Health conditions in the OT – WHO resolution

WHA47.30 Health conditions of the Arab populations in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine

The Forty-seventh World Health Assembly,

Mindful of the basic principle established in the WHO Constitution, which affirms that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security;

Recalling the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East at Madrid on 30 October 1991, on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973, and the subsequent bilateral negotiations;

Expressing the hope that the peace talks among the parties concerned in the Middle East will lead to a just and comprehensive peace in the area;

Noting the signing in Washington D.C. on 13 September 1993 of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which provides for the transfer of authority to the Palestinian people during the interim period and in particular the responsibility for health services;

Recognizing the need for increased support and health assistance to the Arab populations in the occupied territories including the Palestinians as well as the Syrian Arab population;

Recognizing that the Palestinian people will have to make strenuous efforts to improve their health infrastructure;

Aware that health development is difficult under occupation and best promoted in circumstances of peace and stability;

Recognizing the need for providing support and health assistance to the Arab populations in the occupied territories including the occupied Golan;

Having considered the report of the Director-General

1. EXPRESSES the hope that the peace talks will lead to the establishment of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East so that the Palestinian people can be responsible for their health services and develop their health plans and projects in order to participate with the people of the world in the achievement of WHO's objective of health for all by the year 2000;

2. AFFIRMS that the transfer of responsibility for health to the Palestinian people will lead to the development of their health system, thereby enabling them to meet their needs by managing their own affairs and supervising their health services;

3. URGES Member States, international intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and regional and interregional organizations to assist rapidly and generously in the health development of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, and to do so in close cooperation with the Palestine Liberation Organization;

4. THANKS the Director-General for his efforts, and requests him:

(1) to provide the required technical assistance for facilitating the transfer of responsibility for health to the Palestinian people in the interim period, especially in the following:

(a) the carrying out of a comprehensive survey in order to identify the basic health issues to be dealt with;

(b) the development of an appropriate health system;

(c) the establishment of a comprehensive health insurance scheme;

(d) the development and strengthening of programmes for environmental health and protection;

(2) to take action and make the necessary contacts in order to provide the required funds from various existing and extrabudgetary sources of funding for meeting the urgent health needs of the Palestinian people during the transitional period;

(3) to continue his efforts to implement the special health assistance programme, gearing it to the requirements of meeting the health needs of the Palestinian people, taking into consideration the development of the comprehensive health plan for the Palestinian people;

(4) to strengthen the role of the organizational unit at WHO headquarters responsible for health of the Palestinian people, and to follow up the provision of health assistance in order to improve the health conditions of the Palestinian people;

(5) to report to the Forty-eighth World Health Assembly on the aspects of health assistance to the populations covered by this resolution;

5. EXPRESSES its gratitude to all Member States and to international governmental and nongovernmental organizations and invites them to provide the necessary assistance to meet the health needs of the Palestinian people.

Hbk Res., Vol. III (3rd ed.), 7.1.4.4
(Fourteenth plenary meeting, 12 May 1994 – Committee B, third report)