ESCWA marked on Monday 29 November the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the UN House in Beirut. The event was organized in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The official ceremony was attended by a crowd of officials, Arab and foreign diplomats, in addition to representatives from Lebanese and Palestinian civil organizations. Speakers at the opening were United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael C. Williams, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, Minister of Planning and Administrative Development in Palestine Ali Jarbawi, and Ambassador Mohammad Hajjar from the Department of International Organizations and Conferences and Cultural Relations in the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Williams delivered the message of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on this occasion. Ban said that two timelines reach a critical point in 2011. First, Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have pledged to seek a framework agreement on permanent status by September. Second, the Palestinian Authority is on track to complete its two-year agenda of readiness for statehood by August. “At its meeting in September 2010, the Quartet stated that an agreement can be reached in the timeframe set out by the leaders themselves, and that the Palestinian Authority, if it maintains its current performance in institution-building and the delivery of public services, is well-positioned for the establishment of a State at any point in the near future,” he added.
Ban noted that an overwhelming international consensus exists on the need to end the occupation that began in 1967, address the fundamental security concerns of both parties, find a solution to the refugee issue and see Jerusalem emerge from negotiation as the capital of two States. “I challenge the two leaders to show statesmanship and political courage in reaching a historic peace. The international community, for its part, must be ready to assume its own responsibilities for peace,” he said.
“Let the year ahead be the one in which we realize, finally, a just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and 1850, previous agreements, the Madrid framework, the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative. I will do everything in my power to support these efforts,” Ban concluded.
Khalaf
Executive Secretary Khalaf said that in 1977, the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to declare the 29th of November of every year a day of solidarity with the Palestinian people (…) ever since then, every year on this date the international community reiterates its commitment to support the Palestinian people in its struggle to attain its inalienable rights. It condemns Israeli violations of international law and demands the implementation of relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. She noted that there are more than 300 resolutions, most of them calling on Israel to respect international conventions and customs, reaffirming the illegality of settlements, and demanding the withdrawal of Israel from all the territories it occupied in 1967.
“Israel’s recklessness toward international law started from inception when it went beyond the boundaries granted to it by General Assembly resolution 181 of 1947 and forcefully occupied more than half of the area allocated by that resolution to the Arab state. In another violation of the United Nations Charter which declares the inadmissibility of the occupation of land by force, Israel occupied in 1967 the rest of the Palestinian territories and subjected an entire people to an abominable occupation. The continuation of this occupation not only contradicts international laws and rules, but also the most basic moral standards and principles agreed by all Humanity,” Khalaf added.
She also highlighted that ESCWA prepares every year the report of the Secretary-General on the repercussions of the Israeli occupation and practices on the daily life of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and the Golan Heights. Although the report cannot compel Israel to change its practices, it does, nonetheless, document the increasing violations of the Palestinian’s human, civil, political, economic and social rights as well as the continuing deterioration of their standard of living. “ESCWA does not limit itself to observing the situation and preparing the annual report. Solidarity with the Palestinian people, being an attempt to enforce human rights, is related to all the areas of work of the United Nations, whether in the field of economic and social development or in issues of policy and economic planning,” she noted.
“These efforts, however, no matter how great, are no substitute for seeking a just and permanent solution. It is impossible to reach the solution if all parties commit to international resolutions and conventions. No occupation can last forever and what the Palestinian people aspire to is no more than what international laws and rules have agreed to preserve for every people of this world.” Khalaf concluded.
Jerbawi
Minister Jerbawi, for his part, said that since the 19th century the Palestinians have faced a plot aimed at robbing their resources, using them as a cheap working force and making them subservient. What the Palestinians faced was different and unique; there were intentions to making them inexistent as a people and eliminating their country from the world map. They were sentenced to be fired from geography and denied from history.
Hajjar
Ambassador Hajjar believed that Lebanon is committed to achieving a fair and comprehensive peace in the region and to rightful Arab causes, on top of which is the Palestinian cause. “There is no doubt that achieving peace requires ending Israeli occupation and committing to international references as included in the Arab peace initiative, as well as stressing the Palestinians’ right of return and rejecting their resettlement,” Hajjar was quoted as saying.
A discussion followed the ceremony entitled “Efforts to Attain Palestinian Rights”. It was moderated by the President of the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Higher Education and Culture MP Bahia El Hariri. Discussions revolved around the various efforts and roles in the field of Palestinian rights.
A Palestinian Handicraft Exhibition was organized for this occasion at the UN House.