COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS
OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 189th MEETING
Held at Headquarters, New York,
on Tuesday, 7 July 1992, at 10.30 a.m.
Chairman: Mr. CISSE (Senegal)
CONTENTS
Expression of sympathy in connection with the death of the President of Algeria
Adoption of the agenda
Report on the United Nations North American Seminar and NGO Symposium on the Question of Palestine, held at New York from 22 to 26 June 1992
United Nations European Seminar on the Question of Palestine to be held at Malta from 27 to 29 July 1992
Other matters
This record is subject to correction.
Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Chief, Official Records Editing Section, Office of Conference Services, room DC2-750, 2 United Nations Plaza.
Any corrections to the record of this meeting and of other meetings will be issued in a corrigendum.
The meeting was called to order at 10.50 a.m.
EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF ALGERIA
1. The CHAIRMAN, on behalf of the Committee, expressed sympathy to the
Government of Algeria in connection with the tragic death of the President of
Algeria.
2. On the proposal of the Chairman, the members of the Committee observed a
minute of silence in tribute to the memory of Mr. Mohamed Boudiaf, President
of Algeria.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
3. The agenda was adopted.
REPORT ON THE UNITED NATIONS NORTH AMERICAN SEMINAR AND NGO SYMPOSIUM ON THE
QUESTION OF PALESTINE, HELD AT NEW YORK FROM 22 TO 26 JUNE 1992
4. Mr. CAMILLERI (Malta), Rapporteur, who had served as Chairman of both
meetings, said that, for the Seminar, the Committee had decided to focus on a
single theme, namely, "Enforcing the fourth Geneva Convention for ensuring the
protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory,
including Jerusalem". The opening session had been addressed by the President
of the General Assembly, the Under-Secretary-General and Special
Representative for Public Affairs on behalf of the Secretary-General, the
Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting
the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories, the Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations and
the Rapporteur himself, in addition to the representative of Bahrain on behalf
of the Arab Group, the representative of Egypt and the representatives of the
League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. A total
of 4 meetings had been held and 7 eminent experts from North America,
Palestine and Israel had presented papers. Representatives of 51 Governments,
9 United Nations specialized agencies, 3 intergovernmental organizations and
14 non-governmental organizations had attended the meeting.
5. The discussions had covered all aspects of the applicability of the
fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied Palestinian territory, including
Jerusalem, as well as the responsibility of each high contracting party to
ensure respect for the provisions of the Convention. In their conclusions and
recommendations, participants had taken note of persistent violations of the
Convention by Israel, the occupying Power, especially through intensified
illegal settlement. They had declared that it was the duty of the high
contracting parties to ensure respect by Israel for its obligations under the
Convention and had noted that Security Council resolutions 672 (1990) and
681 (1990) had requested the Secretary-General to develop further the idea of
convening a meeting of the high contracting parties and to monitor and observe
the situation regarding Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation and to
report periodically on the matter. They had urged further action pursuant to
the provisions of those resolutions. The participants had suggested that the
high contracting parties should utilize their consular presence for monitoring
purposes and that a United Nations monitoring organization should be
established through which the parties would carry out their responsibilities
under article 1 of the Convention. They had recommended that the idea of
seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice should be
developed further and that concrete support should be requested from
non-governmental organizations. They had expressed their deep appreciation to
the International Committee of the Red Cross and to the United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Finally,
they had expressed the hope that the Seminar would result in effective action
by the United Nations and the international community to ensure the protection
of the Palestinian people under occupation.
