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THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
PALESTINIAN PEOPLE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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AND<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n
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THE DIVISION FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
Information Note<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n\n
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UNITED NATIONS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
New York, 2010<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n
Committee on the Exercise of the<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
Mandate and objectives<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The question of Palestine was first officially brought before the United Nations General Assembly in April 1947, upon a request by the United Kingdom to place the “Question of Palestine” on the Assembly’s agenda in order for “the Assembly to make recommendations, under Article 10 of the Charter, concerning the future government of Palestine” following the termination of its League of Nations’ Mandate over Palestine. After months of intense deliberations and meetings, the Assembly decided to partition Palestine into two States, one Arab and one Jewish, with a special international régime (corpus separatum) for Jerusalem (resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947). Although the independence of the State of Israel was declared on 14 May 1948, the Arab State did not come into being as several wars were fought in the area and the Palestine problem continued to be discussed at the United Nations as part of the larger Middle East conflict or in the context of its refugee or human rights aspects.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>It was only in 1974, as a result of the June 1967 war and the continuing military occupation by Israel of the remainder of Mandate Palestine, that the question of Palestine was reintroduced in the Assembly’s agenda as a national question and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people were reaffirmed and specified. In its resolution 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, the Assembly stated that those rights included: the right to self-determination without external interference; the right to national independence and sovereignty; and the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and property, from which they had been displaced and uprooted. The Assembly also stated that the realization of those rights was indispensable for the solution of the question of Palestine.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>In its resolution 3376 (XXX) of 10 November 1975, the General Assembly, expressing grave concern that progress had not been achieved towards the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights, decided to establish the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. By the same resolution the Committee was requested to consider and recommend to the Assembly a programme of implementation designed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its rights. It was also requested to submit its report and recommendations to the Secretary-General, no later than 1 June 1976, for transmission to the Security Council.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>In its first report submitted to the Security Council in June 1976, the Committee affirmed that the question of Palestine was “at the heart of the Middle East problem” and that no solution could be envisaged without fully taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. The Committee urged the Council to promote action for a just solution, taking into account all the powers conferred on it by the Charter of the United Nations. The recommendations of the Committee included a two-phase plan for the return of Palestinians to their homes and property; a timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories by 1 June 1977, with the provision, if necessary, of temporary peacekeeping forces to facilitate the process; an end to the establishment of settlements; recognition by Israel of the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied territories pending withdrawal; and endorsement of the inherent right of Palestinians to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. The Committee also expressed the view that the United Nations had the historical duty and responsibility to render all assistance necessary to promote the economic development and prosperity of the future Palestinian entity.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee's recommendations were not adopted by the Security Council, due to the negative vote of a permanent member, and have not been implemented. They were, however, endorsed by an overwhelming majority in the General Assembly, to which the Committee reports annually. The Assembly reaffirmed that a just and lasting peace in the Middle East could not be established without the achievement of a just solution of the problem of Palestine based on the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The Assembly also requested the Committee to keep the situation relating to the question of Palestine under review and to report and make suggestions to the General Assembly or the Security Council, as appropriate, and to promote the greatest possible dissemination of information on its recommendations through non-governmental organizations and other appropriate means. <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee is the only body within the United Nations exclusively devoted to the question of Palestine. <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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Areas of activities<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
\t<\/span>In keeping with its General Assembly mandate, the Committee’s programme of work has been gradually expanded over the years. The Assembly also established a supporting unit in the United Nations Secretariat in 1978 (later re-designated as the Division for Palestinian Rights). The Committee’s programme of work includes the convening of international meetings and conferences, including meetings with civil society, in all regions of the world, with the participation, inter alia<\/i>, of political personalities, representatives of Governments and intergovernmental organizations, United Nations officials, parliamentarians, academics and representatives of the media. Ongoing cooperation was established with a wide network of civil society organizations (CSOs) working on the various aspects of the question of Palestine. The Committee is also maintaining a programme of publications covering United Nations activities with regard to the question of Palestine and related issues, as well as an annual training programme for staff of the Palestinian Authority. To commemorate the 1947 resolution of the General Assembly partitioning Palestine, 29 November was designated as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, in observance of which the Committee holds annual special meetings and other events at United Nations Headquarters, with similar activities taking place at the United Nations Offices at Geneva and Vienna, under the Committee’s sponsorship.