Israeli practices – SecGen report

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES

AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE POPULATION

OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Report of the Secretary-General

1. At its forty-first session, the General Assembly, adopted resolutions 41/63 A to G of 3 December 1986 concerning the reports of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (A/41/680).  In paragraph 20 of resolution 41/63 D, the Assembly, requested the Secretary-General (a) to provide all necessary facilities to the Special Committee, including  those required for its visits to the occupied territories, with a view to investigating the Israeli policies and practices referred to in the present resolution; (b) to continue to make available additional staff as may be necessary to assist the Special Committee in the performance of its tasks; (c) to ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the Special Committee and of information regarding its activities and findings by all means available through the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat and, where necessary, to reprint those reports of the Special Committee that are no longer available; and (d) to report to the General Assembly at its, forty-second session on the tasks entrusted to him in.the present paragraph.

2. The present report is submitted in accordance with paragraph 20 of resolution 41/63 D.

3. The Secretary-General continued, as in previous years, to provide the facilities required by the Special Committee. In response to the request addressed to him by the General Assembly in paragraph 20 (b) of resolution 41/63 D, the services of an additional staff member and of staff on temporary assistance were made available to assist the Special Committee.

4. In response to paragraph 20 (c) and (d) of resolution 41/63 D, the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat undertook the following activities to ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the Special Committee;

(a) The activities of the Special Committee in Geneva, Amman, Damascus and Cairo were covered in press releases in English and French. Consideration of the Committee's report by the Commission on Human Rights was also reported in press releases;

(b) The work of the Special Committee was covered in radio news – in a number of languages – for shortwave and national broadcast, as well as telephone feeds;

(c) A World Chronicle television discussion programme was produced on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the assistance it provides to Palestinian refugees. A second World Chronicle programme on human rights highlighted the work of the Special Committee;

(d) A 20-minute film, The Palestinians, was begun in English and is scheduled for release before the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, in November 1987;

(e) An exhibit for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was displayed in the General Assembly lobby during the last week of November. In addition, the Department assisted in mounting the annual PLO exhibit and provided audio-visual coverage of the opening ceremony;

(f) In connection with the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November), information about the issues addressed in the Special Committee's report were widely disseminated through various activities:

(i) The DPI pamphlet The Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories continued to be widely distributed;

(ii) At the Palais des Nations, Geneva, the Information Service displayed an exhibit during the first week of December and arranged for the screening of United Nations films on the subject. In addition, it provided press and audio-visual coverage of the commemorative event organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva on 1 December 1986;

(g) Several United Nations information centres highlighted the Palestine question in their newsletters, often with specific mention of the work of the Special Committee;

(h) The Information Service in Geneva provided press coverage on.the work of the Special Committee.

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*A/42/150.

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