On November 28 2014, political figures, diplomats, UN staff and concerned individuals and organizations gathered at ESCWA in Beirut in order to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November). Speakers were Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCWA Rima Khalaf, guest speaker Mireille Fanon-Mendes France, UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Derek Plumbly who delivered the message of the UN Secretary-General, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee Hassan Mneimneh who conveyed the statement of Lebanese Prime Minister Tamam Salam, along with Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs Shawqi Al Issa.

The international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was an occasion to listen to Palestinian folk songs performed by singer Ashraf Al Chouli. After the ceremony, participants moved on to three photo exhibits. The first, belonging to the archive of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); the second, by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) under the title "For their Sake" while the third, was organized in collaboration with the UN Information Center in Beirut (UNIC), illustrating a project headed by photographer George Rabbat under the title "For a better world: Justice and Peace in Palestine".

The event was preceded by a symposium on November 27, 2014 in collaboration with the Asfari Center for the Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut, under the title "Palestine, the Occupation, and the Fourth Geneva Convention: Reinvigorating International Law in the Occupied Territory," and which took place at Hotel Commodore.

Read more: http://www.escwa.un.org/about/oesspeeches.asp?ID=168