4 February 2021 – Remarks by H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, at the first annual meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Excellencies,

Mr. Secretary-General António Guterres

Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Cheikh Niang of Senegal

Vice-Chairs of the Committee Bureau, Afghanistan, Cuba, Indonesia, Namibia, Nicaragua

Members and Observers of the Committee

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasures seeing you all, nearly a year since we last met in person.

I am honored to address you on behalf of the State of Palestine and wish to reaffirm our gratitude to the Chair and Bureau and all Members and Observers of the Committee for their steadfast support for our just cause and the pursuit by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights. Your principled solidarity is deeply appreciated and needed now more than ever and we are ready to fully cooperate to implement the Committee’s forward-looking programme of work for 2021.

Mr. Secretary-General, we are honored by your presence at our meeting today and thank you for your strong support to the Committee. We deeply appreciate your dedication a just and lasting peace and your tireless advocacy, consistently striving for an active and meaningful role for the United Nations, as per its Charter and in implementation of its resolutions, the foundations of a peaceful solution.

Excellencies, Dear Friends,

The past year brought immense challenges and changes for the international community, sparing no one and deepening existing vulnerabilities, inequities and suffering around the world. For the Palestinian people, bearing the burden and hardships of decades of occupation, oppression and displacement, those challenges and changes have been even more trying and painful.

As the international community confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and array of other crises, from poverty and hunger, to climate change, to conflicts and the grave humanitarian, socio-economic and security consequences they are wreaking, the goal of ‘building back better’ must be broad and inclusive. We appeal that Palestine not be the exception to these lofty goals.

As we look towards the future, we must learn the lessons of the past to redress all that has diminished multilateralism and undermined respect for international law, not only impairing our collective abilities to overcome prevailing crises, but exacerbating them.

Building back better makes it imperative to revive global cooperation to address the greatest challenges. The UN clearly remains at the center of these efforts, which must include action to resolve protracted conflicts and prolonged injustices – the longest on the UN agenda being the Palestine question, whereby an entire people is being deprived of the freedom, rights, dignity, equality and the peace and security that all peoples yearn for and are entitled to.

This Committee is the essence of multilateralism and the commitment to international law as the keys for resolving this conflict. The foresight of those who preceded us and established the Committee in 1975 should be recognized, for long before us they sought peaceful, diplomatic means, in a spirit of dialogue, collective responsibility and action, as the path for a just solution.

That same spirit is what is most needed today and being widely summoned to tackle other urgent global issues based on the rule of law and our common values and goals. So, we regret the dismissal and even maligning of this Committee by some – including by false accusations of bias or being anti-Israeli – denying to it the support it deserves for its positive, peaceful, multilateral mandate, as enshrined in the relevant General Assembly resolutions.

So, today we once again urge all States to support and cooperate with the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as we seek together to realize peace. We need to mobilize collective efforts to achieve a just solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people and establishes lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace and security.

The basis of that solution is reflected in the longstanding international consensus, a consensus that  remains strong despite cynical attempts in recent years to undermine and dismantle it. It has been repeatedly reaffirmed in this Assembly and in the Security Council, most recently at the high-level debate of 26 January convened under the Presidency of Tunisia, with the broad calls for serious efforts to bring an end to the Israeli occupation since 1967, to achieve the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders in accordance with international law and the relevant UN resolutions, and to realize the rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and including a just solution for the Palestine refugees on the basis of General Assembly resolution 194 (III).

We have the tools to achieve these noble goals. General Assembly resolutions and Security Council resolutions over the decades, including resolution 2334 of December 2016, have set forth the terms of reference and parameters for a just solution that have global backing. What is missing is the will.

We appeal today for:

  • the will to learn from past mistakes and avert repeated failure;
  • the will to uphold the law in all circumstances and to hold Israel, the occupying Power, accountable for its flagrant and systematic violations – whether settlement colonization of our land, displacement, collective punishment and blockade of our people, or racist, discriminatory policies that amount to apartheid – with a view to ending them and the suffering caused to the Palestinian people and to salvaging the two-State solution;
  • and the will to implement UN resolutions, without exception or bias, for the promotion of human rights and a just peace and security.

