GA 67th regular session – Middle East situation/Palestine question – Preliminary list of items for provisional agenda (excerpts)

Annotated preliminary list of items to be included in the

provisional agenda of the sixty-seventh regular session

of the General Assembly* 

 *  The unannotated preliminary list (A/67/50) was issued on 13 February 2012. 

I.  Introduction 

 
1.  The present document, which corresponds to the preliminary list circulated on 15 February 2012 (A/67/50), has been prepared in accordance with the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly, as set forth in paragraph 17 (b) of annex II to Assembly resolution 2837 (XXVI) of 17 December 1971. 

2.  The provisional agenda provided for in rule 12 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.17) will be issued on 20 July 2012 as document A/67/150. 

3.  An addendum to the present document (A/67/100/Add.1) will be issued before the opening of the session in accordance with paragraph 17 (c) of annex II to resolution 2837 (XXVI). 

4.  The present document, as well as information on the membership and presiding officers of the main organs of the United Nations, are available on the General Assembly’s web page at www.un.org/ga . 

5.  The sixty-seventh session will convene at United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday, 18 September 2012, at 3 p.m. 

 II.  Annotated list 

B. Maintenance of international peace and security

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 36.  The situation in the Middle East 

Various aspects of the situation in 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 sixty-fifth sessions, from 1975 to 2009 (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 to 51/29, 52/53, 52/54, 53/37, 53/38, 54/37, 54/38, 55/50, 55/51, 56/31, 56/32, 57/111, 57/112, 58/22, 58/23, 59/32, 59/33, 60/40, 60/41, 61/26, 61/27, 62/84, 62/85, 63/30, 63/31, 64/20, 64/21, 65/17 and 65/18). 

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly reiterated its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem were illegal and therefore null and void; called upon Israel to immediately cease all such illegal and unilateral measures; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 66/18). 

At the same session, the General Assembly declared that Israel had failed thus far to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981); also declared 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; reaffirmed its determination that all relevant provisions of the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 1907 and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War continued to apply to the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967; 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 sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 66/19). 

Documents: Reports of the Secretary-General (resolutions 66/18 and 66/19). 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 36) 

 37.  Question of Palestine 

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 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 invited the Palestine Liberation Organization (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 session, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the Committee (resolution 31/20). The Assembly considered the item at its thirty-second to sixty-fourth sessions (resolutions 32/40 A and B, 33/28 A to C, 34/65 A to D, 35/169 A to E, 36/120 A to F, 37/86 A to E, 38/58 A to E, 39/49 A to D, 40/96 A to D, 41/43 A to D, 42/66 A to D, 43/175 A to C, 43/176, 43/177, 44/2, 44/41 A to C, 44/42, 45/67 A to C, 45/68, 45/69, 46/74 A to C, 46/75, 46/76, 47/64 A to E, 48/158 A to D, 49/62 A to D, 50/84 A to D, 51/23 to 51/26, 52/49 to 52/52, 53/39 to 53/42, 54/39 to 54/42, 55/52 to 55/55, 56/33 to 56/36, 57/107 to 57/110, 58/18 to 58/21, 59/28 to 59/31, 60/36 to 60/39, 61/22 to 61/25, 62/80 to 62/83, 63/26 to 63/29 and 64/16 to 64/19). 

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, at its thirty-fourth session, requested the Secretary-General to redesignate the Special Unit as the Division for Palestinian Rights, with an expanded mandate of work (resolution 34/65 D). 

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; 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). 

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly requested the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to continue to exert all efforts to promote the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, to support the Middle East peace process for the achievement of the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders and the just resolution of all final status issues and to mobilize international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people, and to report thereon to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and thereafter (resolution 66/14). 

At the same session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Division for Palestinian Rights with the necessary resources and to ensure that it continued to carry out its programme of work, in consultation with the Committee and under its guidance, including the monitoring of developments relevant to the question of Palestine, the organization of international meetings and conferences, liaison and cooperation with civil society and parliamentarians, the development and expansion of the “Question of Palestine” website and the documents collection of the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine, the preparation and dissemination of information on various aspects of the question of Palestine and enhancement of the annual training programme for staff of the Palestinian Authority; and requested the Division, as part of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to continue to organize an annual exhibit on Palestinian rights or a cultural event in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations (resolution 66/15).

