CEIRPP meeting – Summary record

COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS

OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 126th MEETING

Held at Headquarters, New York,

on Thursday, 16 January 1986, at 10.30 a.m.

Temporary Chairman:  Mr. PEREZ de CUELLAR (Secretary-General of the United Nations)

Chairman:  Mr. SARRÉ (Senegal)

CONTENTS

Adoption  of  the  agenda

Election  of  officers

Draft  programme  of  work  of  the  Committee  for  1986

The meeting was called to order at 11 a.m.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (A/AC.183/L.40)

1.   The agenda was adopted.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

2.   Mr. KRISHNAN (India), supported by the representative of Cyprus, commended the excellent work done by the members of the Bureau in 1985 and said that the Committee should continue to take advantage of their expertise.  Accordingly, his delegation proposed that Mr. Sarré (Senegal) should be re-elected Chairman, that Mr. Oramas-Oliva (Cuba) and Mr. Zarif (Afghanistan) should be re-elected Vice-Chairmen and that Mr. Agius (Malta), because of his firm commitment to the cause of the Palestinian people, should be re-elected Rapporteur for the current year.

3.   The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN said that, if he heard no objection, he would take it that the Committee wished to re-elect the officers named by the representative of India.

4.   It was so decided.

5.   Mr. Sarré (Senegal) took the Chair.

6.   The SECRETARY-GENERAL congratulated the Chairman and the other members of the Bureau on their re-election.

7.   At its fortieth session, the General Assembly had again conferred on the

Committee the difficult task of promoting implementation of its own recommendations and those formulated by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine held in Geneva in 1983 and of increasing international awareness of the question of Palestine.  The just cause of the Palestinian people was obtaining growing support throughout the world, thanks in large part to the Committee's efforts. Unfortunately, over the past 40 years events in the Middle East had repeatedly heightened tension and created new obstacles to peace. Instead of being discouraged, however, the international community must increase its efforts to reach a solution which guaranteed justice for the Palestinian people and peace and security for all States of the region.  A number of peace proposals had been made in recent years. Although all had proved unacceptable to one party or another, they contained promising elements which could facilitate a negotiated solution.  The international community must consider how the machinery of the United Nations could be best used to contribute to peace in the area, and efforts must be pursued and strengthened to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people by implementing an economic and social assistance programme in co-ordination with the host countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

8.   The CHAIRMAN said that his own country was firmly committed to the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and would relentlessly pursue its efforts to implement the Committee's goals and particularly its efforts to convene, under United Nations auspices, an international peace conference on the Middle East, with the participation of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

9.   He welcomed the progress made by the Committee in 1985 and the renewal of its mandate by the General Assembly, and he thanked all those whose efforts had contributed so much to the Committee's success, especially the Secretary-General, who had given the problem of the Middle East high priority and shown through his efforts the special importance he attached to the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

10.  Mr. TERZI (Observer, Palestine Liberation Organization) commended the

Secretary-General, the Bureau and the members of the Committee for their unstinting efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.  The United Nations was still the proper forum for developing a meaningful and tangible approach to peace, and he recalled in that connection that the Secretary-General had been requested to implement General Assembly resolution 38/58 C, which pointed to the real road to peace in the Middle East.

11.  The Committee had done much to raise the hopes of the Palestinian people and to improve the prospects for peace in the Middle East, and the PLO would co-operate fully with the Committee's efforts to implement a just solution to the situation in the region, which recent events had made more critical than ever.  It would be especially useful if the Security Council would authorize the Secretary-General to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East.

The meeting was suspended at 11.25 a.m. and resumed at 11.30 a.m.

DRAFT PROGRAMME OF WORK OF THE COMMITTEE FOR 1986

12.  Mr. AGIUS (Malta), Rapporteur, introduced the draft programme of work for 1986 (A/AC.1/1986/CRP.1), which was a preliminary paper containing suggestions based on past practice and decisions of the Committee and on resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its most recent session.  The programme of work had again been expanded through the request for additional meetings of non-governmental organizations.

13.  The Working Group of the Committee had proved its usefulness in the past year in carrying out the preliminary work on various aspects of the Committee's programme and he therefore proposed that it should be re-established and that the draft programme should be referred to it for consideration and for the elaboration of appropriate recommendations.

14.  Mr. DJOKIC (Yugoslavia) said that his delegation supported the resolute struggle for freedom and dignity of the Palestinian people under its sole legitimate representative, the PLO.  No solution to the problems of the region was possible without taking into account the rights of the Palestinian people, and the United Nations had a clear responsibility in that connection.  Urgent measures must be taken to further the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, such as an international peace conference on the Middle East with the participation of the PLO, which he assured of Yugoslavia's continued support.

15.  Mr. ZARIF (Afghanistan) suggested that the Committee should await the outcome of the Working Group's deliberations before discussing the programme of work.

16.  The CHAIRMAN said that, if he heard no objection, he would take it that the Committee agreed to re-establish the Working Group, with the representative of Malta as Chairman and the representative of India as Vice-Chairman, and to defer consideration of the programme of work pending the Working Group's recommendations.

17.  It was so decided.

The meeting rose at 11.45 a.m.