ECOSOC report/Settlements – GA Second Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

SECOND COMMITTEE

13th meeting

held on

Tuesday, 19 October 1993

at 10 a.m.

New York

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 13TH MEETING

Chairman:   Mr. MONGBE  (Benin)

CONTENTS

AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued)

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

AGENDA ITEM 12:  REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued) (A/48/3, A/48/159-E/1993/59, A/48/172, A/48/182, A/48/183-E/1993/74 and Add.1, A/48/188-E/1993/78, A/48/276, A/48/338, A/48/353-S/26372, A/48/498)

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4. Mr. HUSLID (Norway), speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries, said that they wished to stress the need for economic assistance to the Palestinian people.  The signing of the Declaration of Principles by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization represented an historical breakthrough, however if the peace process was to succeed, it must be accompanied and strengthened by economic development.  Peace would not flourish unless the international community rapidly committed resources to its realization.  The dual task of providing much-needed short-term aid and building the basis for achieving long-term development goals must be accomplished in order to maintain broad popular support for the Declaration.  One of the main objectives should be to assist the Palestinian people in establishing the necessary institutions and conditions for taking charge of their own development.  Although the Declaration of Principles applied only to the West Bank and Gaza, the needs of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians confined to camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria could not be ignored.  

5. The recent donor conference had resulted in pledges totalling approximately 2 billion dollars.  The Nordic countries were pleased with its outcome, which represented a vital step in the follow-up to the peace process.  The pledges must next be translated into concrete activities to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people.  An efficient and functional coordinating structure for international assistance must put the funds to work immediately and to maximize their total impact.  The World Bank should continue to play its important and constructive role in the process, in addition to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).  The United Nations must be actively involved in the follow-up to the peace process.  It was important that the resolutions drafted regarding the situation in the Middle East should adequately reflect the momentous developments in the region.  

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14. Mr. RAMADAN (Egypt) …

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18. The contents of the report on the economic and social consequences of the establishment of settlements by Israel in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, and the Syrian Golan (A/48/188) were cause for great concern.  Egypt welcomed the recent Palestinian-Israeli agreement as a positive step, which should be accompanied by fundamental changes in the previous detrimental practices, and should have a positive impact on the situation in the occupied territories.

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21. Mr. ALDOSARI (Bahrain) …

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23. It was time to strengthen the foundations of peace and stability in the Middle East in order to achieve development in that region and, in that connection, his delegation supported the General Assembly resolutions calling for assistance to the Palestinian people and the implementation of development projects in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The meeting rose at 11.15 a.m.