Palestinian Unity Government – NAM statement, letter from Cuba

Letter dated 20 March 2007 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

In my capacity as Acting Chair of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, I have the honour to enclose herewith the statement by the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement on the Palestinian National Unity Government, adopted on Tuesday, 20 March 2007 (see annex).

I kindly request that the present letter and its annex by circulated as a document of the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, under agenda items 13 and 14, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Ileana Núñez Mordoche
Ambassador
Chargé d’affaires a.i.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
Acting Chair of the Coordinating Bureau
of the Non-Aligned Movement

---

Annex to the letter dated 20 March 2007 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Statement by the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement on the Palestinian National Unity Government

New York, 20 March 2007

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) welcomes the formation of the Palestinian national unity Government after the achievement of the Mecca Agreement last month. The formation of this new Government is a welcome sign of the unity of the Palestinian people at this difficult time and it should be strongly supported.

It is hoped that the formation of the national unity Government will lead to the beginning of the process of lifting the financial and political sanctions that have been unjustly imposed on the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority since January 2006. The members of NAM urge the international community, including the Quartet, to undertake the necessary measures to end this siege and resume the provision of needed aid to the Palestinian people to alleviate the dire socio-economic conditions and humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and promote the recovery of the Palestinian economy and institutions.

The Non-Aligned Movement expresses its hope that the formation of the Palestinian national unity Government will facilitate the revival of the long-stalled peace process between the two sides on the basis of international law, the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet road map, with the aim of achieving the two-State solution. NAM stresses the need to encourage resumption of direct negotiations between the parties aimed at resolving final status issues towards the ultimate goal of ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, realizing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, and a just resolution to the issue of the Palestine refugees in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (1948), and establishing the independent State of Palestine.