CEIRPP opens 2000 session – Press release

Committee on Exercise of Inalienable Rights of Palestinian

People Opens 2000 Session

Secretary-General Addresses Committee;

1999 Bureau Re-elected; Programme of Work Approved

"At the  outset of the  millennium, we  are witnessing  a restoration  and renewal of hope in the peace process in the Middle East",  Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the  Committee on the Exercise  of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People this afternoon.

Speaking at  the opening of the  Committee's 2000  session, the Secretary-General noted that not only were the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations  back on track,  but they  were about to enter a crucial phase.  However,  the situation  on the  ground  was not  without problems,  and the  expansion of settlements and roads had caused much anxiety among the Palestinians.

Calling  on the parties to  refrain from actions that  might prejudice the outcome of the negotiations  and to build on the fragile accomplishments  of the peace process, he said it was crucial to ensure  that the United Nations support for the process was well-prepared.

Ibra Deguene Ka (Senegal), Committee Chairman, also  expressed hope for the  Middle East peace process.  He said that as the 13 February date of the signing  of the  framework agreement on the final status  approached, the mandate of the  Committee remained constant — more timely and relevant than ever.

The observer for Palestine said that  the year 2000 must be the year of an independent Palestine.  A  natural deadline for achieving the final settlement would  be the United Nations Millennium  Summit, in which — he was sure — Palestine would participate as a United Nations Member  State. That  should symbolize  the end of  the conflict  in the Middle East.  The Committee would provide all the support needed to attain that noble goal.

Also this afternoon, the Committee unanimously re-elected Mr. Ka (Senegal) as  its  Chairman.  Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba)  and  Ravan Farhadi (Afghanistan) were elected Vice-Chairmen, and Walter Balzan (Malta) was elected Rapporteur of the Committee.   Statements on the elections  were made by the representatives of Ukraine and Tunisia.

Also this  afternoon, the Committee approved its programme of work for the year 2000,  which was introduced by its Chairman.  It also approved the provisional programme of  work of the United Nations Asian Meeting on  the Question  of Palestine, which  is to be held  in Hanoi, Viet Nam, on 1 to 3 March this year.

The Committee will hold its next meeting at a date to be announced.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People  met this afternoon to open its 2000 session.  The Committee was expected to adopt its  programme of work and elect its officers.

Election of Officers

VOLODYMYR YEL'CHENKO (Ukraine) said that the Committee's 1999 programme of  work had been implemented successfully.  His delegation believed that the current composition of the  Bureau should be maintained to ensure the same high level of work in 2000.   The continuity  of the  efforts of the Committee should be ensured.  For that reason, he  nominated Ibra Deguene Ka (Senegal) as Chairman; Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) and Ravan Farhadi (Afghanistan) as Vice-Chairmen; and Walter Balzan (Malta) as Rapporteur.

ALI HACHANI (Tunisia) supported the proposal by the representative of Ukraine to re-elect the 1999 Bureau.

The Committee then unanimously re-elected Mr. Ka (Senegal) as Chairman of the Committee.  Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba)  and Mr. Farhadi (Afghanistan) were elected Vice-Chairmen and Mr. Balzan (Malta) was elected Rapporteur.

Statements

KOFI ANNAN,  United Nations Secretary-General,  said the General  Assembly had marked this year — the 2000th anniversary of Jesus Christ, a momentous event for the world and  of particular significance  in the  Middle East — with the adoption  of the  "Bethlehem 2000" resolution.   The Committee  had helped promote restoration  and renewal  of Bethlehem and other  Palestinian cities and communities.

He said several  encouraging developments had followed the recent  signing of the  Sharm el-Sheikh  Memorandum, including the further redeployment of troops from  the West  Bank; the  agreement on  prisoners; the opening  of a safe passage between the West Bank and the  Gaza Strip; and the  resumption of the negotiations on permanent status issues.   He said that the  November trilateral  Summit  in  Oslo  had  helped  the parties set up  additional negotiating mechanisms, a  timetable for the  framework and final settlement

agreements that would be concluded this year.

