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Statement by H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, Delivered Before the United Nations General Assembly, 73rd Session on 27 September 2018

30 September 2018 by

Jerusalem is not for sale and the Palestinian people’s rights are not up for bargaining

In the name of God, the most merciful and beneficent

Excellency, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the United Nations General Assembly,

Excellency, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

In these days last year, I came before you appealing for freedom, independence and justice for my oppressed people, who are suffering under Israeli occupation for more than fifty-one years.

I return to you today as this colonial occupation continues to suffocate us and to undermine our serious efforts to build the institutions of our cherished State, which this august General Assembly recognized in the year 2012.

This year the Palestinian National Council, the parliament of the State of Palestine, convened and renewed the legitimacy of our national institutions through the election of a new leadership for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. This Parliament undertook important decisions, which oblige me to review the agreements, political, economic and security alike, that have been reached with the Israeli Government, and to also review the future of the Palestinian National Authority, which has been rendered without authority. [Read more…]

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Statement by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, New York, 24 July 2018

24 July 2018 by

Mr. President,

On behalf of the State of Palestine, I wish to congratulate the Russian Federation on their successful presidency of the Council and express appreciation to Sweden for their able leadership of the Council’s important agenda for this month. We also thank Special Coordinator and Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, for his briefing and efforts.

Mr. President,

During this month, the United States of America and the Republic of France proudly celebrated the anniversaries of their independence. The US declaration of independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The French declaration of human and citizen rights states that all men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

These truths and rights are universal and inalienable and must be recognized for every nation in the world with no exception. [Read more…]

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Statement of Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, 9 July 2018

09 July 2018 by

Mr. President,

I express our appreciation to Sweden for convening this important debate, in line with its principled defense of international law and the protection it avails, especially those most vulnerable, including refugees and migrants, among them children.

I thank the Secretary-General for his report on children and armed conflict, and also thank the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, the Executive Director of UNICEF and the civil society representative for their briefings.

Since the Second World War, the protection of civilians has been considered an utmost priority, with various political commitments made and legal instruments adopted to ensure protection. It is thus difficult to explain the gap that persists more than 70 years later between the clear legal obligations of States as per those instruments and the failure to ensure accountability, which continues to render civilians, including children, extremely vulnerable in situations of armed conflict around the world.

As highlighted by the Secretary-General and the Presidency’s concept note, prevention, protection and accountability are indispensable for saving future generations from the scourge of war. The State of Palestine stresses the need to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, notably the principles of protection, precaution, distinction and proportionality, as well as for human rights and refugee law, as central to the protection of children and all civilians in armed conflict, including those suffering under foreign occupation. We must also underline the importance of international criminal law for holding perpetrators of crimes accountable, providing justice to victims and preventing recurrence of crimes. [Read more…]

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Statement by H.E. Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, United Nations Security Council, The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, Vote on Draft Resolution on Protection of Palestinian Civilians, 1 June 2018

01 June 2018 by

Mr. President,

We congratulate the Russian Federation on its Presidency of the Security Council and express our sincere thanks for your ready response to the request to convene today’s meeting.

We also wish to recognize Poland for its skilled leadership of the Security Council last month, including the meetings held to address the Palestine question and the important debates on international law and the protection of civilians, so relevant to the grave crises we face at this moment. We will never forget their gesture of asking for a moment of silence to honor the innocent Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Mr. President,

We express our deep appreciation to the fraternal country of Kuwait for its tabling of the draft resolution just voted upon by the Security Council and for the Kuwaiti delegation’s tireless efforts to ensure the Council’s serious consideration of our repeated calls for international protection for the Palestinian people. We commend them for the comprehensive and transparent process undertaken to advance this issue, along with other Council members. We regret, however, the extreme mal-intent by one Council member aimed at undermining this process and undermining the Council’s credibility and authority.

We are grateful to all of the countries that voted in favor of the draft resolution, despite the veto cast today by the United States that has regrettably prevented adoption of the draft and despite the tensions and confusion caused. [Read more…]

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Statement by H.E. Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, United Nations Security Council Emergency Meeting on the Palestine Question, 15 May 2018

15 May 2018 by

At the outset, I thank Poland, in its capacity as President of the Security Council, for convening this emergency meeting. We also express gratitude for the sympathy and condolences expressed by all members of the Security Council, including during the minute of silence honoring our martyrs.

We thank Council members for having understood the urgency to address the grave, deteriorating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular in the Gaza Strip, due to the heinous, deliberate crimes committed by Israel against unarmed Palestinian civilians. In addition, we thank the fraternal State of Kuwait for its efforts as the only Arab member of the Security Council. We also thank Mr. Nickolay Mladenov for his briefing.

We are meeting today at a tragic and painful moment for the Palestinian people, with great sorrow and bitterness. We convey our sincerest condolences to the families of the martyrs, may they rest in peace. We wish a speedy recovery to all those who have been wounded as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people, who expressed their resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip on the first evening of the sacred month of Ramadan. We condemn in the strongest terms the odious massacre committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. We call for an immediate halt to the military aggression against our people and for a transparent, independent and internationally led investigation. [Read more…]

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Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, 26 April 2018

26 April 2018 by

Mr. President,

On behalf of the State of Palestine, I congratulate Peru on its Security Council Presidency and skilled leadership of the Council at this critical time.

