{"id":224951,"date":"2019-11-19T15:11:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T20:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=224951"},"modified":"2020-07-22T00:41:29","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T04:41:29","slug":"concluding-session-third-committee-approves-draft-resolution-the-right-of-the-palestinian-people-to-self-determination-press-release-ga-shc-4285-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/concluding-session-third-committee-approves-draft-resolution-the-right-of-the-palestinian-people-to-self-determination-press-release-ga-shc-4285-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Concluding Session, Third Committee Approves Draft Resolution “The Right of the Palestinian People to Self-determination” – Press Release (GA\/SHC\/4285) (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
SEVENTY-FOURTH SESSION,<\/span>\u00a051ST & 52ND MEETINGS (AM & PM)<\/span><\/strong>
\nGA\/SHC\/4285<\/strong>
\n19 NOVEMBER 2019<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

he Committee then turned to the draft resolution titled \u201cThe right of the Palestinian people to self-determination\u201d\u00a0(document\u00a0A\/C.3\/74\/L.58<\/a>), which the Chair said contains no programme budget implications.<\/p>\n

An observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine<\/u>, speaking for the Group\u00a0of\u00a077 and China, said the draft emphasizes the urgency of the fight against racism and welcomes discussions in various areas in follow\u2011up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.<\/p>\n

The Chair, replying to the observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine<\/u>, said Israel has requested a vote.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Finland<\/u>, speaking for the European Union, said he does not believe additional instruments are needed, such as a possible declaration on the rights of people of African descent.\u00a0 The draft resolution correctly reflects the language of the Durban Declaration and he expressed regret that other substantive proposals were not accepted, and that only proposals updating the text were accepted.\u00a0 The European Union is unable to support the draft resolution.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Israel<\/u>, speaking in explanation of position, said the Durban conference was hijacked by countries who turned it into a platform for defaming Israel.\u00a0 His country withdrew from the Durban conference and therefore cannot accept a resolution aiming to eliminate racism that is founded on the racist Durban conference in 2001.<\/p>\n

The representative of the\u00a0United States<\/u>\u00a0said that from its own experience, the best antidote to offensive speech \u2014 rather than bans and punishment \u2014 is legal protection, outreach and the protection of free expression, both on and offline.\u00a0 The United States cannot support this draft because it is not genuinely focused on combatting racism.\u00a0 Among the concerns are its endorsements of the Durban Declaration.\u00a0 The draft serves as a vehicle to prolong divisions stemming from the Durban conference.\u00a0 As such, the United States will vote against it and urges others to do the same.<\/p>\n

The Committee then approved draft resolution\u00a0\u201cL.60\/Rev.1\u201d by a recorded vote of 131\u00a0in favour to 10\u00a0against, with 44\u00a0abstentions.<\/p>\n

By the text, the General Assembly would call on States that have not done so to accede to and\/or ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and on States parties to consider making the declaration under its article\u00a014, as well as consider withdrawing reservations to article\u00a04, along with any reservations that are incompatible with the Convention.\u00a0 By other terms, the Assembly would also express concern at the lack of progress in elaborating complementary standards to the Convention.\u00a0 It would also welcome the decision to establish the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Iran<\/u>\u00a0said that he understands the anger of \u201cthe last apartheid regime of the twenty\u2011first century, Israel\u201d, regarding this resolution.\u00a0 He quoted Israel\u2019s Prime Minister in stating that \u201cthe weak crumble, are smothered and erased from history, while the strong survive.\u00a0 The strong are respected and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end, peace is made with the strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution titled \u201cThe right of the Palestinian people to self-determination\u201d\u00a0(document\u00a0A\/C.3\/74\/L.58), which the Chair said contains no programme budget implications.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Egypt<\/u>, introducing the draft on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said Palestinians in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, suffer under Israel\u2019s occupation and the denial of their natural rights, including to self\u2011determination.\u00a0 Therefore, the draft stresses the need for respecting the territorial integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.\u00a0 It also recalls the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion\u00a0(2004) that Israel\u2019s unlawful wall impedes the rights of the Palestinian people to self\u2011determination.<\/p>\n

The Chair, replying to Egypt\u2019s representative, said Israel requested a vote on the draft.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Israel<\/u>, in a general statement, said the draft resolution is not about the right of Palestinians, but, rather, creating a narrative that vilifies his country.\u00a0 Even the Jewish people have the right to self\u2011determination, he said, underscoring the politicization of this issue.\u00a0 Placing no responsibility on the Palestinians, the United Nations is incapable of playing a constructive role in this conflict.\u00a0 Israel will vote against the draft and he urged all delegations to do the same.<\/p>\n

The Committee then approved the draft\u00a0\u201cL.58\u201d by a recorded vote of 164\u00a0in\u00a0favour to 5\u00a0against (Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, United States), with 9\u00a0abstentions (Australia, Cameroon, Guatemala, Honduras, Kiribati, Rwanda, Togo, Tonga and Vanuatu).<\/p>\n

By its terms, the General Assembly would reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to self\u2011determination, including to their independent State of Palestine.\u00a0 It would also urge all States and United Nations specialized agencies and organizations to continue to support and assist Palestinians in the early realization of their right to self\u2011determination.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Argentina<\/u>, in explanation of the position, reiterated her country\u2019s recognition of Palestinians\u2019 right to self\u2011determination.\u00a0 Her delegation voted in favour, stressing the need to recognize the Palestinian State and promote negotiations aimed at achieving it.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s right to live within secure borders must also be recognized.\u00a0 She welcomed the draft\u2019s adoption, as it supports self\u2011determination for Palestinians.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Canada<\/u>\u00a0said she voted for the draft resolution, as it addresses the core issue of the Israeli\u2011Palestinian conflict.\u00a0 It is essential that both sides of the conflict have a prosperous future and she called for direct negotiations towards achieving lasting peace in the region.<\/p>\n

An observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine<\/u>\u00a0expressed gratitude to the 164\u00a0Member States that supported the draft, which more broadly reflects the collective will to advance a just and lasting peace.\u00a0 Stressing that Israel rejects peace and violates the right of Palestinians to self\u2011determination, and that Palestinians recognize the State of Israel, she said that Israel, by contrast, has yet to recognize the Palestinian State.\u00a0 The illegal occupation has become more violent and Israel\u2019s actions amount to a war crime, she said, pointing to the bombardment of people in Gaza, including in air strikes last week.\u00a0 Israel repeatedly stated that the right to self\u2011determination is a basic human right.\u00a0 \u201cWe must not accept empty slogans from the occupying power,\u201d she asserted.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0San Marino<\/u>\u00a0said his delegation intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution; however, its vote was not reflected on the screen.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEVENTY-FOURTH SESSION,\u00a051ST & 52ND MEETINGS (AM & PM) GA\/SHC\/4285 19 NOVEMBER 2019 Fran\u00e7ais \/… he Committee then turned to the draft resolution titled \u201cThe right of the Palestinian people to self-determination\u201d\u00a0(document\u00a0A\/C.3\/74\/L.58), which the Chair said contains no programme budget implications. An observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine, speaking for the Group\u00a0of\u00a077 and China, said the draft […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[672,747,810,831,888,897,1593,2553],"document-category":[2433,1329],"document-source":[1365,1845,6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1821],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-224951","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-argentina","country-canada","country-egypt","country-finland","country-iran-islamic-republic-of","country-israel","country-palestine-state-of","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-french-text","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-general-assembly-third-committee-social-humanitarian-and-cultural","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-self-determination","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/224951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/224951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=224951"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=224951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}