Durban Review Conference – High-level segment – Summary record (excerpts)

DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 3rd MEETING 

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,

on Tuesday, 21 April 2009, at 10 a.m.

President: Mr. WAKO (Kenya)

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The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m.

HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT (agenda item 3)

STATEMENT BY THE ASSISTANT FOREIGN MINISTER OF QATAR 

1. Mr. AL BUAINAIN (Qatar) …

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3. In the context of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, special mention should be made of the suffering of the inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories and, in particular, of the intolerable suffering of the Palestinian people caused by Israel’s persistent occupation and its violations of international resolutions and laws, in addition to the catastrophic economic and social consequences of the ongoing construction of the racist wall of separation. Israel continued to demolish homes and erect barriers, build settlements, bring settlers into Jerusalem and blockade the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza. The international community had a moral responsibility to address those violations and uphold international law to ensure that the Palestinian people could enjoy their legitimate and inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and the right to create an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.

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STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF PALESTINE

21. Mr. AL-MALIKI (Observer for Palestine) said that the objective of the Conference must be to ensure equality, dignity and justice for all, and the international community could count on the support of the Palestinian people to that end. For more than 60 years, it had suffered under an occupation which represented the worst violation of human rights and the ugliest face of racism. The racist policies of the occupying Power must cease: it was high time that Palestinians enjoyed all their rights as stipulated in international agreements, including their right of return to their homeland. The occupying Power, for its part, must be held accountable for violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention. It continued to pursue its policies against the Palestinian people, with total disregard for international law. The truth must ultimately prevail, however, since the rights of the Palestinians were inalienable and undiminished by the passage of time.

22. There could be no discussion of racism without due mention of the restrictive measures imposed on Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The separation wall had divided families and separated pupils from their schools and farmers from their lands. The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice which had called for the dismantling of the wall and compensation to victims continued to be met with blatant disregard. The occupying Power continued to alter the religious nature of Jerusalem, destroy homes and property, excavate the Al-Aqsa Mosque and deny both Muslim and Christian Palestinians access to their places of worship. Hundreds of checkpoints and military roadblocks remained on Palestinian land, giving Israeli settlers exclusive access, while the plundering of Palestinian natural resources also continued. Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza were proof of its racist policies and an example of racism in action, with tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced and thousands more including children, killed or wounded.

23. The new Government of Israel must shoulder its responsibilities by accepting all the terms of reference of the peace process and agreeing to a two-State solution. It must stop its daily military incursions and work constructively for peace, with international support.

24. The international community must enhance cooperation at all levels to translate the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action into reality. That meant working together to eradicate all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance and ensuring dignity, justice and equality for all. The Palestinian people wished to pay a tribute to the work done by the High Commissioner’s Office and regional organizations in that connection.

25. His delegation had shown flexibility, understanding the need to reflect the concerns of the Group of African States in the outcome document for the Review Conference. It also wished to thank Arab, Islamic and other friendly countries for their longstanding support for the cause of the Palestinian people.

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STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

51. Mr. MEKDAD (Syrian Arab Republic) …

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54. Racism continued to cause entire nations to suffer, as was the case in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, where the inhabitants had had all their human rights denied. People suffered from the separation wall, the plundering of water resources, foreign settlements and the destruction of housing. Thousands of Palestinians, even democratically elected leaders, had been imprisoned; some had even been cast into the sea. Syrians had been imprisoned for more than 25 years for no other reason than their rejection of occupation and allegiance to their country.

55. He drew attention to the concluding observations of CERD on the tenth to thirteenth periodic reports of Israel (CERD/C/ISR/CO/13), in which the Committee had expressed its concern at Israel’s refusal to recognize the applicability of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to the occupied Syrian Golan. That document had also provided details of systematic racial discrimination exercised by Israel through its citizenship laws and its law on the right of return. The Committee had also expressed its concern over the use of hate speech by Israeli officials and violence directed against Palestinians by Israeli settlers. It had called for an end to the separation wall and to the archaeological excavations beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque. His delegation called on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the Judaization of the occupied territories, which was part of the ethnic cleansing that had begun in 1948, and which must be halted.

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STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF BAHRAIN

64. Mr. AL BAHARNA (Bahrain) …

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67. The Palestinian people continued to live under occupation while Israel colonized Palestinian territory, in flagrant violation of all international conventions and instruments. The international community must support the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to self-determination and alleviate its suffering so that it could create an independent State. To do so would guarantee development, uphold the credibility of the United Nations and ensure peace and international security.

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The meeting rose at 1.15 p.m.