Official Records
General Assembly
Sixty-seventh session
21st plenary meeting
Monday, 1 October 2012, 6 p.m.
New York
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President: |
Mr. Jeremić ………………………………………………….. |
(Serbia) |
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Agenda item 8 (continued)
General debate
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The President: I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Dessima Williams, Chair of the delegation of Grenada.
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We reiterate our call for a State for the Palestinian people in a negotiated two-State agreement with Israel through a peace plan. The injustices meted out to the Palestinians, including widespread unemployment, poverty and displacement, must end now. The Palestinian people, led by their Government, the Palestinian Authority, have our strong support for their just aspirations. We are convinced that the two nations can coexist side by side in peace and harmony, like so many other countries.
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Mr. Gaspar Martins (Angola), Vice-President, took the Chair.
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The Acting President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Carsten Staur, head of the delegation of Denmark.
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It has been clear since the beginning of the Arab Spring that developments in the region make the Middle East peace process and a negotiated solution even more urgent and important. A year ago, the Quartet in its 23 September 2011 statement (SG/2178) called for a peace agreement to be signed no later than the end of 2012. Regrettably, we face a reality which does not augur well for that to happen. As things develop on the ground, the prospects for a two-State solution, providing for two independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable States living side by side in peace and security, are diminishing, not increasing. As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the Oslo Agreement, it is indeed time to reach a final agreement.
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The Acting President: I now give the floor to the Chairman of the delegation of the Republic of Portugal.
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The impasse in finding a lasting solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict is also of great concern and an increasingly urgent issue in the light of the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa and the fight of the people of those regions for liberty, democracy and dignity. There will be no lasting peace, no stability and no security in the Middle East without a solution to the question of Palestine.
We understand and share Israel’s legitimate security aspirations. Yet we also understand and share the frustration of the Palestinian people, for whom an independent Palestinian State is not simply an inalienable right, but also a straightforward question of justice. Only a comprehensive deal that is negotiated directly by the parties on the basis of United Nations resolutions and internationally recognized parameters and which solves the pending questions and is dedicated to the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace will meet both the security concerns laid down by Israel and the aspirations of the Palestinian people for independence, liberty and
dignity. We appeal to the Israelis and Palestinians to quickly restart direct negotiations.
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The Acting President: I now call on the Chairman of the delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
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The Bolivarian Government reaffirms its support for the existence of a Palestinian State, independent and sovereign, within internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. We also reiterate our support for Palestine’s admission as a State Member of the United Nations with full rights.
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The President returned to the Chair.
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The President: We have heard the last speaker in the exercise of the right of reply.
I will now offer some concluding remarks on the general debate.
Statement by the President
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Numerous delegations raised the Palestinian statehood issue. There was resounding support for a two-State solution that would take into account the legitimate concerns of Israelis and Palestinians, including viability and security. Many speakers called for a resumption of negotiations that would lead to a comprehensive solution, underlining the importance for the international community to strengthen support for the peace process. Some called for the United Nations to play a more decisive role in that endeavour.
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I believe that now we truly have heard the last speaker in the general debate.
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 8?
It was so decided.
The meeting rose at 8.35 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 U-506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.
Document Type: Meeting record
Document Sources: General Assembly
Subject: Palestine question, Peace process, Peace proposals and efforts, Statehood-related
Publication Date: 01/10/2012