We appeal to the international community to act. We urge you, Secretary-General, to continue your efforts to mobilize international action, including in terms of UN engagement within the Quartet and with regional and other partners, including for the convening at the earliest possible date of an international peace conference, as called for by President Abbas, to revive a credible process to justly resolve the Palestine question and realize Palestinian-Israeli peace.

We welcome the appointment of your new Special Coordinator and Special Representative, Mr. Tor Wennesland, and are ready to work with him as well to address the needs of the Palestinian people at this critical moment, in cooperation with UN agencies on the ground, and to overcome the persistent impediments to peace. We call for international support for these efforts, including urgent funding for UNRWA, to address the dire situation on the ground, alleviate hardships, and restore hope.

Excellencies,

There are those who say that the problems are too many, the obstacles too great and that now is not the time for grand initiatives for peace. Such views contradict the mandate and purpose of this Committee and indeed the purposes and principles of the UN. For those denied their freedom, rights and dignity – the essence of human existence and survival – nothing is more urgent. How can we ever say that the time is not right to protect human rights, to end conflict, to make peace?

We appeal to all to join us in working for a just solution that will allow the Palestinian people to fulfill their inalienable rights, including to self-determination and the independence of their State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side on the basis of the pre-1967 borders with Israel and all of its neighbors in peace and security, a peace that will be the true cornerstone of peace and stability in the Middle East.

In closing, I wish to again thank the Secretary-General for joining us today; to congratulate the Chair and Bureau on their re-election; and to reiterate our thanks to the Committee, as well as the Division for Palestinian Rights, for their tireless efforts in support of and solidarity with the Palestinian people; and also all the States, intergovernmental organizations and civil society groups extending their support to the Committee and solidarity to our people, looking forward to working with all of you to revive hope and make real progress towards a more just and peaceful future.

Statement of H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas President of the State of Palestine UN General Assembly General Debate of the 75 th Session 25 September 2020

In the name of God, the Merciful,
H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly
H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary General
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads and Members of delegations,

I wondered while preparing this statement what more could I tell you, after all that I have said in previous statements, about the perpetual tragedy and suffering being endured by my people – which the world is witness to daily – and about their legitimate aspirations – which are yet to be fulfilled – to freedom, independence and human dignity, as enjoyed by the peoples of the world.

Until when, ladies and gentlemen, will the question of Palestine remain without a just solution as enshrined in United Nations resolutions? Until when will the Palestinian people remain under Israeli occupation and will the question of millions of Palestine refugees remain without a just solution in accordance with what the United Nations has determined over 70 years ago?

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Palestinian people have been present in their homeland, Palestine, the land of their ancestors, for over 6000 years, and they will continue living on this land, steadfast in the face of occupation, aggression and the disappointments and betrayals, until the fulfilment of their rights. Despite all they have endured and continue to endure, despite the unjust blockade that targets our national decision, we will not kneel or surrender and we will not deviate from our fundamental positions, and we shall overcome, God willing.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have accepted the rule of international law and UN resolutions, and we have done so in spite of the historic injustice that we have borne from 1917 to the present day, and even though these resolutions only acknowledged as Palestinian the territories occupied in 1967. Yet, the Israeli occupying Power, with the support of the present US administration, wants to substitute this basis for a just solution with the US ‘Deal of the Century’ and the planned annexation of over 33% of the land of the State of Palestine, in addition to the annexation of occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We have rejected this deal, as did the international community, as it contravenes international law and
UN resolutions, which recognized, inter alia, the existence of the State of Palestine in 2012 as part of the international order.

We have always sought a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, and we have agreed to all the initiatives presented to us. I have personally dedicated my life to achieving this desired peace, notably since 1988, followed by the Madrid Conference and the Oslo Accords in 1993, and to this very day. We accepted and remained committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, as it provides for peace, security and coexistence once the occupation ends. We did all of this for peace.

What did Israel, the occupying Power, do in return? It violated all agreements signed with us, undermined the two-State solution through its oppressive practices of killing and maiming, arrests, home demolitions, asphyxiating our economy, and systematically acting to alter the character and identity of occupied Jerusalem, attacking its Muslim and Christian holy sites, notably Al-Aqsa Mosque, and pursuing its settler colonialism on our land and against our people, ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative for peace and actively attempting now to kill another opportunity for peace through reckless unilateral measures.