6. Turning to the Ninth North American Regional NGO Symposium on the
Question of Palestine, he said that around 200 representatives of
84 non-governmental organizations, three NGO coordinating committees,
15 Governments, two intergovernmental organizations and one other organization
had attended. He had addressed the opening session, and a message had been
received from Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
Palestine Liberation Organization. The Chairman of the North American
Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine and Moderator of
the Symposium also had made a statement. The theme had been "Peace is the
Fruit of Justice, 25 years of Occupation". Two panels had discussed the
topics "25 years of Occupation: Overcoming the Obstacles" and "Preparing the
Way for Palestine", respectively. There had also been a "teach-in" on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a resource fair, and eight workshops. One of
the recommendations emerging from the workshops was that North American
non-governmental organizations should intensify their mobilization efforts and
continue to raise public awareness of the needs of Palestinian children and
the plight of prisoners and expelled persons. They had also recommended that
issues related to the problems of Palestinians living in Israel should be
addressed. The peace process should be promoted with members of Congress,
Jewish organizations and the general public, and special assistance programmes
for women also should be developed.
7. Both the Seminar and the Symposium, which had coincided with the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the Israeli occupation and the tenth anniversary
of the invasion of Lebanon, had enabled members and observers of the Committee
and non-governmental organizations to analyse the current situation, to
evaluate the strategies pursued thus far and to discuss new strategies for the
future.
8. The reports of both meetings would be issued as publications of the
Division for Palestinian Rights and a brief account also would be included in
the monthly bulletin prepared by the Division. In addition, in accordance
with past practice, the conclusions and recommendations of the Seminar would
be annexed to the report of the Committee to the General Assembly at its
forty-seventh session.
9. The CHAIRMAN said that, if he heard no objection, he would take it that
the Committee wished to take note of the report on the seminar.
10. It was so decided.
UNITED NATIONS EUROPEAN SEMINAR ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE TO BE HELD AT
MALTA FROM 27 TO 29 JULY 1992
11. The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee had before it Working Paper No. 5,
containing the draft programme for that seminar. If he heard no objection, he
would take it that the Committee approved the draft programme as contained in
Working Paper No. 5.
12. It was so decided.
13. The CHAIRMAN read out the list of the members of the Committee delegation
to be sent to the seminar.
OTHER MATTERS
14. The CHAIRMAN said that, since the dates of the European NGO Symposium and
the International NGO Meeting overlapped partially with the summit meeting of
the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Committee had attempted to change
the dates, but it was impossible. Therefore, the Bureau would hold
consultations on the composition of the delegation in order to ensure that the
Committee would be represented until the last day of those meetings.
15. Mr. AL-KIDWA (Observer for Palestine) expressed his condolences to the
delegation of Algeria on the tragic death of its President. With respect to
the Seminar and the Symposium, he congratulated those who had made possible
the success of those meetings and noted especially the importance of the theme
selected, the necessity of protecting the Palestinian people of the occupied
territories, including Jerusalem. He also appreciated the efforts of the
members of the Committee and the participants. With reference to changes
being introduced in some United Nations bodies, it was essential to examine
methods for ensuring the maximum efficiency in the work of the Committee. He
therefore proposed that the matter should be considered and perhaps informal
meetings held. It must be borne in mind that the summit meeting of the
Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, to be held before the forty-seventh session
of the General Assembly, would have a direct bearing on the resolutions which
the Assembly would adopt. Therefore, the Committee must be in a position to
face those possibilities and adapt to change. His delegation was available to
anyone who wished to hold bilateral or multilateral consultations on the
subject.
16. The CHAIRMAN, referring to the meeting of the Organization of African
Unity (OAU) which had just been held in Dakar, Senegal, said that the
questions of the Middle East and Palestine had been considered by the Council
of Ministers of OAU. Several ministers had expressed their solidarity with
the Palestinian and Arab cause. After hearing the report of the
Secretary-General of OAU, he had made a statement on behalf of Senegal and had
presented the Committee's point of view. The Council of Ministers had adopted
a resolution at the end of the meeting. During the summit meeting,
Mr. Yasser Arafat had made a statement behind closed doors to African Heads of
State or Government. All that documentation would be included in the monthly
bulletin of the Division for Palestinian Rights.
The meeting rose at 11.20 a.m.
Document Type: Document, Meeting record, Summary record
Document Sources: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), General Assembly
Subject: Palestine question
Publication Date: 07/07/1992