CEIRPP meeting – Press release

REVIEWING MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENT, PALESTINIAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE INVOKES FULL UN MEMBERSHIP FOR 'PALESTINE' BY SEPTEMBER 2000

It was hoped that the upcoming Millennium Summit would herald a new beginning for the Middle East through Palestine’s participation as a full Member of the United Nations, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People heard this morning as it discussed developments in the Middle East peace process and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Observer for Palestine said it had become Palestine’s right to be a United Nations Member, and the coming weeks would witness its attempt to join the Organization with the overwhelming support of the international community. The United Nations had a permanent responsibility to Palestine until final agreement on the Israeli-Palestinian question was reached and fully implemented, and all aspects of the Palestine issue were resolved.

Referring to the ongoing Camp David summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, he said Jerusalem had proven to be the most difficult issue on the table because the Israeli position remained inconsistent with Security Council resolution 242. Jerusalem must be the capital of the Palestinian State.

Committee Chairman Ibra Deguène Ka (Senegal), briefing members on his attendance at recent intergovernmental meetings, said that the Organization of the Islamic Conference Council of Ministers in Malaysia last month had asked the international community to support full Palestinian membership of the United Nations. It had also decided to support the establishment of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as the capital.

He said that heads of State and government participating in the Havana South Summit had decided that a final settlement should be achieved by September 2000, failing which a Palestinian State would be declared. At the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Lomé, Togo, the Council of Ministers had also stressed the need to reach a final agreement by September 2000.

Also this morning, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba), Committee Vice-Chairman, reported on his attendance at the International Conference on Palestine Refugees at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris from 26 to 28 April.

The representative of China also spoke this morning.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People met this morning to discuss the developments in the Middle East peace process and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. The Committee also heard reports from its Chairman on his attendance at the meetings and conferences of intergovernmental organizations, among others, and from the Vice-Chairman on the International Conference on Palestine Refugees held at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris during April.

The Committee also had before it a report of the United Nations Seminar on Prospects for Palestinian Economic Development and the Middle East Peace Process, held in Cairo on 20 and 21 June, transmitted through a letter from the Committee Chairman (document A/55/144-E/2000/87). The report outlines the details of the organization of the Seminar and gives a summary of the panel deliberations on Palestinian institution-building and economic performance during the interim period: achievements, shortcomings and future tasks; Palestinian development objectives and strategies; Israeli-Palestinian economic relations during the interim period and their future prospects; and the impact of non-economic issues on sustained Palestinian economic and social development.

The report notes that participants concluded that partnership between Israelis and Palestinians in the peace process had to be accompanied by partnership in economic development, and that sustained Palestinian economic and social development was, to a large extent, influenced by non-economic issues.

Chairman's Report

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, reported on his attendance at meetings and conferences of intergovernmental organizations between April and July 2000.

The question of Palestine had been highlighted during a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement at Cartagena, Colombia, in April, he said. Participants had supported the recovery of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and called upon Israel to leave occupied Palestinian territory and to comply with its commitments.

He said that in their declaration at the April South Summit in Havana, Cuba, participating heads of State and government had decided that peace and an end to Israeli occupation were necessary conditions for the development of the Middle East region. They had also decided that a final settlement should be achieved by September 2000, failing which a Palestinian State would be declared.

At the Organization of the Islamic Conference Council of Ministers meeting held in Malaysia last month, he continued, the question of Palestine, Israeli occupation and the progress of the Middle East peace process had been on the agenda. The Ministers had adopted resolutions by consensus on all those questions. It had also been decided to support the establishment of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as the capital. In its final communiqué, the Council of Ministers had asked the international community to support full Palestinian membership of the United Nations. He said he had taken part in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Lomé, Togo, from 4 to 12 July. The Council of Ministers had considered the Middle East and Palestine questions as a single agenda item in its general debate. On Palestine, the Council of Ministers had expressed concern at obstacles in the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum, but had nevertheless congratulated the Palestinians on steps taken in the quest for peace. It had also stressed the need to reach a final agreement by September 2000.

On the Middle East, the Ministers had stressed the central nature of the Palestine question in the Israeli-Arab conflict, he said. They had recalled the United Nations resolutions on that question, particularly those of the Security Council. They had demanded the withdrawal of Israel from all Palestinian territories and from the Golan.

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian Authority, had participated in the Lomé Summit and had taken the floor before all participating African heads of State and government.

BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba), Committee Vice-Chairman, reporting on the International Conference on Palestine Refugees and the United Nations non- governmental organization (NGO) meeting on Palestine refugees, said it was attended by 58 governments, four United Nations agencies, three intergovernmental organizations, and a number of NGOs. Conference organizers referred to the bleak situation of Palestine refugees and requested urgent intervention from the international community. Against the background of the current Israeli- Palestinian negotiations on permanent status issues, it was emphasized that a just solution to the issue of the refugees and a lasting peace in the Middle East could not be achieved before a solution was found for their problem.

Participation at the Conference demonstrated strong international support for a solution to the problem of Palestine refugees based on key United Nations resolutions, he continued. It was reaffirmed that the Organization had a permanent responsibility for all aspects of the question of Palestine, including the problem of Palestine refugees, until it was resolved in conformity with United Nations resolutions. The inalienable right of the Palestinian people to return to their land and property was also reaffirmed, and the issue of refugee compensation as an integral element of, but not a substitute for, their right to return was considered.

