Assistance to Palestine refugees – GA – Draft resolution – Adopted

Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Comoros, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Palestine: draft resolution

Assistance to Palestine refugees

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948 and all its subsequent resolutions on the question, including resolution 62/102 of 17 December 2007,

Recalling also its resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949, by which, inter alia, it established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,

Recalling further relevant Security Council resolutions,

Aware of the fact that, for six decades, the Palestine refugees have suffered from the loss of their homes, lands and means of livelihood,

Affirming the imperative of resolving the problem of the Palestine refugees for the achievement of justice and for the achievement of lasting peace in the region,

Acknowledging the essential role that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has played for 59 years since its establishment in ameliorating the plight of the Palestine refugees through its provision of education, health, relief and social services and emergency assistance,

Taking note of the report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2007,¹

Aware of the continuing needs of the Palestine refugees throughout all the fields of operation, namely, Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

Expressing grave concern at the especially difficult situation of the Palestine refugees under occupation, including with regard to their safety, well-being and socio-economic living conditions,

Expressing grave concern in particular at the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and underlining the importance of emergency and humanitarian assistance,

Noting the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements² on 13 September 1993 by the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization and the subsequent implementation agreements,

Aware of the role to be played by the Multilateral Working Group on Refugees of the Middle East peace process,

1. Notes with regret that repatriation or compensation of the refugees, as provided for in paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 194 (III), has not yet been effected, and that, therefore, the situation of the Palestine refugees continues to be a matter of grave concern and the Palestine refugees continue to require assistance to meet basic health, education and living needs;

2. Also notes with regret that the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine has been unable to find a means of achieving progress in the implementation of paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 194 (III), and reiterates its request to the Conciliation Commission to continue exerting efforts towards the implementation of that paragraph and to report to the Assembly as appropriate, but no later than 1 September 2009;

3. Affirms the necessity for the continuation of the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 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, pending the just resolution of the question of the Palestine refugees;

4. Calls upon all donors to continue to make the most generous efforts possible to meet the anticipated needs of the Agency, including with regard to increased expenditures arising from the continuing deterioration of the socio-economic and humanitarian situation in the region, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and those mentioned in recent emergency appeals;

5. Decides to commemorate the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its establishment at a high-level meeting to be convened on 30 September 2009, during the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, and encourages the participation of Member States at the ministerial level;

6. Decides also to invite Finland and Ireland, in accordance with the criterion set forth in General Assembly decision 60/522 of 8 December 2005, to become members of the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Notes

¹Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/63/13)

²A/48/486-S/26560, annex.

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