Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination – GA Third Cttee approves draft resolution – Press release (excerpts)

ASSEMBLY WOULD REAFFIRM RIGHT OF PALESTINIAN PEOPLE TO SELF-DETERMINATION,

WITHOUT EXCLUDING OPTION OF STATE, BY THIRD COMMITTEE TEXT

Committee Takes Action on Five Texts, Hears Introduction of 11 Drafts

The General Assembly would reaffirm the  right of the Palestinian people to self- determination,  without excluding the option  of a state, under the provisions of one of  five draft resolutions approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon.

By a recorded vote of 146 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with 7 abstentions (Fiji, Georgia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Marshall  Islands, Micronesia  and Uruguay), the Assembly would express its hope that  the Palestinian people  would soon  be exercising their  right to self-determination  in the current peace process, and urge  all States and organizations to continue to support and assist the  Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination.  (For details of the vote, see Annex I.)

Speaking  in explanation of vote, the representative of Israel said the resolution was an outdated relic that ignored the positive developments on the ground  between Israel  and the Palestinians, and threatened the  very progress it claimed to support.

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  Drafts for Action

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A draft resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination  (document A/C.3/53/L.26) would have the Assembly express deep concern over the difficulties facing  the Middle  East peace process.  The  Assembly would also reaffirm the right of the Palestinian  people to self-determination and would express the hope  that the Palestinian people would soon be exercising that right.  The Assembly would  also urge  all States and all parts of the United Nations system to continue supporting and assisting the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination.

The draft is sponsored by  Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liechtenstein,  Luxembourg, Madagascar,  Malaysia, Mauritania, Monaco,  Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal,  Qatar,  San  Marino, Saudi Arabia, South  Africa, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Togo,  Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic  of Tanzania, Viet Nam and Yemen.

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  Introduction of Drafts

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The  Committee took up the draft resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination (document A/C.3/53/L.26).

As the main sponsor of the draft resolution,  the representative of Egypt said  the  following countries had joined as co-sponsors:  Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Hungary, Guinea- Bissau, Malta, Niger and Mozambique.

Speaking before action, the representative of  the United States said  his Government opposed that resolution because, like  many others before it, the text again  injected the United Nations into the Middle East peace process, and referred  to  a  final  status issue  that was the subject of direct negotiations among the parties to the conflict.

The United States also opposed the draft because it  singled out  one group of people for self-determination, even though the Committee last week had adopted a separate resolution on the subject of universal realization of  the  right  of peoples  to  self-determination, he said.  There were numerous other groups of people throughout the  world that regarded themselves as being under foreign occupation.  Yet, no resolution singled them out for special treatment.  The adoption of that politicized resolution would  not contribute to a  reinvigoration of the peace process.  His Government believed it could have the opposite effect and for that reason would vote against it.

The representative of Israel said his Government's vote  against  the resolution was  precisely to preserve the  progress made in that direction.  At  best, the resolution  was  an outdated  relic, ignoring the  positive developments on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians.  At worst, it threatened the very progress it claimed to support.

The issue belonged at the negotiating  table, he said.  Direct negotiations had  been  the key to every diplomatic breakthrough  in the Middle East, from the Camp David  Accords with Egypt to the Treaty of Peace with Jordan.  Those pacts ended decades of hostility and bloodshed,  and brought  prosperity to their peoples.  But because the parties had worked together, not unilaterally.  Thus, it was only direct talks between Israel and the  Palestinians that  paved the  way for the Madrid Conference, and later, for the Oslo Agreements.  It was  only through hours of face  to face negotiations  that the historic  Wye Memorandum  had been  hammered out last month, setting the conditions for continuing the peace process.

If the resolution was adopted, the Third Committee would be participating  in  a   process that completely undermined the Israeli-Palestinian commitments, he said.  In both the Oslo and Hebron Accords, as well  as in  the Wye  Memorandum,  the two  sides had expressly committed themselves to direct negotiations — as the only legitimate way to determine their final settlement.

