Questions relating to information/DPI work on the question of Palestine – GA Fourth Cttee debate – Press release (excerpts)

Sixty-seventh General Assembly

Fourth Committee

12^th Meeting (PM)

PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT, IN STEP WITH MAJOR TRENDS, MANAGES UNITED NATIONS

MESSAGE WITH PROFOUND IMPACT, SAY FOURTH COMMITTEE DELEGATES

‘Digital Bridges’ Not Connecting Everyone,

Speakers Say, Urging Continued Use of Traditional Media

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Background

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of questions relating to information.  (For more information, please see Press Release GA/SPD/513.)

Statements

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IHAB HAMED (Syria), associating with the statement made on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, …

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He said that the efforts of the Department must be strengthened when it came to Palestine, given the relevant General Assembly resolutions and the continued suffering caused by Israeli occupation in the Palestinian Territory, which had the support of certain countries.  …

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YUSSEF KANAAN, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine, aligning with the statement made on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that on 30 November 2011, the General Assembly had adopted, by an overwhelming majority, resolution 66/16 emphasizing the importance of the Department’s Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine, which reflected the broad international support for that Programme.  The Programme was instrumental in promoting the international community’s awareness on that subject and reaffirmed the importance of the Department’s continued provision of assistance to the Palestinian people in the field of media development, through the annual training programme for Palestinian broadcasters and journalists from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

He said that the Israeli occupying force continued to systematically target journalists striving to convey “the truth about Israel’s aggressive and destructive policies and practices”.  For instance, on 28 September, a Serbian journalist and dozens of Palestinians had been injured and Israeli and foreign activists suffered severe suffocation after the occupying forces suppressed a peaceful demonstration.  Palestine called on the Committee to step up efforts to protect Palestinian and foreign journalists.

The Palestinian leadership was convinced of the vital role of telecommunications and information technology in the development process, he said, and in spite of Israeli control of the communications sector and the Palestinian frequency spectrum, the leadership was working to build the communication networks that would enable the people to overcome geographical and physical impediments to normal life caused by the occupation.  He reaffirmed his delegation’s commitment to a peace process that would end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights.

Right of Reply

The representative of Israel, exercising the right of reply, said that it was absolutely absurd to hear the Syrian representative, a representative of a regime that slaughtered its citizens on a daily basis, talk of human rights.  She could address the claims made by the representative of Palestine by questioning his definition of “non-violent demonstration”, however, the “information item” on the Committee’s agenda was not the place to do so.  There were several other items on the Committee’s agenda dedicated to the Palestinian issue, yet there were none to discuss the atrocities in Syria.  Maybe there should be, she added.

The representative of Syria, also exercising the right of reply, said that the misinformation provided by the representative of the Israeli occupying force was not a surprise, as the international community was accustomed to hearing such accusations whenever Syria criticized the way Israel was violating human rights in the Occupied Territory.  What was odd was that the representative should speak of human rights violations at a time when everybody was aware that Israel had violated each and every one of them.  There had been many violations against journalists and pacifists and activist who wanted to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people.  For instance, there was the case of Rachel Corrie, an American citizen who had been killed by the Israeli authorities when she tried to stop a bulldozer from destroying houses.  She was killed because she wanted to convey the truth about the inhumane Israeli practices.  The peace flotilla and the killing of the activists on board was another example of that inhumanity.

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For information media • not an official record