Also at the same session, the General Assembly requested the Department of Public Information to organize and promote fact-finding news missions for journalists to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel; and to organize international, regional and national seminars or encounters for journalists (resolution 66/16)

Also at its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly called upon both parties to act on the basis of international law and their previous agreements and obligations, in particular adherence to the road map, irrespective of reciprocity; called upon the parties themselves, with the support of the Quartet and other interested bodies, to exert all efforts necessary to halt the deterioration of the situation and to reverse all unilateral and unlawful measures taken on the ground since 28 September 2000; underscored the need for the parties to take confidence-building measures aimed at improving the situation on the ground, promoting stability and fostering the peace process, including the need for the further release of prisoners following the exchange of prisoners in October 2011; stressed the need for the removal of checkpoints and other obstructions to the movement of persons and goods throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the need for respect and preservation of the territorial unity, contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; stressed the need for an immediate and complete cessation of all acts of violence; reiterated its demand for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1860 (2009); reiterated the need for the full implementation by both parties of the Agreement on Movement and Access and of the Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing, and the need to allow for the sustained opening of all crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip for humanitarian supplies, movement and access, as well as for commercial flows and all necessary construction materials; stressed the urgent necessity for the advancement of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, including through the completion of numerous suspended projects managed by the United Nations and the accelerated implementation of United Nations-led civilian reconstruction activities; called upon Israel to comply strictly with its obligations under international law and to cease all of its measures that were contrary to international law and unilateral actions aimed at altering the character, status and demographic composition of the Territory; reiterated its demand for the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in the Territory and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and called for the full implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions; stressed the need for Israel forthwith to abide by its road map obligation to freeze all settlement activity, including so-called “natural growth”, and to dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001; called for the cessation of all provocations, including by Israeli settlers, in East Jerusalem, including in and around religious sites; demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with its legal obligations under international law, as mentioned in the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice and as demanded in Assembly resolutions ES-10/13 and ES-10/15, and that it immediately cease its construction of the wall in the Territory, and called upon all States Members of the United Nations to comply with their legal obligations; reaffirmed its commitment, in accordance with international law, to the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders; stressed the need for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and for the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent State; stressed the need for a just resolution of the problem of Palestine refugees in conformity with its resolution 194 (III); called upon the parties to resume and accelerate direct peace negotiations towards the conclusion of a final peaceful settlement on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, the terms of reference of the Madrid Conference, the road map and the Arab Peace Initiative; urged Member States to expedite the provision of economic, humanitarian and technical assistance to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority in order to help to alleviate the serious humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which is critical in the Gaza Strip, to rehabilitate the Palestinian economy and infrastructure and to support the development and strengthening of Palestinian institutions and Palestinian State-building efforts in preparation for independence; and requested the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the parties concerned, and in consultation with the Security Council, towards the attainment of a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the promotion of peace in the region and to submit to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session a report on those efforts and on developments on the matter (resolution 66/17). 

Documents: 

(a)  Report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: Supplement No. 35 (A/67/35); 

(b)  Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 66/17). 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 37) 

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52.  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 (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 (UNRWA) (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 2014 (resolution 65/98). 

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, and requested the Commissioner-General 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 sixtieth, sixty-third, sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth sessions, the Assembly decided to increase the membership of the Advisory Commission on UNRWA to 21, then to 23, then to 24 and then to 25 (decision 60/522, resolutions 63/91, 65/98 and 66/72); to invite Palestine to attend and fully participate in its meetings as an observer; to invite the European Community to attend its meetings; and to invite the League of Arab States to attend its meetings as an observer. The membership of the Advisory Commission is currently as follows: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

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 and United States. 

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly adopted four resolutions under this item (resolutions 66/72 to 66/75). 

   Assistance to Palestine refugees 

The General Assembly reiterated its request to the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine to continue exerting efforts towards the implementation of paragraph 11 of Assembly resolution 194 (III) and to report to the Assembly no later than 1 September 2012 and affirmed the necessity for the continuation of the work of UNRWA and the importance of its unimpeded operation and its provision of services for the well-being and human development of the Palestine refugees and for the stability of the region (resolution 66/72). 

   Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities 

The General Assembly endorsed the efforts of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA to continue to provide humanitarian assistance, and requested the Secretary-General, after consulting with the Commissioner-General, to report to the Assembly before its sixty-seventh session on the progress made with regard to the implementation of the resolution (resolution 66/73). 

   Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 

At its resumed sixty-fifth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 65/272, entitled “Report of the Secretary-General on the strengthening of the management capacity of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East”, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue to support the institutional strengthening of the Agency through the provision of financial resources from the regular budget of the United Nations; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on the progress made with regard to the implementation of the resolution (resolution 65/272).

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly took note with appreciation of the report of the Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the efforts of the Working Group to assist in ensuring the financial security of the Agency; requested the Secretary-General to provide the necessary services and assistance to the Working Group for the conduct of its work; took note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the strengthening of the management capacity of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; and encouraged UNRWA to continue making progress in addressing the needs and rights of children, women and persons with disabilities in its operations in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (resolution 66/74). 

   Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues 

The General Assembly reaffirmed that the Palestine refugees were entitled to their property and to the income derived therefrom; 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; urged the Palestinian and Israeli sides, as agreed between them, to deal with the important issue of Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues within 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 sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 66/75 ). 

