International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People – CEIRPP Chairperson statement

STATEMENT

BY

HIS EXCELLENCY MR. ABDOU SALAM DIALLO
Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights
of the Palestinian People

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

29 November 2012

Your Excellency, President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Vuc Jeremie, President of the United Nations General Assembly,

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, President of the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Palitha Kohona, Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices,

Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we officially open this solemn meeting, the new tragedy which has struck Gaza and its surrounding areas is still fresh in our minds. On many occasions we have drawn the attention of the Security Council to the dangerous situation in the territories, yet the international Community has not been able to find the means for a new impetus to restore peace in time.

Our committee has strongly condemned the violent attacks launched by the Israeli army against Gaza, which has already endured so much suffering. Our committee has also denounced just as strongly the indiscriminate rocket fire originating from Gaza.

Never has peace been more essential for all the peoples of the region, yet never has it seemed so far out of reach.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have met here once again to mark the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Commemorated on the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations partition plan in 1947, it invites us to review the decades which have passed, during which almost everything has been tried, in vain, to establish a definitive peace.

The promises to do justice to all the peoples of the subregion, including the Palestinian people, have languished year after year, to the great distress of the 5 million refugees who still await, in exile, a solution to their tragic fate.

The year 1967 marked the beginning of the Israeli occupation, which will soon have lasted 50 years. During the 90s, the Oslo accords brought hope by laying the foundation for a transition that was to be completed by 2000. The Road Map of the Quartet, for its part, predicted that the two-State solution would be in effect by 2005 at the latest. Nothing of significance came out of these deadlines in which the Palestinians placed great hopes. The peace initiatives evaporated one after another. In the meantime, settlements, which at the beginning numbered a few dozen settlers, have grown to over a half million inhabitants, leaving less and less room for the Palestinian State.

The Palestinians feel cheated. They are tired of promises not kept, dulled by soothing speeches, weary of awaiting their hour. The Palestinians need their own State, here and now. Every year they are asked to be patient because international diplomacy has almost reached the decisive step that will change their lives. They will not and cannot wait any longer.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The public institutions that the Palestinians have built with the help of the international community are disintegrating for lack of funding. The sealing off of territories and withholding of tax revenue of the Palestinian Authority have had disastrous consequences for the functioning of those institutions. The Committee strongly urges donors to continue to provide assistance and to intensify it as a matter of urgency.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would now like to turn to the question of the admission of Palestine to the United Nations as a non-member observer State.

Although some Member States could be dubious about the wisdom of the change in strategy by the Palestinians concerning the modification of their status at the UN, no one can dispute the legitimacy of this step. The right of Palestinians to self-determination, independence and national sovereignty, in their own State, is undeniable. The General Assembly has confirmed this year after year by an overwhelming majority.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to invite you to consider the new request by the Palestinians while bearing in mind all that I have just recalled. The United Nations has permanent obligations regarding the question of Palestine; the Member States as well, some more than others for historical reasons. I ask you furthermore to show your solidarity by voting in favour of the four draft resolutions that I will submit to the General Assembly this afternoon under the item "Question of Palestine".

The Committee will continue to fulfil the mission entrusted to it by the General Assembly as long as the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are not fully respected. We will remain mobilized in favour of a definitive settlement of the conflict based on the two-State solution, which will be just and durable and will allow Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security.

I thank you for your attention.