Moreover, the Wye Memorandum specifically  stated that neither side would initiate or  take any step to change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  That language, concerning any change in the legal status  of the disputed territory, was directly  taken  from the Oslo II Interim Agreement.  Thus, advancing that resolution, here or in any other  forum, constituted a direct violation of Oslo and the Wye  Memorandum, and the cooperative spirit behind them.

Further, he said, the draft resolution was irrelevant because 98 per cent of the Palestinians in the territories today were under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian   Authority.  They  elected their own officials and were administered by Palestinian police  and had all the freedom of  individual and communal expression that their leaders  allowed.  Thus, it was somewhat disingenuous that the Third Committee should now call for self-determination that, to all intents and purposes, the Palestinians already had.

The  draft on the  right of  the Palestinian  people to self-determination (document A/C.3/53/L.26) was  approved by a recorded  vote of 146 in  favour to  2 against (Israel,  United States), with 7 abstentions (Fiji, Georgia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Marshall Islands,  Micronesia and  Uruguay).  (See Annex I.)

Speaking in explanation of the vote  after the vote, the  representative of Syria said his  delegation welcomed the  approval of the resolution by  a majority  of States.  That marked the resolve of the international community to work towards the end of the  suffering of the Palestinian  people.  The negotiations  that had  begun with  the Madrid  Conference should lead to a just solution.  On the land-for-peace negotiations, Israel was  responsible for the obstacles in the peace process, as it would not withdraw from occupied  areas, nor would it implement the agreements and commitments it had entered into.

The  representative  of the  Russian Federation  said  his delegation  had voted for  the resolution as a sponsor of the Middle East peace process, and called for the establishment of an  independent Palestinian State, which was the only way to bring about  the  inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and to ensure the legitimate right of Israel to exist in security.

The representative of Austria, speaking on  behalf of the European  Union, said she  warmly welcomed the signing of the Wye River Memorandum in October.  That breakthrough  had opened the door to the early resumption of the negotiations on permanent status as foreseen  in the Oslo  Accords, as well as to the implementation of  outstanding commitments under the Interim Agreement.  The European Union called on the parties to complete negotiations  as soon as possible on those  remaining  issues under  the Interim Agreement still not settled, to start negotiations without delay on final  status, and meanwhile to avoid  all  unilateral acts which could prejudice the final outcome, thus building confidence which was essential for a lasting peace in the region.  The Union had therefore co-sponsored  the draft.

The Permanent Observer for Palestine said  the adoption of that resolution was an important development.  The General Assembly had previously adopted resolutions supporting the  rights  of the  Palestinian  people,  including their right  to establish their State.   Nevertheless,  the resolution  was important because it was linked with the principle of  self-determination and the absolute right of the Palestinian  people  to  exercise  that principle.

Second, it was significant because of the intense and broad  support it had received, both in terms of sponsorship and positive votes, he said.  The overwhelming vote in  favour of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, without excluding the option of a  State, represented a very important  step towards  achievement of the main national goal of the Palestinian people — the establishment of their own independent State.  It was unfortunate  that the  United States  once  again chose  to oppose  this resolution.

The  real problem  remained the  Israeli position in  that regard and its claim  about  that resolution in the context of the Middle East peace process, he said.  By  opposing the  right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, Israel was violating the crux of the agreements, namely the  mutual  recognition between the two sides.  Israeli policies  were seriously threatening the foundations of the peace process.  If Israel believed that process  was the  vehicle  for continued  occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people, they were seriously mistaken.  The peace process was the  vehicle for the  achievement of a real peace  and co-existence based on parity and respect for the right to self-determination.

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ANNEX I

Vote on Right of Palestinian People to Self-Determination

The draft resolution on the right  of the Palestinian people to self-determination (document A/C.3/53/L.26)  was approved by a recorded  vote of 146 in favour to 2 against, with 7 abstentions, as follows:

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