Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination – GA Third Cttee debate – Press release (excerpts)

Third Committee

40^th & 41^st Meetings (AM & PM)

MOVEMENT OF POPULATIONS DESTINED TO BE KEY QUESTION OF TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY,

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE

As Discussion On Refugee Issues Begins,

Committee Concludes Consideration of Racial Discrimination, Self-Determination

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Background

The Third Committee (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian) met today to continue its consideration of elimination of racism and racial discrimination and of the right of peoples to self-determination.  For more background, please see Press Release GA/SHC/3867 of 6 November.

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Statements on Racism, Self-Determination

MUNIR AKRAM ( Pakistan) said that the right to self-determination was the most fundamental collective human right of peoples.  …

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He said that the free exercise of the right to self-determination had been denied in several parts of the world, such as Jammu and Kashmir, and Palestine.  …

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RAQUEL ESCOBAR-GÓMEZ ( Venezuela) …

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She said that Venezuela rejected any attempt to squelch the self-determination of peoples, national unity and territorial integrity of States and joined in the causes of Puerto Rico, Argentina and Palestine.  …

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SALIMA ABDELHAQ ( Algeria) …

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…  The people of Western Sahara had been waiting for three decades to exercise their right to self-determination; in occupied Palestine, meanwhile, the Palestinian people continued to be denied the right to self-determination and their legitimate aspirations for building an independent State.

MOHAMED REDA DUKALI ( Libya) …

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He expressed outrage at the fate of Palestinians under occupation, who suffered from the worst forms of pillage of land and property, destruction of trees and fruits, all a result of the construction of a wall condemned by the international community.  The Palestinians had a right to create their own independent State and exercise their sovereign rights over territory, which was being pillaged at present.

NADYA RASHEED, Observer of Palestine, said that for 39 years, the right of self-determination had been forcefully withheld from the Palestinian people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, by Israel, the occupying Power, in the most brutal and inhuman manner.  The right to self-determination and foreign occupation stood in fundamental conflict to one another, and continued to be the root cause of the dangerous situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  Such prolonged occupation inevitably posed a threat to most basic human rights, as Israel had perpetuated its occupation by violence and the threat of violence, resulting in the death of 4,300 Palestinians, including 850 children, and at least 50,000 injuries.

The construction of illegal settlements and the wall had seriously undermined the territorial integrity and contiguity of Palestinian territory, making the vision of a two-State solution –- and the Palestinian people’s true enjoyment of their right to self-determination – nearly impossible, she said.  The vision of a Palestinian State would be unattainable without a viable Palestinian territory.  The Palestinian people had made historical compromises to achieve their aspirations, and they would never succumb or surrender to the will of the occupation.  The enjoyment of the Palestinian people of self-determination and independence was essential to achieve a comprehensive, permanent and lasting peace in the Middle East.  The continuation of the occupation, however, would not only affect peace and security in the region, but surely would affect many other countries worldwide.  The national rights of the Palestinian people, like those of any other people, had to be recognized.

SHATRUGHAN SINHA (India) said that, as the world worked to free itself from the racial prejudices of the past, it must especially guard against new manifestations of racial intolerance.  There continued to be instances of destruction of constitutional order to promote policies based on racial or ethnic discrimination.  Today, Palestine remained the unfinished task in the realization of the right of peoples to self-determination.  There could be no military solution to the Palestinian issue.  The solution did not lie in more violence but in pursuing the path of political dialogue.  The international community needed to exercise due vigilance to ensure that the legitimate freedom struggle of the Palestinian people was not undermined by equating terrorist activities with the struggle of the people of Palestine.

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WARIF HALABI (Syria) …

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She said that foreign occupation and the repression of those under occupation could not be accepted or tolerated.  Self determination was a fundamental and sacred right.  Syria continued to support the right of peoples to regain their independence.  Despite numerous United Nations resolutions on Palestine, regretfully it had not been possible for Palestinians to exercise that right.  Refugees continued to wait to return, and to face massacres in violation of all humanitarian laws. …

ADE PETRANTO (Indonesia) …

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…  Regarding the right to self-determination, Indonesia –- whose right of self-determination had, for more than 300 years, been in the hands of foreigners –- stressed the right of Palestinian people to self-determination, leading to the creation of an independent Palestinian State.

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Statements in Right of Reply

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The representative of Israel said her country supported the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination; however, that right could not come at the expense of the security of Israel, and its people.  The Palestinian Authority was led by a terrorist organization, Hamas, which was uninterested in living side by side with Israel.  Israel had recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people since the Camp David accords, but by electing Hamas, the Palestinian people had opted for terror over peace.  Regarding the security fence, it had no other purpose than to defend the security of the Israeli people.  The stationary of the Palestinian delegation featured a logo depicting a map of Israel; the underlying message was obvious to all.  The current Palestinian leadership would never recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist, and the Palestinian people –- who could have embraced the Quartet Road Map, but did not – had opted for terror.

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The observer of Palestine, responding to the statement by her Israeli counterpart, said that the basic law of Israel had referred to Israel as a Jewish State, setting the basis for discrimination against Palestinian people living within Israel.  While lecturing others on human rights, Israel had negated the right of the Palestinian people to exist.  Racist remarks had been made by high-ranking Government officials, army generals and even religious leaders, with Palestinians being described as snakes, insects and cancerous.  Twenty-seven years had elapsed between the beginning of occupation and the start of attacks.  Israel could not be allowed to get away with citing self-defence to justify its policies.

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The representative of Israel said his country was proud of the fact that it had Arab members of Parliament and an Arab Supreme Court judge.  Arabic was the second official language, and minorities enjoyed equal rights under the law, as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.  Hamas had refused to accept the basic conditions set out by the Quartet:  recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and accepting existing agreements.  Its real goal was to destroy Israel.

The observer of Palestine said that Israel defined itself not as a State of its citizens, but as a state of all Jews in the world.  Jews from anywhere could go there and claim citizenship.  Such rights had been denied to Palestinians who had lived in the area for thousands of years.  It was widely known that there were four levels of Israeli citizenship, the first three being various levels of Jewish participation in Israeli society.  Israel treated Palestinians as being less than human; this had been rooted in the basic law of the Israeli State.

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For information media • not an official record