Finally, it announces normalization agreements with both the UAE and Bahrain, in violation of the Arab Peace Initiative, and the terms of reference of a comprehensive, lasting and just solution in accordance with international law. The Palestine Liberation Organization has not
given a mandate to anyone to speak or negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people and the only path to lasting, comprehensive and just peace in our region requires ending the occupation and securing the independence of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East
Jerusalem as its capital.

In this regard, I call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to undertake, in cooperation with the Quartet and the Security Council, preparations to convene an international conference with full authority and with the participation of all concerned parties, early next year, to engage in a genuine peace process, based on international law, UN resolutions and the relevant terms of reference, leading to an end the occupation and the achievement by the Palestinian people of their freedom and independence within their State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, and resolving all final status issues, notably the question of the refugees, based on resolution 194.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Those who believe the Palestinian people can coexist with the occupation or be subdued by pressure and diktats are under an illusion, as are those who are being misled to believe that they can circumvent our people, who bear this struggle and are its only address. Let everyone know there will be no peace, no security, no stability and no coexistence in our region while
this occupation continues and a just, comprehensive solution to the question of Palestine, the core of the conflict, remains denied.

In Palestine, ladies and gentlemen, there is a living nation, creative, civilized, peace-loving, aspiring passionately to freedom. A nation that has been able – despite the occupation that besieges our lives – to build an active and modern society, that believes in democracy and the
rule of law and has been able to preserve its national existence and identity despite all the political and philosophical differences between its diverse components. Here we are, despite all the obstacles that you know too well, preparing ourselves to hold parliamentary elections, followed by presidential elections, with the participation of all factions and political parties.

We will continue creating life and hope under the flag of national unity and democracy. We will continue resisting all attempts and plans to erase us, and we will secure our rightful and natural place among nations and exercise the rights granted to us by international legitimacy, including our right to resist this occupation in accordance with international law.

We will continue building the institutions of our State and consolidating them on the basis of the rule of law. We will continue combating international terrorism, as we have done for years past. We will remain faithful to peace, justice, human and national dignity under all circumstances. I salute the great Palestinian people that bravely pursues the struggle for freedom and independence. I salute our martyrs, prisoners and wounded. I salute Jerusalem and our people who remain steadfast in its holy sites. I salute our people in the besieged Gaza Strip. I salute our people in the refugee camps everywhere. I salute all those who stand with us and with our rights from all countries, nations and organizations.

Peace be upon you.

2 February 2015 – Incessant Israeli Settlement Activities

Excellency,

As the Security Council remains sidelined vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel, the occupying Power, continues to exploit the international community’s inaction by persisting with its illegal policies and practices with impunity.  In particular, the Israeli Government continues its insidious colonization of the Palestinian land it has belligerently, illegitimately occupied since June 1967, in grave breach of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, as well as international criminal law as articulated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

There is no difference – whether through periods of peace process or periods of unrest and conflict – Israel has never ceased its settlement activities in the Occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem.  In words and in deeds, every single Israeli government has actively carried out this illegal settlement campaign, openly entrenching the occupation in every way.  The latest such step was taken on Friday, 30 January, when it was revealed that the occupying Power has decided to move forward with the construction at least 450 new settlement units in various areas throughout Occupied Palestine, including in East Jerusalem.   [Read more…]

23 January 2014 – More Settlements in the West Bank and Missiles in the Gaza Strip Aggravate Tensions

Excellency,

I regret to inform you of the continuing turmoil and deterioration of the situation in the Occupied State of Palestine due to illegal and provocative policies that continue to be pursued by Israel, the occupying Power.  While serious peace efforts are being undertaken both regionally and internationally to achieve peace and to salvage the two-State solution, Israel instead continues to choose aggression and colonization.  In fact, not a single day has passed since the resumption of peace talks in which the occupying Power has ceased its oppressive and destructive measures threatening to derail the peace talks and threatening to create an environment for violence to erupt and spiral out of control.