Documents: 

(a)  Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: Supplement No. 13 (A/67/13); 

(b)  Reports of the Secretary-General: 

 (i)  Progress with regard to implementation of resolution 65/272 (resolution 65/272); 

 (ii)  Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities (resolution 66/73); 

 (iii)  Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues (resolution 66/75); 

(c)  Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the sixty-sixth report of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (resolutions 512 (VI) and 66/75); 

(d)  Report of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA (resolution 66/74). 

   References for the sixty-fifth session (agenda item 51) 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 52) 

 53.  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 its twenty-fifth session, the Assembly renewed the mandate of the Special Committee (resolution 2727 (XXV)). At present, the Special Committee is composed of the following three Member States: Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka. 

At its twenty-sixth to sixty-fifth sessions, the General Assembly considered 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, 51/131 to 51/135, 52/64 to 52/69, 53/53 to 53/57, 54/76 to 54/80, 55/130 to 55/134, 56/59 to 56/63, 57/124 to 57/128, 58/96 to 58/100, 59/121 to 59/125, 60/104 to 60/108, 61/116 to 61/120, 62/106 to 62/110, 63/95 to 63/99, 64/91 to 64/95 and 65/102 to 106). 

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly adopted five resolutions under this item (resolutions 66/76 to 66/80). 

In its resolution entitled “Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories”, the General Assembly requested the Special Committee to continue to investigate Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East 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 requested the Secretary-General to provide the Special Committee with all necessary facilities to investigate the Israeli policies and practices referred to in the resolution, and to report to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on the tasks entrusted to him in the resolution (resolution 66/76). 

In its resolutions entitled “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 East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories”; “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan”; “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”; and “The occupied Syrian Golan”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report to it at its sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the resolutions (resolutions 66/77 to 66/80). 

Documents: 

(a)  Reports of the Secretary-General:

 (i)  Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (resolution 66/76); 

 (ii)  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 East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories (resolution 66/77); 

 (iii)  Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan (resolution 66/78); 

 (iv)  Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (resolution 66/79); 

 (v)  The occupied Syrian Golan (resolution 66/80); 

(b)  Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the forty-fourth report of the Special Committee (resolution 66/76). 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 53) 

62.  Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources 

The General Assembly considered this question from its forty-eighth to fifty-first sessions under the item entitled “Report of the Economic and Social Council”(resolutions 48/212, 49/132, 50/129 and 51/190). At its fifty-first session, in 1996, the General Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda an item entitled “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” (resolution 51/190). 

The General Assembly considered the item from its fifty-second to sixty-fifth sessions (resolutions 52/207, 53/196, 54/230, 55/209, 56/204, 57/269, 58/229, 59/251, 60/183, 61/184, 62/181, 63/201, 64/185 and 65/179). At its substantive session of 2011, the Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, through the Council, a report on the implementation of the resolution (Council resolution 2011/41). 

In its resolution 66/225, the General Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land and water, and demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion or endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. The Assembly recognized the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a result of any exploitation, damage, loss or depletion, or endangerment of their natural resources resulting from illegal measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and stressed that the wall being constructed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, is contrary to international law and is seriously depriving the Palestinian people of their natural resources, and called in this regard for full compliance with the legal obligations stipulated in the 9 July 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and in resolution ES-10/15. The Assembly called upon Israeli, the occupying Power, to comply strictly with its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, with respect to the alteration of the character and status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and also called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to cease all actions harming the environment, including the dumping of all kinds of waste materials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which gravely threaten their natural resources, namely water and land resources, and which pose an environmental, sanitation and health threat to the civilian populations. The Assembly further called upon Israel to cease its destruction of vital infrastructure, including water pipelines and sewage networks, which, inter alia, has a negative impact on the natural resources of the Palestinian people, and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report at its sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 66/225). 

Document: Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (Economic and Social Council resolution 2011/41 and General Assembly resolution 66/225). 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 61) 

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 E.  Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts 

 71.  Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance 

At its forty-eighth session, in 1993, the General Assembly decided to consider the item entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance” and its sub-items in plenary meeting (resolution 48/162, annex II). 

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 (b)  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 sixty-fifth 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, 51/150, 52/170, 53/89, 54/116, 55/173, 56/111, 57/147, 58/113, 59/56, 60/126, 61/135, 62/93, 63/140, 64/125 and 65/134). 

At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly stressed the importance of the work of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority and of the steps taken under the auspices of the Secretary-General to ensure the achievement of a coordinated mechanism for United Nations activities throughout the occupied territories, and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the implementation of the resolution, containing an assessment of the assistance actually received by the Palestinian people and of the needs still unmet and specific proposals for responding effectively to them (resolution 66/118). 

Document: Report of the Secretary-General on assistance to the Palestinian people (A/67/84-E/2012/68). 

   References for the sixty-sixth session (agenda item 70 (b)) 

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