Permanent sovereignty of the Pal. people – GA debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly

Fifty-ninth session

75th plenary meeting

Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 10 a.m.

New York

    The meeting was called to order at 10.20 a.m.

Reports of the Second Committee

  The President (spoke in French ): The General Assembly will consider the reports of the Second Committee on agenda items 39 (b), 44, 83 and its sub-items (a) to (d), 84, 85 and its sub-items (a) to (h), 86, 87 and its sub-items (a) to (e), 88 and its sub-items (a) and (b), 89 and its sub-items (a) to (c), 90, 91, 92 and its sub-items (a) and (b), and 109.

  I request the Rapporteur of the Second Committee, Mr. Azanaw Tadesse Abreha of Ethiopia, to introduce the reports of the Second Committee in one intervention.

 Mr. Abreha (Ethiopia), Rapporteur of the Second Committee: I have the honour to present for consideration the following reports of the Second Committee on the agenda items allocated to it by the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session.

…

  With respect to agenda item 91, entitled “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 Second Committee recommends, in paragraph 11 of document A/59/489, the adoption of one draft resolution.

…

Agenda item 91

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

    Report of the Second Committee (A/59/489)

 The President ( spoke in French ): The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Second Committee in paragraph 11 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

 A recorded vote has been requested.

 A recorded vote was taken. 

In favour: 

  Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Against: 

  Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Palau, United States of America

Abstaining:

  Albania, Australia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

  The draft resolution was adopted by 156 votes to 5, with 11 abstentions (resolution 59/251).

 The President ( spoke in French ): I give the floor to the representative of Israel, who wishes to speak in explanation of vote on the resolution just adopted.

 Mr. Sermoneta (Israel): Israel is dismayed that the substantive debate in the Second Committee has yet again devolved into a forum for passing unbalanced resolutions motivated by politicized interests which are one-sided, misleading and unproductive. It is especially disappointing this year because it appears that today the Middle East is presented with a window of opportunity.

  It is only through cooperation on the ground that we can make the best use of our region’s natural resources for all inhabitants of the Middle East, not through acrimony here at the United Nations or through baseless and unconstructive allegations levelled in our deliberations.

  The connection between this resolution and the issues addressed by the Second Committee is extremely tenuous. The resolution attempts to shift our focus away from our actual priorities. Its adoption only invites further politicization and destruction and is not in line with the spirit of reform and revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.

  Further, this resolution contributes nothing towards a real peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. It deals with issues specifically reserved for direct bilateral negotiations and in doing so undermines the hopes for such negotiations. It is for those reasons that we voted against this resolution.

 The President (spoke in French ): May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 91?

 It was so decided.

…

The meeting rose at noon.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.