The situation on the ground, however, was not without problems, he said.  There was  much anxiety  among  Palestinians  that  the  construction  and expansion  of  settlements  and roads might impact the permanent status negotiations.  The Secretary-General called on  the parties to refrain  from actions that might prejudice  the outcome of  the negotiations and to  build instead on the fragile accomplishments of the peace process.  "I would also urge  the parties not to lose sight of the  need for  a  solution  to the refugee question,  without which peace and  stability cannot  take hold", he added.

There could  be no real  peace and  stability without improved  social and economic conditions, he said.  While there had been some progress in health, education, employment opportunities, industrial development and Palestinian institution-building, much remained to be done.  To that end, the United Nations would continue to contribute to those efforts through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for  Palestine Refugees in the  Near East (UNRWA), as well as other entities.

He stressed the role  UNRWA  had  played  in  providing  much  needed assistance to  Palestinian refugees over the last half-century.  "Despite chronic financial constraints",  he said,  "it  remains  a vital  source of humanitarian  assistance for more than 3  million refugees".   He sincerely hoped that UNRWA would get the resources it needed to continue its mission.  For their  basic needs, he  said, "constitute a  humanitarian  imperative beyond other considerations".

At this stage, it was crucial to ensure that the United Nations support for the  peace process was  well-prepared and that the Organization's development  assistance played an effective part in that  support.  That was why the Secretary-General was  glad to  have appointed  Terje Roed-Larsen of Norway as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and as his Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and  the Palestinian Authority.  Mr. Roed-Larsen had  been closely  involved in  the peace process since  the early stages of the Oslo negotiations, and in  the critical transition period ahead, Mr. Roed-Larsen would "spare no effort  in making  the  assistance  of  the  United  Nations more effective  and more focused".

In  closing, he  said that for a  quarter of a century,  the Committee had worked  steadfastly to bring the day closer when  Palestinians would be able to exercise their inalienable rights.  "As we enter the new millennium, it is my hope that the parties will overcome the remaining hurdles on the road to  peace and that the international community will  do all  it can to help them on  that journey", he  said.  He pledged that the United Nations would spare no effort in that regard.

IBRA DEGUENE  KA (Senegal), Chairman  of the  Committee, congratulated the Bureau on their election and said that the Secretary-General's presence at today's meeting underlined the importance attached to the Committee's work.

He said that since its creation in 1975, the Committee had been very dynamic.  Its membership had constantly grown over the years:  it now consisted of 25 Member States and 24 Observers.  Its contacts with regional and international  organizations  were  growing  stronger.  However, the mandate of the Committee remained constant — more timely and relevant than ever.

Lately, signs of hope for the Middle East peace process had emerged, with the 13  February  date of  the  signing  of  the  framework  on the  status agreements approaching.    The road to peace was difficult, and it was necessary to reinforce the momentum created by the signing of the Sharm  el-Sheikh Memorandum last September.  It was also  necessary to make sure that the commitments undertaken by the parties were implemented.  Settlement of the outstanding issues was crucial.  Among the remaining problems were the questions of refugees; future boundaries of  the Palestinian State; and  the building of settlements.

The involvement  of the United Nations  must not impede the negotiations, but help them, he said.  The Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the  Palestinian People  was a  subsidiary  body of  the General Assembly.   It  would  continue  to study the issues and recommend well-structured  programmes to promote  the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

MARWAN JILANI,  observer for Palestine, said that his delegation and the Palestinian people  highly appreciated  the work of the Committee and its Bureau in the implementation  of the rights of  Palestinians as a basis for the  achievement of a  just, lasting and  comprehensive peace  in the Middle East.

The  year  2000  must  be  the  year  of  an  independent  Palestine,  he continued. Last year, at the end of the  transitional period set out in  the Oslo  agreement,  a  firm  international consensus had emerged that an extension of one year should be sufficient for the parties to conclude a final settlement.  That was clearly indicated in United States President William Clinton's letter to Yasser Arafat, in the European Union Berlin statement, the Group of 8 Cologne statement and finally in the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum.

