Israeli practices – SecGen report (GA res. 49/36A)

Fiftieth session

Agenda item 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

Report of the Secretary-General

(in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 49/36 A)

1. The present report is submitted in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 49/36 A of 9 December 1994.  Paragraph 8 of the resolution reads as follows:

"The General Assembly,

"…

"8. Requests the Secretary-General:

"(a) To provide all necessary facilities to the Special Committee, including those required for its visits to the occupied territories, so that it may investigate the Israeli policies and practices referred to in the present resolution;

"(b) To continue to make available such additional staff as may be necessary to assist the Special Committee in the performance of its tasks;

"(c) To circulate regularly to Member States the periodic reports mentioned in paragraph 6 above;

"(d) To ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the Special Committee and of information regarding its activities and findings, by all means available, through the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, and, when necessary, to reprint those reports of the Special Committee which are no longer available;

"(e) To report to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session on the tasks entrusted to him in the present resolution."

2. All necessary facilities were provided to the Special Committee. Arrangements were made for it to meet in March, May and August 1995. Furthermore, the Special Committee carried out a field mission to Egypt, Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic in May 1995.  Two periodic reports and the twenty-seventh annual report of the Special Committee were circulated to Member States (A/50/170, A/50/282 and A/50/463).

3. Pursuant to paragraph 8 (d) of resolution 49/36 A, the Department of Public Information undertook the following activities:

(a) The Department continued to provide press coverage in English and French of all meetings of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.  It also distributed United Nations information materials, documents and press releases on the activities of the Special Committee to representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and to the public at large through its network of Information Centres and Services;

(b) Both at Headquarters and through the United Nations Information Centres and Services, the Department publicized the Special Committee's 1995 mission to the Middle East, contacting the NGO community, other United Nations agencies, and the public at large;

(c) The Department recently published a volume for the "Blue Book" series, The United Nations and Human Rights 1945-1995, 1/ which had been prepared by the Centre for Human Rights and which also refers to the work of the Special Committee.  The Department disseminated the book through appropriate channels, including United Nations Information Centres and Services.

4. It should also be noted that, on 15 May 1995, the Secretary-General addressed a note verbale to all States drawing attention to resolution 49/36 A-D.

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1/ United Nations publication, Sales No. 95.I.21.