of grants and scholarships for higher education, including vocational training, for Palestine refugees”, the General Assembly urged all States to respond to the appeal contained in its resolution 32/90 F in a manner commensurate with the needs of Palestine refugees for higher education, including vocational training; invited the relevant specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to continue, within their respective spheres of competence, to extend assistance for higher education to Palestine refugee students; appealed to all States, specialized agencies and the United Nations University to contribute generously to the Palestinian universities; appealed to all States, specialized agencies and other international bodies to contribute towards the establishment of vocational training centres for Palestine refugees; requested the Agency to act as the recipient and trustee for the special allocations for grants and scholarships and to award them to qualified Palestine refugee candidates; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/60).

In the fifth resolution, entitled “Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East”, the General Assembly welcomed the completion of the transfer of the headquarters of the Agency to Gaza; acknowledged the support of the host Government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the Agency in the discharge of its duties; called upon Israel to accept the de jure applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and to abide by Articles 100, 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations with regard to the safety of the personnel of the Agency and the protection of its institutions and the safeguarding of the security of the facilities of the Agency in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem; called once again upon Israel to compensate the Agency for damages to its property and facilities resulting from actions by the Israeli side; requested the Commissioner-General of the Agency to proceed with the issuance of identification cards for Palestine refugees and their descendants in the occupied Palestinian territory; noted that the new context created by the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements by Israel and the PLO and subsequent implementation agreements had had major consequences for the activities of the Agency, which was thenceforth called upon, in close cooperation with the United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories, the specialized agencies and the World Bank, to continue to contribute towards the development of economic and social stability in the occupied territory; noted also that the functioning of the Agency remained essential in all fields of operation; expressed concern over those remaining austerity measures due to the financial crisis which had affected the quality and level of some services of the Agency; requested the Commissioner-General to consider the possibility of modernizing the archives of the Agency; and urged all States, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations to continue and to increase their contributions to the Agency so as to ease current financial constraints and to support the Agency in maintaining the provision of the most basic and effective assistance to the Palestine refugees (resolution 52/61).

In the sixth resolution, entitled “Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to take all appropriate steps, in consultation with the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, for the protection of Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel and to preserve and modernize the existing records; called once more upon Israel to render all facilities and assistance to the Secretary-General in the implementation of the resolution; called upon all the parties concerned to provide the Secretary-General with any pertinent information in their possession concerning Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel that would assist him in the implementation of the resolution; urged the Palestinian and Israeli sides, as agreed between them, to deal with the important issue of Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues in the framework of the final status negotiations of the Middle East peace process; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/62).

In the seventh resolution, entitled “University of Jerusalem ‘Al-Quds’ for Palestine refugees”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue to take all necessary measures for establishing the University of Jerusalem “Al-Quds”, in accordance with resolution 35/13 B; called once more upon Israel, the occupying Power, to cooperate in the implementation of resolution 52/63 and to remove the hindrances that it had put in the way of establishing the University of Jerusalem “Al-Quds”; and also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the progress made in the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/63).

Documents:

(a) Report of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA: Supplement No. 13 (A/53/13);

(b) Report of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA (resolution 52/58);

(c) Reports of the Secretary-General (resolutions 52/59, 52/60, 52/62 and 52/63).

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¹¹⁸ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 86):

(a) Report of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA: Supplement No. 13 (A/51/13 and Add.1);

(b) Report of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA: A/52/578;

(c) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine: A/52/311;

(d) Reports of the Secretary-General:

(i) Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities: A/52/423;

(ii) Offers by Member States of grants and scholarships for higher education, including vocational training, for Palestine refugees: A/52/415;

(iii) Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues: A/52/372;

(iv) University of Jerusalem “Al-Quds” for Palestine refugees: A/52/503;

(e) Report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee): A/52/616;

(f) Resolutions 52/57 to 52/63;

(g) Meetings of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee): A/C.4/52/SR.21, 22 and 25;

(h) Plenary meeting: A/52/PV.69. 

85. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories

At its twenty-third session, in 1968, the General Assembly established the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories (resolution 2443 (XXIII)). At present, the Special Committee is composed of the following three Member States: Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka.

At the twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly, the Special Committee presented its first report to the Secretary-General in conformity with resolution 2443 (XXIII). The Secretary-General made the report available to the Assembly and, following the inclusion of the item in the agenda of that session, the report was referred to the Special Political Committee. At that session, the Assembly renewed the mandate of the Special Committee (resolution 2727 (XXV)).

At its twenty-sixth to fifty-first sessions, the General Assembly continued its consideration of the item on the basis of reports of the Special Committee and requested the Committee to continue its work (resolutions 2851 (XXVI), 3005 (XXVII), 3092 A and B (XXVIII), 3240 A to C (XXIX), 3525 A to D (XXX), 31/106 A to D, 32/91 A to C, 33/133 A to C, 34/90 A to C, 35/122 A to F, 36/147 A to G, 37/88 A to G, 38/79 A to H, 39/95 A to H, 40/161 A to G, 41/63 A to G, 42/160 A to G, 43/58 A to G, 44/48 A to G, 45/74 A to G, 46/47 A to G, 47/70 A to G, 48/41 A to D, 49/36 A to D, 50/29 A to D and 51/131).

At its fifty-second session,¹¹⁹ the General Assembly requested the Special Committee to continue to investigate Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, and to report to the Secretary-General as soon as possible and whenever the need arose thereafter, and to submit regularly to the Secretary-General periodic reports on the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territory; and requested the Secretary-General to provide all necessary facilities to the Special Committee, to circulate regularly its periodic reports to Member States and to report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session on the tasks entrusted to him in the resolutions; reaffirmed that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was applicable to the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967; and also reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan were illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development (resolutions 52/64 to 52/68).

Documents:

(a) Notes by the Secretary-General transmitting the reports of the Special Committee (resolution 52/64), A/53/136;

(b) Reports of the Secretary-General (resolutions 52/64 to 52/68).

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¹¹⁹ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 87):

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100. Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources

The Security Council, in its resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, determined that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 had no legal validity and constituted a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. That position was reaffirmed by the Council in its resolution 465 (1980), in which it affirmed the applicability to those territories of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.

The General Assembly has considered this question at numerous sessions, including its forty-eighth to fifty-first sessions (resolutions 48/212, 49/132, 50/129 and 51/190).

At its fifty-second session,¹⁵⁴ in 1997, the General Assembly, recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/67, reaffirming the principle of the permanent sovereignty of people under foreign occupation over their natural resources, affirming the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, recalling Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 465 (1980) and 497 (1981), and reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land and water; called upon Israel, the occupying Power, not to exploit, to cause loss and depletion of or to endanger the natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; recognized the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a result of any exploitation, loss or depletion of, or danger to, their natural resources, and expressed the hope that that issue would be dealt with in the framework of the final status negotiation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides; and requested the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 52/207).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 52/207).

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¹⁵⁴ References for the fifty-second session (agenda item 101):

(a) Note by the Secretary-General: A/52/172-E/1997/71 and Corr.1;

(b) Report of the Second Committee: A/52/632;

(c) Resolution 52/207;

(d) Meetings of the Second Committee: A/C.2/52/SR.3-9, 15, 20 and 46;

(e) Plenary meeting: A/52/PV.77.

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