CEIRPP meeting – Summary record

COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE

RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 219th MEETING

Held at Headquarters, New York,

on Thursday, 7 December 1995, at 10.30 a.m.

Chairman: Mr. FARHADI (Afghanistan) (Vice-Chairman)

CONTENTS

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

OTHER MATTERS

This record is subject to correction.

Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages.  They should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record.  They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Chief, Official Records Editing Section, Office of Conference and Support Services, room DC2-794, 2 United Nations Plaza.

Any corrections to the record of this meeting and of other meetings will be issued in a corrigendum.

95-82651 (E) /…

In the absence of Mr. Cissé (Senegal), Mr. Farhadi

(Afghanistan), Vice-Chairman, took the Chair.

The meeting was called to order at 10.55 a.m.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

1. The agenda was adopted.

CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

Draft resolutions A, B and C

2. The CHAIRMAN said that draft resolutions A, B and C, covering the programme of work of the Committee, the Division for Palestinian Rights and the Department of Public Information, respectively, had been updated from the texts adopted in 1994 to take into account the most recent Palestinian-Israeli agreement and the recommendations made by the Committee in its report.

3. In draft resolution A, the words "and the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip signed at Washington on 28 September 1995" had been added at the end of the third preambular paragraph.  In draft resolution C, the words "and of the subsequent implementation agreements, in particular the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and their positive implications," had been added at the end of the fifth preambular paragraph.  The end of paragraph 3 (d) had been amended to read:  "including the territories under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and the occupied territories".

4. It was his understanding that provision for the programme of work entailed by those three resolutions had been made in the 1996-1997 programme budget.

5. Draft resolutions A, B and C were adopted.

Draft resolution D

6. Mr. AL-KIDWA (Observer for Palestine) said that the four draft resolutions which the Committee would submit to the General Assembly were balanced and had been drafted in accordance with the criteria which the Committee had adopted as guidelines, namely, reaffirmation of the position of principle based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law, necessary support for the Middle East process and reflection of realities on the ground.  He hoped that they would be supported by the Committee and adopted by a majority in the General Assembly.

7. Members would recall that since the start of the peace process, several changes had been made in the texts to reflect changing realities in the Middle East.  While a change in the attitude and position of the Government of Israel in its dealings with the Committee and with regard to the resolutions themselves was still awaited, he hoped that the future might bring such a change.

8. With specific reference to draft resolution D, it had been updated to include a reference to the Interim Agreement of 25 September 1995, as had the other three draft resolutions, and was based on the same methodology and attitude.

9. He wished to inform the Committee that discussions and consultations had taken place with the President and various members of the European Union with a view to their joining the Committee.  While it had been hoped that the necessary agreement would be concluded in time for the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, that had proved impossible because of the work involved in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary.  It was therefore hoped that the agreement would be concluded by the start of the fifty-first session.

10. Draft resolution D was adopted.

OTHER MATTERS

11. Mr. AL-KIDWA (Observer for Palestine) drew the attention of members of the Committee to the discussion which had taken place in the Fifth Committee, with reference to draft resolution B, concerning the Secretariat's proposal to deploy two posts from the Division for Palestinian Rights to other units of the Department of Political Affairs.  His delegation had opposed that proposal.  A similar proposal in 1994 had been opposed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, the Fifth Committee and the Group of 77.  The creation of the Division had been the result of a political decision by the General Assembly and its structure had a political basis.  His delegation expected that the Fifth Committee would decide to maintain that structure and that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People would be consulted in advance if any restructuring were to be proposed.

The meeting rose at 11.20 a.m.