UN Palestinian Rights Committee Holds Second 2025 Consultations with Civil Society in Santiago, Chile

Press Release

Representatives of Latin American Governments and Civil Society Called on the International Community to Ensure the Ceasefire and Gaza’s Comprehensive Recovery, along with the Implementation of a Two-State Solution, to Guarantee Peace and Security in the Middle East 

Today marked the inauguration of the second consultations in 2025 between the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and civil society organizations, held at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

12 November 2025, Santiago –  Government authorities and representatives of civil society organizations and the Palestinian diaspora in Latin America reaffirmed today their commitment to and solidarity with the Palestinian people, and called on the international community to ensure the ceasefire and the comprehensive recovery of Gaza, urging for an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory and for resolute progress to be made on implementing the two-State solution as the surest path towards peace and security in the Middle East. 

This Wednesday, November 12, the 2nd 2025 Civil Society Consultations organized by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) were inaugurated at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile. 

The Committee was created in 1975 by the General Assembly with the aim of promoting a just and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and putting an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967; bringing about a two-State solution, meaning two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders; and supporting the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, the right to sovereignty and the right to return. 

Speaking at the opening session of this event in Santiago were Alberto van Klaveren, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile; Vera Baboun, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Chile; José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, representing the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres; and 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. Participating in the meeting’s two plenary sessions are civil society representatives and experts from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. 

“It is the duty of the international community, and of our societies, to support the recovery and healing in Gaza and pave a way that would enable the two peoples to live in peace and with equal rights. In that effort, civil society and the Palestinian community are vital allies, and the Committee that joins us today is a key partner for keeping this issue on the agenda and translating international law into effective protection,” the Foreign Minister of Chile, Alberto van Klaveren, stated. 

The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Chile, Vera Baboun, thanked civil society organizations and the Palestinian communities in Chile and across Latin America for their work: “Their presence here is not symbolic – it is indispensable. In this gathering, their role is pivotal. Civil society provides the accountability that sustains international law – monitoring human rights violations, supporting victims, and mobilizing global advocacy to demand justice and an end to the occupation.” 

Baboun also emphasized that “the State of Palestine reaffirms the need to sustain the international momentum that accompanied the recognition of the State of Palestine, and the adoption of the New York Declaration. This path remains essential for implementing the two-State solution, at the center of which lies the independence of the State of Palestine, encompassing both Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.” 

Delivering the remarks of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, stressed that “we now have a glimpse of hope with the ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages, and the scaling-up of humanitarian aid.” 

“We urgently need to restart a credible political process that can deliver two independent, sovereign and democratic States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within their secure and recognized borders on the basis of pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States – in line with international law, UN resolutions and other relevant agreements,” he stated. 

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs affirmed that “the United Nations will continue to do everything possible to support a peaceful resolution of the question of Palestine including through the efforts of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. We appreciate the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and its important mandate, including outreach to our civil society partners in efforts towards realizing Palestinian self-determination and return, and to achieving the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.” 

Ambassador Coly Seck, in his capacity as Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said that “as a comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza is to be discussed at the Security Council, we reiterate our call for an immediate, safe, unconditional and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance through all crossings and throughout Gaza and the opening of all border crossings by Israel for the resumption of power supplies, entry of fuel, medical supplies, food and water. Gaza is an integral part of a Palestinian State.” 

“The world is watching Gaza and the whole of Palestine. States must step up to their responsibilities. There are obligations each one of us must uphold,” he emphasized. 

Participating in the meeting’s first plenary session, providing an overview of the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and of the international community’s obligations, were Maurice Khamis, President of the Palestinian Community of Chile; Xavier Abu Eid, former communication advisor to the PLO, Ramallah, Palestine; Arlene Clemesha, Professor and Director of the Centre for Palestine Studies, São Paulo, Brazil; Heidi Abushaibe, human rights and transitional justice lawyer, Colombia; and Sami Aliss Saba, Executive Director of the Arab Community in Bolivia. 

In the second plenary session, dedicated to the implementation of international recommendations, the speakers included Víctor de Currea-Lugo, Advisor to Colombia’s President on Palestine; Germán Romano, BDS Latin America Coordinator, Mexico; Ualid Rabah, President of FEPAL (Arab Palestinian Federation of Brazil); Diana Cahuas, Representative of the Palestinian Community in Peru; and Marcela Sabat, former Senator of Chile. 

Participants highlighted the importance of civil society as a force to move governments, for example to end the war in Gaza, expand the diplomatic recognition of the State of Palestine and insist on moving a political process forward. There could be no peace without justice and accountability for those who have committed crimes, including crimes against humanity, they said. The Palestinian people deserved freedom, not alms. International law provided a common framework to address this, and other, conflicts. If it were abandoned, the international system would break down and be replaced by that where raw power and self-interest reigned supreme. 

The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is made up of 25 members: Afghanistan, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Türkiye and Venezuela. In addition, 24 observers participate in the Committee’s work.