 The latest spate of Israeli crimes took place yesterday, Wednesday, 22 January, in the Gaza Strip, an integral part of the State of Palestine, which remains under an oppressive, unlawful blockade.  For the second time in a week, Israeli occupying forces launched military strikes against the Gaza Strip, firing a missile at a car carrying Ahmed Zaanin, 21 years old, and Mahmoud Zaanin, 23 years old, killing them both.  We continue to condemn this illegal practice of extrajudicial executions repeatedly perpetrated by Israel, the occupying Power, and call for the international community to take measures to ensure accountability for such grave violations of international law and human rights law. [Read more…]

12 December 2013 – Statement on Assistance to the Palestinian People

Statement by H.E. Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations General Assembly, 68th Session, on agenda item 70(b) “Assistance to the Palestinian people”, 12 December 2013:                                         

 (Check against delivery)

Mr. President,

We meet today to consider the issue of the strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance, including assistance to the Palestinian people, a people who have been suffering for many decades from occupation and the denial of the exercise of their inalienable rights.

The international community has determined that assistance to the Palestinian people is a vital element and collective responsibility in the efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.  Here, I extend, on behalf of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people, our profound gratitude and appreciation to all peoples, Governments and international organizations that have provided financial support in the framework of this assistance, which is being undertaken through concrete programs and projects that offer significant developmental support to the Palestinian people while also contributing to their resilience under adverse circumstances, giving them hope and assurances that they are not alone and that the world is supporting them in the quest for a brighter future for their children. [Read more…]

17 October 2013- Israel is destroying the viability of the two-State solution

Excellency,

We write to express our alarm about ongoing illegal Israeli activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, the territory constituting the State of Palestine. The persistence of the occupying Power’s illegal and provocative actions in this regard continues to raise tensions and further destabilize the situation on the ground.  While the State of Palestine remains committed to and continues to engage in the negotiations in good faith, Israel’s ongoing aggression against the sovereignty, viability, territorial integrity and contiguity of the State of Palestine and the viability of the two-State solution are both cause for alarm and cause for deep doubts regarding the potential for success of the negotiations.

[Read more…]

23 August 2013 – Israeli Settlement Expansion and Other International Law Violations Threaten Prospects for Peace

Excellency,

Despite the efforts aimed at salvaging the two-State solution and reviving negotiations Israel, the occupying Power, continues its illegal settlement activities throughout the land of the State of Palestine and continues other provocative and illegal actions that signal yet again Israel’s rejection of the path of peace and its stratagem for occupation, annexation and domination of the Palestinian people. Illegal actions by the Israeli occupying forces and extremist Israeli settlers continue to highlight Israel’s true stance regarding the two-State solution and its infinite attempts to squander it.

[Read more…]

Resolutions, Descisions and Reports regarding Palestine’s Status in the United Nations

Resolutions
Reports of the Secretary-General
Observer Status for the Palestine Liberation Organization, Resolution 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974
Participation of Palestine in the Work of the United Nations, Resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998Secretary-General Report A/52/1002 and A/52/1002/Corr.1 on the Palestine's Participation after the adoption of 52/250
Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Resolution 58/292 of 6 May 2004

Use of the Term Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Decision A/DEC/53/424 of 7 December 1998
Status of Palestine in the United Nations, Resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012Secretary-General Report, A/67/738 on the Status of Palestine after the adoption of 67/19

Memorandum from the UN Office for Legal Affairs regarding Palestine's New Status in the United Nations after the adoption of Resolution 67/19

General Assembly Annual Reports

The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations (UN) in New York prepares a report on a yearly basis following every session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The report shows the voting record of each Member State on all resolutions adopted during the session of the UNGA mainly during the period from September to December every year.

The main purpose for the preparation of this report is to understand voting patterns of UN Member States on resolutions related to the Question of Palestine (QoP) and where necessary to undertake specific efforts to garner more support for these important resolutions, which cover a wide range of issues relevant to the QoP and in particular reaffirm core principles and rules of international law in this regard. The report also seeks to illustrate and evaluate political support of Member States on issues related to Palestine in the UN. It also analyzes the shifts in voting that may have taken place in comparison with the previous sessions.

(2012) Report of the 67th General Assembly 

 

(29 November 2012) Statement by President Abbas before the Adoption of resolution 67/19 on the Status of Palestine in the United Nations

English

 

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, and the Merciful

 

President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Vuk Jeremic

Excellencies Heads of Delegations,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I wish to affirm our appreciation to all Member States that, in their statements to this Assembly, have stressed the urgency for progress towards the realization of a just peace in our region that allows for the fulfillment by the Palestinian people of their inalienable national rights.

[Read more…]