An additional and natural deadline  for achieving that  final settlement would be the  United Nations Millennium Summit, he said.  He was confident that Palestine would  participate in that event as a Member State of the United  Nations.  That should symbolize  the end of conflict in the Middle East.  He was confident that the Committee would provide all the  support needed to attain that noble goal.

Mr. KA (Senegal), Committee Chairman, noted that he had taken part in  and made brief remarks  at the World Peace Globe Lighting Ceremony, organized at the Church Center of  the United Nations by the United Methodist Office of the United Nations, the Project Coordinator for Bethlehem 2000 of the Anglican Communion and the World Peace  Globe creator, artist Rebecca  Nova.  At that ceremony, he had made some observations on the  initiatives undertaken by the Committee concerning Bethlehem 2000.

From 12 to 15 December, he had been invited by the Arab League Educational, Cultural  and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) to participate in the International Conference  on Jerusalem.  That Conference had been attended by a large number of personalities, including representatives of various religious denominations, as  well as international experts on the issue of Palestine and the question of Jerusalem.

He said  that since the peace  process was now entering a critical  phase and was moving towards final status negotiations, the question of Jerusalem should  be  given  special consideration.   It was timely that ALESCO had organized this conference.

He  said that the  future of the Holy City of Jerusalem remained at the heart of the  Arab-Israeli conflict and of  the struggle of the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights to Jerusalem.  The solution of the problem of Jerusalem was one of the keys to overall peace in the Middle East.

Introducing the  Committee's programme of work for 2000, he  said that the programme reflected the ongoing concerns and objectives of the Committee.  It contained  a summary of the  relevant resolutions of the General Assembly adopted at the fifty-fourth session.  In its future work, the Committee would continue to strive for maximum effectiveness to respond adequately to the evolving situation on  the ground.  It intended to continue to support the Middle East peace process, and its activities would emphasize issues  of relevance to the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

As indicated in the programme, further adjustments were needed in order to enhance the responsiveness of the Committee, he continued.  It was necessary to support the   Bethlehem 2000 Project of the Palestinian Authority and to strengthen cooperation and  coordination between the Department of Public Information and the Division for Palestinian Rights.

He said that the proposed activities  of the  Committee and the  Division for  Palestinian Rights included expanded contacts with  the Palestinian Authority and  other institutions, including non-governmental organizations, in the areas under its  jurisdiction and the rest of the occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.  The Committee would consider inviting Palestinian officials and other personalities to meetings  of the Committee.  It would also continue to keep under review the situation relating to  the question  of Palestine  and  draw  the  attention  of  the international community to urgent developments on the ground.

In 2000, the Committee would continue to emphasize thematic events, encouraging participation by  additional  countries and  organizations, he said.  The first meeting to be held this year would be the United Nations Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine in March.  Other planned events included the International Conference on Palestine Refugees in  April; the meeting in support of the peace process  in May; and a seminar on assistance to the Palestinian people in Cairo in June.

The programme of work also contained information on the cooperation  with civil society and public information issues, he said.  It emphasized the importance the Committee attached to the  role and contribution of national and supranational parliaments and inter- parliamentary bodies in shaping public opinion and formulating policy guidelines.  Work  towards the completion of the development of the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine would continue.

Steps should  be taken towards completing work on the project of modernizing records  of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, he continued.  Other  activities would include preparation of publications, studies and other information  material and the training programme for the staff of the Palestinian Authority.  The  Committee recommended that the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People be observed on 29 November 2000, and that the usual programme of activities be envisaged, including a Palestinian cultural exhibit.

The Committee then approved its programme of work for the year 2000.

United Nations Asian Meeting on Question of Palestine

The  CHAIRMAN then informed  the Committee  that the  United Nations Asian Meeting on  the Question of Palestine would  take place in Hanoi from 1 to 3 March. He expressed gratitude to the Government of  Viet Nam for agreeing to host  the  meeting  and  assisting  in its preparation.  The provisional programme for the meeting had been distributed by the Secretariat.

The Committee then approved the meeting's provisional programme of work.

* *** *