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

Third Committee

38^th & 39^th Meetings (AM & PM)

SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT, WORKING GROUP CHAIR

URGES, AS THIRD COMMITTEE TAKES UP RACISM, SELF-DETERMINATION

Special Rapporteur on Use of Mercenaries, Other Experts Also Brief Delegates

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Background

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to take up the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as the right of peoples to self-determination. …

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General Discussion

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HAN QZING (China), associating himself with the Group of 77, … reiterated China’s support for the Palestinian people’s legitimate national rights, including the right to an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as its admission into international organizations, including the United Nations.

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NAGIB I.S. KAFOU (Libya) … Turning to the situation in the Middle East, he said Israel’s occupation of the State of Palestine hindered the Palestinian people’s enjoyment of human rights. …

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GRÉTA GUNNARSDÓTTIR (Iceland) … Turning to self-determination, she reiterated Iceland’s support for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the State of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations. …

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FARISHA SALMAN (Malaysia) welcomed the Secretary-General’s report, saying it highlighted the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Government of Malaysia had always believed in a two-state solution, based on the June 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, he said, condemning Israel’s unlawful annexation and demographic manipulations in East Jerusalem, which had created fundamental threats to the Palestinian right to self-determination. The only way forward was to ensure that Palestinians were afforded their basic rights as human beings, including their right to an independent State.

ABDOU SALAM DIALLO (Senegal) said that self-determination and the fight against racial discrimination were basic principles for all peoples and the “only guarantee” of global peace. In reference to the former, he underlined the right of the Palestinian people to decide their own destiny for themselves, recalling the human rights violations perpetrated in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, such as the separation wall, the destruction of infrastructure and the construction of settlements. Senegal, therefore, welcomed the renewed negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis under the auspices of the United States, he said. …

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RODOLFO REYES RODRÍGUEZ (Cuba), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, … concluded expressing his country’s support for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, …

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MOHAMED IBRAHIM MOHAMED ELBAHI (Sudan) … reaffirmed Sudan’s support for an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.

Ms. AL DOSARI (Qatar), associating herself with the Group of 77 and China, … On the right to self-determination, she said Israeli settlement construction was undermining the enjoyment of human rights by Palestinians, and called for an independent state, in line with the inalienable right to self-determination.

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Mr. JAHROMI (Iran) called attention to the fact that Palestinians were still deprived of their natural right to exercise self-determination on their own territory. Regrettably, the Israeli regime continued to perpetrate massive violations of Palestinian human rights in the occupied territories, including killing innocent civilians and carrying out arbitrary detentions, collective punishment and other restrictions against Palestinian people.

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Mr. KANDEEL (Egypt) said that despite hundreds of reports and resolutions adopted by different United Nations organs, the people of Palestine had not yet enjoyed their right to self-determination. Egypt supported the Special Rapporteur’s proposal calling for the convening by the International Committee of the Red Cross of an international conference to draft a convention for occupations exceeding five years, or for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to examine the issues related to prolonged occupation.

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For information media • not an official record