The Question of Jerusalem in 2025: Confronting Systemic Displacement and Asserting International Responsibility – UN Palestinian Rights Committee Chair Remarks at the UN-OIC Conference

2025 UN-OIC Conference on the Question of Jerusalem

“Palestinian Oppression and Displacement in Jerusalem in the Shadow of the War: A microcosm of the situation throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory”

REMARKS BY

Ambassador Coly Seck

Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Dakar, 9 July 2025

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Committee on the Rights of the Palestinian People, I warmly welcome Her Excellency Ms. Yassine Fall, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal, to the 2025 Jerusalem Conference. We are grateful to the Government and people of Senegal for hosting this timely Jerusalem Conference. Our sincere thanks also go to Mr. Simão, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for delivering the statement of the United Nations.

We gather today to focus on occupied East Jerusalem, a city sacred to three major world religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and a core symbol of Palestinian identity. Its fate resonates far beyond its boundaries, shaping perceptions and realities throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the broader region. It lies at the heart of the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Since its occupation in 1967, and later annexation, East Jerusalem has endured systemic attempts to alter its demographic and cultural character. The city of East Jerusalem epitomizes the original example of Israel pushing its settler agenda, through the expulsion of entire Palestinian families from their homes and installing Jewish-Israeli settlers in their place. This approach is now replicated in the occupied West Bank and openly contemplated for Gaza.

Developments in this city reflect the plight of the Palestinian People who have been suffering from an ongoing catastrophe, a “Nakba” in Arabic, for decades.

The General Assembly mandated our Committee to highlight the centrality of the city of Jerusalem to the ongoing efforts for the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinians and their quest for independence. In this regard, East Jerusalem reflects in particular the broader realities of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where Palestinians endure the consequences of ongoing violations under an illegal occupation that affects every aspect of the daily life of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

While the world’s gaze is fixed on Gaza conflict and humanitarian crisis, Israel has accelerated its de facto annexation of the West Bank. In 2025 alone, over 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced, amid escalating settlement expansion, settler violence, and land seizures at an alarming rate. In the north, displacement from refugee camps has reached levels not seen since 1967. Since the beginning of 2025, over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcefully displaced amid illegal settlement expansion and systemic land seizures. As the UNRWA Commissioner-General recently affirmed, this silent annexation constitutes a blatant violation of international law.

We urge Israel to halt and reverse these illegal actions and uphold its obligations under international law.

In Gaza, the humanitarian emergency is unbearable. Civilians are facing starvation, homes and schools are flattened, vital aid is obstructed, and hope is vanishing. Attacks on humanitarian personnel and infrastructure, including hospitals and UNRWA facilities, are tragic and are crimes against humanity. Humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations and its partners, are ready and equipped to deliver aid efficiently to the people of Gaza. Still, they are prevented by Israeli authorities from addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

UNRWA, in particular, continues to be targeted all over the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Nearly 320 of its staff have been killed in Gaza. The targeted campaign against the Agency is a direct assault on the rights of Palestinians, including the right of return for millions of Palestine Refugees.  The forced closure of UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem signals an ominous trend, threatening the future of 84 schools across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are under the threat of demolition orders.

As members of the international community, we have a collective duty to protect the Palestinian people, uphold their rights, and ensure international law prevails. We must reclaim the discourse or narrative on East Jerusalem from Israeli extremists and support the Palestinian residents facing institutional neglect and separation from the rest of the West Bank.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The General Assembly, through resolution ES-10/24, has called for an end to Israel’s illegal occupation. With less than three months remaining to act, we urge Israel to reverse its unlawful policies, measures and actions that entrench its control, occupation and threat to permanently annex the territory, including East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. This must stop immediately.

To this end, today’s Jerusalem Conference is an opportunity not only to assess the realities in East Jerusalem but also to mobilize tangible action for the city’s resilient development. Africa, in particular, has a profound role to play in advancing justice and solidarity, as evidenced by legal proceedings brought before the ICJ by South Africa and other countries, and the emergence of the Hague Group, a global bloc of states committed to “coordinated legal and diplomatic measures” in defense of international law and solidarity with the people of Palestine.

We commend France and Saudi Arabia for their efforts to reschedule the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The relevance of this gathering is further underscored by its alignment with these efforts. It is therefore essential to maintain momentum and ensure the international community remains focused and united.

The time for symbolic gestures has passed. The process of annexation and dispossession is accelerating. We must respond with meaningful, coordinated actions. The two-State Solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent State of Palestine, is not an aspiration. It is an imperative. Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem cannot wait.

Thank you.