Report of the Security Council/Mideast situation/Palestine question – GA debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly 

Sixty-seventh session 

38th plenary meeting 

Thursday, 15 November 2012, 10 a.m. 

New York 

     The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. 

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Agenda item 30 and 117

  Report of the Security Council

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Developments in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question and the ongoing effects of the Arab Spring, remained prominent on the Council’s agenda. The Council held monthly briefings and consultations on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, and quarterly open debates on the issue. Members expressed concern at the continuing stalemate in the Middle East peace process and urged the negotiated settlement of all issues. The Council also heard briefings from the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

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Mr. Khalil (Egypt): I have the honour to speak today on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. …

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The Movement regrets that the Security Council Committee on the Admission of New Members was not able to issue a positive recommendation for Palestine’s application for admission to full membership of the United Nations, owing to the lack of unanimity among Council members on the issue. The Movement fully supports the application submitted by Palestine, which is consistent with the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence.

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Mr. Kim Sook (Republic of Korea): …

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Regarding the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, the Republic of Korea fully supports the two-State solution, a vision in which Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace and prosperity. We hope that a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the matter will be reached in the near future with the support of the international community.

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Mr. Sangqu (South Africa): …

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Despite those positive developments, my delegation remains concerned about the tendency in certain cases where the Security Council is selective in picking those elements of decisions taken by regional organizations that advance the national interest of some members.  Such selectivity and double standards were visibly demonstrated when the AU’s road map for Libya was undermined and ignored by the implementers of resolution 1973 (2011). Furthermore, the views of the League of Arab States on the Palestinian question have been conveniently ignored, while its views on Libya and Syria have been fully endorsed. It is important that the principle of subsidiarity be respected, if we are to establish better synergies in enhancing cooperation, especially on the African continent. We therefore call for greater consistency on the part of the Council in engaging with regional bodies.

We remain concerned that the Security Council has not succeeded in bringing about any positive change in the situation between Israel and Palestine. The failure of the Council to find a lasting solution to that crisis has denied the hopes of millions of Palestinians and Israelis. We also regret that the Council has delegated its responsibility to the Quartet, which has been moribund in its handling of that issue. South Africa is most disappointed that the Security Council could not reach consensus on supporting Palestine’s bid for membership of the General Assembly or on visiting Palestine. In our view, the Council’s failure to act on that matter contributes to the continued instability in the region, thereby giving rise to the tragic events of the past few days in Gaza that we all have witnessed.

We remain convinced that the credibility of the Security Council will continue to be challenged as long as the human rights of Palestinians and the people of the Western Sahara are ignored, which has been the case for decades. That harms the credibility of the Council as a guardian of international peace and security.

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The meeting rose at 1 p.m.

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 siU-506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.