Today, I must also express sincere condolences to the Council and foremost to the Cote d’Ivoire Mission, Government and people on the passing of our dear colleague, Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoué, may he rest in eternal peace. He was truly a kind, genuine diplomat and will be very missed.

Mr. President,

We thank Special Coordinator Nikolay Mladenov for his briefing. We express appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the Secretary-General and Mr. Mladenov, including recent statements made in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions. While such statements should be considered standard, we are obliged to recognize them in view of the constant harassment and intimidation to which the UN and its representatives are exposed any time they risk taking a public, principled stand on our issue, as opposed to the artificial “balanced” stand that Israel, the occupying Power, bullies States into adopting, despite the absolute lack of symmetry in this abnormal, unjust situation. [Read more…]

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Statement by H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, Delivered Before the United Nations Security Council on 20 February 2018

20 February 2018 by

Excellency Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, President of the Security Council,

Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Excellencies Members of the Security Council,

Seventy years have passed since Palestine’s Nakba, from which 6 million Palestine refugees continue to suffer from the cruelty of exile and loss of human security. They continue to wander the world after the loss of their peaceful and stable lives in their homeland. They are part of the 13 million Palestinians, whose country has not yet been recognized as full Member State of the United Nations, despite the numerous resolutions reaffirming their right to self-determination and statehood on their national land.

We are the descendants of the Canaanites that lived in the land of Palestine 5,000 years ago and continuously remained there to this day. Our great people remain rooted in their land. The Palestinian people built their own cities and homeland and made contributions to humanity and civilization witnessed by the world. They established institutions, schools, hospitals, cultural organizations, theaters, libraries, newspapers, publishing houses, economic organizations, businesses and banks, with wide regional and international influence.

All of this existed before and after the Balfour Declaration issued by the British Government in 1917, a declaration by which those who did not own, giving to those who had no right. The British Government bears responsibility for the catastrophic consequences inflicted on the Palestinian people as a result.

Since then, and although our people remain under occupation, they continued their journey in building and developing their country with the establishment of their National Authority in 1994. Our national institutions are recognized by international organizations for their merit and work, which is based on the rule of law, accountability and transparency, and empowerment of women and youth in an environment of tolerance, coexistence of civilizations and non-discrimination. Moreover, we continue to strive to unite our people and land and to ensure one authority, one law, and one gun, and are determined to convene parliamentary and presidential elections. [Read more…]

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Statement by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, New York, 25 January 2018

25 January 2018 by

Mr. President,

On behalf of the State of Palestine, I congratulate Kazakhstan on assuming the Security Council Presidency and express appreciation for your able leadership of the Council’s important agenda.

We thank United Nations Special Coordinator and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, for his briefing.

Mr. President,

Today, I also extend our warmest congratulations to the new elected members of the Council – Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, The Netherlands, Peru and Poland, wishing them all success in upholding their responsibilities in accordance with the Charter and the Council’s resolutions, as you collectively seek to fulfill the duty to maintain international peace and security. [Read more…]

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Statement of H.E. Riad Malki, Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine, at the tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, Vote on Draft Resolution on the Status of Jerusalem, 21 December 2017

27 December 2017 by

Mr. President of the General Assembly,

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We requested the convening of the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly to further the international consensus expressed by peoples and governments around the world, and by an overwhelming majority of the Security Council in its vote on a draft resolution reaffirming the legal, political and historic status and character of Jerusalem and rejecting all attempts to alter this status and character as null and void.

Let me seize this opportunity to thank the Arab Group and the Member States of the OIC and NAM for their request to convene this emergency session following the veto, which prevented the Security Council from performing its duties in regards to the maintenance of international peace and security despite the support of 14 Council members for the draft resolution tabled by the Arab Republic of Egypt. Under these circumstances, the General Assembly has the competence to undertake this responsibility in accordance with resolution 377 (V), “Uniting for Peace”. [Read more…]

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Statement by H.E. Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before United Nations Security Council, Vote on the Draft Resolution on the Status of Jerusalem, 18 December 2017

18 December 2017 by

I thank you, Mr. President, and express our appreciation to Japan, in its capacity as Security Council President, for convening this important meeting.

We are grateful to you and all the Security Council members who have recognized the urgency of this matter and the need for serious follow-up and action in light of the recent provocative decision announced by the United States of America, contrary to the relevant United Nations resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem and in total disrespect of the longstanding legal, political and historic status of the City.

We are grateful to the Arab Republic of Egypt for its efforts in leading this process in the Security Council and for its submission of the draft resolution.

Mr. President,

The total rejection of this decision and the international consensus on Jerusalem are beyond clear. The message has been unequivocal: all Security Council’s resolutions concerning the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 are legally binding and must be respected, without question and without exception. This includes the Council’s last legislation in this regard, resolution 2334 (2016), which constitutes a roadmap for all those who want to achieve peace in the region.

This has been powerfully reaffirmed in the statements made on the 8th of December in this chamber; in the principled statements by governments, organizations, civil society around the world; in the declarations of the Arab Ministerial Council, held in Cairo on 9 December, and the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held in Istanbul on 13 December; and today in the overwhelming support of Council members for the draft resolution just voted upon. [Read more…]

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