He stated that cooperation by both the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States strengthened the relationship between those organizations and the Committee. Also, the Conference was followed by a United Nations NGO meeting which took account of the specific contribution by numerous civil society organizations in alleviating the plight of Palestine refugees, and in the search for a solution to their problem. At that meeting, the role that NGOs could play in relief operations, advocacy and shaping public opinion was emphasized.

The Committee then took note of the Vice-Chairman’s report.

Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, then reported on his attendance at the United Nations International Meeting in Support of the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Establishment of Peace in the Middle East, held in Athens on 23 and 24 May. He said participants had adopted a Final Statement urging the parties to do everything in their power to preserve and solidify the accomplishments of the peace process and to make an effort to achieve a final settlement by September 2000. The agreement on final status issues -– Palestine refugees, the status of Jerusalem, settlements, borders and fair sharing of water resources -– should be based on the norms of international justice.

Moreover, he said, the participants had reiterated the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with respect to all aspects of the Palestine question until a satisfactory settlement was reached, based on relevant United Nations resolutions and international legitimacy, and until the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people were fully realized.

He said a two-day Seminar on Prospects for Palestinian Economic Development and the Middle East Peace Process had been held in Cairo on 20 and 21 June. It had provided a framework for broader discussion of the prospects for Palestinian economic development, bringing together Palestinian, Israeli and international experts. It had started with an assessment of Palestinian institution-building and economic performance during the interim period. On that basis, participants had discussed objectives and strategies for institution-building efforts, reform measures and reconstruction programmes.

As the Israeli and Palestinian economies had become closely intertwined over time, a separate panel had discussed Israeli-Palestinian economic relations and their impact on peace-building in the region, he said. A fourth panel had considered the impact of non-economic issues, such as Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, Palestine refugees, and access to natural resources, especially water, on the economic and social development of the Palestinian people.

He said the Seminar had been attended by representatives of 82 governments, Palestine, five intergovernmental organizations, 17 United Nations bodies, programmes and agencies, as well as 32 NGOs. Presentations had been made by 19 experts, including Palestinians and Israelis.

The Chairman reported that he had briefed the participants on international efforts to promote the Palestinian Authority’s Bethlehem 2000 Project.

He said the reports of the Athens and Cairo events would be issued as a publication of the Division of Palestinian Rights. The report on the Cairo seminar would be circulated as a document of the fifty-fifth General Assembly.

Noting that the recent Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon had become an important step in the search for Middle East peace, the Chairman said critical negotiations were continuing between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. The current summit at Camp David, under the auspices of United States President Bill Clinton, had brought together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Arafat.

He then asked the Observer for Palestine to brief the Committee on developments in the Middle East peace process and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.

NASSER AL-KIDWA, Observer for Palestine, stated that the three aforementioned events had been useful in raising awareness of the importance of issues relating to the Palestine problem, and had stressed the relevance of the United Nations in endorsing the legitimacy of the problem. The Palestine Central Council, the highest decision-making body in the absence of the Palestine National Council, had met earlier this month in Gaza City and affirmed its determination to actualize the declaration of independence -– with the establishment of Palestine as an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital — adopted by the Palestine National Council in 1988. Furthermore, the Council indicated that that step was being taken on the basis of the natural and historical rights of the Palestinian people.

Recalling that the transitional period had ended in May 1999, he said that at that time, an international consensus had emerged calling for a one-year extension, thought to be sufficient for the conclusion of a final agreement between the Palestine and Israeli sides. The two sides had subsequently agreed that the final settlement should be concluded by 13 September 2000. Referring to the ongoing Camp David meeting, he maintained that it had been about to end on 19 July without agreement, because the Israeli side was insisting on positions which were inconsistent with Security Council resolution 242. Moreover, the Palestine side had agreed to remain at the negotiations because it had been prepared to ensure the success of the summit.

He noted that the Secretary-General had been updated on the situation through telephone calls from a senior government official and from Chairman Arafat himself, and pointed out that during the Camp David deliberations, Jerusalem proved to be the most difficult issue on the table because the Israeli position on the matter remained inconsistent with resolution 242. Jerusalem must be the capital city of the Palestinian State, he emphasized.

Furthermore, he stressed that it was now Palestine’s right to become a full Member of the United Nations. He hoped that the Millennium Summit would herald a new beginning for the Middle East through the participation of Palestine at that meeting as a full Member. The upcoming weeks would witness its attempt to join the Organization, and he was confident of the overwhelming support of the international community. Also, the United Nations had a permanent responsibility to Palestine until the agreement, which would soon be met, was effectively implemented and all aspects of the problem of Palestine solved. While the Organization would certainly remain fully engaged in the process, Palestine was ready to commit itself to the upcoming crucial period, which would witness a number of uncertain changes.

Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, said the summit results were keenly awaited and expressed the hope that the parties concerned would seize the opportunity presented by the talks.

CAO QING (China), speaking under other matters, expressed indignation over a serious error by the Secretariat in sending documentation to his country’s Permanent Mission. Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, said he was not familiar with the error to which he was referring. He would ask the Secretariat to ensure it was corrected.

Mr. AL-KIDWA, Observer for Palestine, proposed that the Division for Palestinian Rights submit a report on the work done in bringing documentation up to date.

Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, said he would ask the Secretariat and the Bureau to see what could be done.

Mr. CAO (China) asked when he would receive a formal reply.

Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, replied that it remained to be determined whether an error had in fact been made. If that was the case, the Secretariat would be asked to ensure it did not recur.

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