Deployment of sp. political missions/Palestinian refugees – GA Fourth Cttee meeting – Press release (excerpts)

Sixty-eighth General Assembly

Fourth Committee

20^th Meeting (PM)

SPECIAL POLITICAL MISSIONS DIVERSIFY UNITED NATIONS TOOLBOX, CREATING NIMBLER,

MORE COHERENT RESPONSE IN BATTLE'S WAKE, FOURTH COMMMITTEE TOLD

‘Less Costly to Prevent Conflict than to Maintain Peace,’ Says Speaker

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Background

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to begin its review of special political missions, for which it had before it the report of the Secretary-General on overall policy matters pertaining to special political missions (document A/68/223).

Statements

JOHN ASHE, President of the General Assembly, commended the Committee for considering and completing 11 of 15 of its tasked agenda items for the session but urged work on three specific complex issues: peacekeeping, the decolonization of countries still under others’ rule and some aspects of the ongoing situation in the Middle East. He hoped the current and third decade for the eradication of colonialism (2011-2020) would be the final one as decolonization had “no place in the modern world”. When the United Nations was formed in 1945, almost a third of the world population lived in colonized countries; now only 17 territories were officially non self-governing. He noted the “praiseworthy” work done on liberating French Polynesia and said bringing that issue to closure was one of the most important matters tasked under the Fourth Committee. As peacekeeping had become a major tool for conflict resolution, the Secretariat needed to honour the men and women in “blue helmets” by providing them with the necessary resources, training and guidance.

He expressed satisfaction over the consideration given to the environment in all aspects of peacekeeping, especially concerning the Council’s response to Mali. He welcomed the negotiations between Israel and Palestine towards a two-State solution and called on the United Nations to play a more “decisive role as the situation became dire for the 5 million Palestinian refugees in the region. With “no prospect in site”, the demand for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was becoming more untenable. The resolution of two major issues would help UNRWA function: the cessation of the conflict and further funding from Member States that already donated to the Agency, as well as the addition of new donors.

OSCAR FERNANDEZ-TARANCO, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said that the Secretary-General’s report on special political missions was a milestone for the Organization as it was the first review of policy issues on the topic. The report would also serve as a valuable reference document on those missions. It was the result of extensive consultations with Member States and it described the rich history of political missions from the deployment of Count Folke Bernadotte as a mediator in Palestine to the establishment of a special envoy for the Great Lakes region this year. In fact, such was the dynamism of such missions that a new one had been set up in Syria since the report’s issuance.

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For information media • not an official record