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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Membership and officers<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>[As of 7 September 2010], the Committee is composed of 24 Members:<\/span>1<\/sup><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tAfghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Cyprus, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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On the basis of General Assembly resolutions 3210 (XXIX) and 3237 (XXIX) of 1974 and a decision taken by the Committee in 1976, the PLO, as the representative of the Palestinian people and the principal party to the question of Palestine, was invited to participate in the Committee’s deliberations as an observer.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/span> <\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>A total of 24 Observers participate in the work of the Committee:<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tAlgeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Yemen, African Union, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference and Palestine.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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\t<\/span>The following Members of the Committee, comprising its Bureau, were elected on 21 January 2010: the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations as Chairman; the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations and the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations as Vice-Chairmen; and the Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations as Rapporteur.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
The Committee’s position on permanent status and other relevant issues<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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Permanent settlement and the two-State solution<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee has consistently supported all international efforts aimed at pursuing peace negotiations as a way of ending the occupation and resolving the question of Palestine in all its aspects on the basis of international law and United Nations resolutions. The Committee welcomed the 1991 Madrid peace process, as well as the 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent agreements reached by Israel and the PLO. In 2002, the Committee welcomed the affirmation of a vision of a region where two States, Israel and Palestine, would live side by side within secure and recognized borders, as set out in Security Council resolution 1397 (2002). The Committee urged the swift realization of that objective, through a concrete step-by-step mechanism covering the political, economic and security fields within a specified time frame. In this respect, the Committee also welcomed the peace initiative adopted by the Arab States at their summit in Beirut on 28 March 2002 and asked Israel to reciprocate in good faith.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee supports the continuing efforts of the diplomatic Quartet, consisting of the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the European Union and the United Nations, particularly for promoting a peace plan entitled “A performance-based road map to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 1515 (2003). The Committee urged the Quartet and the international community to help the parties implement their obligations under the plan, relating notably to questions of security and the freezing of settlement activity.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>In the view <\/strong>of the Committee, the Road Map offers a way to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003), and the principle of a permanent two-State solution based on the 1967 borders, the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and the right of all States in the region to live in peace and security. The Committee believes that in order to realize the two-State solution, the parties must respect all previously signed agreements and commitments.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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Borders<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee fully supports the solution to the conflict with two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within mutually recognized borders. The Committee’s position is that the two-State solution can only be achieved on the basis of the pre-1967 borders (the “Green Line”). The Committee is of the view that any changes to the 1949 Armistice Lines can only be made through negotiations and agreements between the parties. The Committee stresses that, until the issue has been resolved through negotiations in a comprehensive and mutually acceptable manner, the parties must desist from introducing any unilateral de facto<\/i> changes on the ground.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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The separation wall<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee has come out strongly against the construction by Israel of the separation wall and its accompanying structures and obstacles in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in deviation of the pre-1967 border, which has been accompanied by destruction and confiscation of Palestinian land and property and the displacement of thousands of Palestinian families. The Committee welcomed the 9 July 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which had clearly determined that the construction of the wall was illegal under international law. The Committee also welcomed General Assembly resolution A\/RES\/ES-10\/15 adopted on 20 July 2004, acknowledging the Advisory Opinion and demanding that Israel comply with its legal obligations as mentioned in the Opinion. The Committee is seriously concerned that through the construction of this barrier, allegedly for security reasons, the Government of Israel is in fact aimed at the de facto<\/i> annexation of more Palestinian land and at unilaterally defining the borders of a future Palestinian State, prejudging the outcome of the permanent status negotiations. The Committee’s position is that Israel has no right to build any such separation structures on Palestinian land. The construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, must cease immediately and the wall and its accompanying structures erected to date must be dismantled, in line with the ICJ Advisory Opinion and the relevant General Assembly resolutions. All legislative and regulatory acts adopted in connection with its construction must be repealed or rendered ineffective. Israel is obliged to make reparation to the Palestinian population for all damage caused by the construction. In this regard, the Committee fully supports the mandate of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and calls for its full implementation without delay.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n