Palestine question – Palestine Commission to appoint UN representative for Jerusalem – Press release

UNITED NATIONS

Department of Public Information

Press and Publications Bureau

Lake Success, New York

Press Release PAL/521

24 August 1949

PALESTINE COMMISSION TO APPOINT UNITED NATIONS

REPRESENTATIVE FOR JERUSALEM

(The following has been received at UN Headquarters from the Press Officer

with the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Lausanne.)

The United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine decided today to nominate a United Nations representative for Jerusalem.  This representative whose appointment is provided for in Paragraph 8 of the General Assembly Resolution of 11 December 1948, is to "co-operate with the local authorities with respect to the interim administration of the Jerusalem area."

The functions of the UN representative will come to an end when the permanent international regime for the Jerusalem area is put into effect.

The Commission also decided to create an Economic Survey Mission, which will depart for the Middle East in the immediate future to study the economic situation in the countries affected by the recent hostilities in Palestine.

The Economic Mission will be a subsidiary body of the UNCCP, operating under its auspices and its authority.

The task of the Economic Mission will be:

1) to promote the establishment in the Middle East of economic conditions favorable to the establishment of peace and stability in that area;

2) to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees in order to integrate them into the economic life of the areas in which they will reside.  The refugees will be settled under conditions which will permit them to become self-sustaining within a minimum period of time;

3) to aid the interested Governments to further such measures and development programs as are required to overcome economic dislocations created by the hostilities.

As soon as the Mission has been constituted it will enter upon its functions and conduct its investigation in such a manner that the Conciliation Commission may be in a position to present the first results of the Economic Mission's enquiries to the next session of the General Assembly.

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