COLIN SCICLUNA (MALTA), RAPPORTEUR OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE:  Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor for me on behalf of the Rapporteur of the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Ambassador Victor Camaleri, to present the General Assembly the annual report of the committee contained in document A/60/35.  
In the course of the past year, the committee has continued to carry out the mandate given to it by the General Assembly.  The report I am about to present covers developments relating to the question of Palestine, the peace process and the activities of the committee since last year's report through 5 October of this year.
The introduction of the report outlines the committee's objectives and its general perspective of events which have taken place during the course of the year.
Chapters two and three summarize the General Assembly mandates of the committee, the division for Palestinian rights, and the Department of Public Information and give an account of the organization of the committee's work during the year.
Chapter four reviews a situation relating to the question of Palestine and relevant political developments as monitored by the committee during the year.  Reviewed here were various aspects of the situation on the ground, including the passing of the Palestinian Authority president, Mr. Yasser Arafat, in November 2004, the election of Mr. Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority president, Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territory, such as the recent disengagement from the Gaza Strip and poor settlements in the Northern West Bank, the expanding settlement activities, the implications of the ongoing construction of the wall in the West Bank and around East Jerusalem, the situation with respect to the Palestinian prisoners, the humanitarian situation and the state of the Palestinian economy, the situation with respect to water resources available to the Palestinians, action by the UN system and the continuing operational difficulties faced by UNRWA.
In this chapter, the committee also states its position with regard to extra-judicial executions of Palestinians and terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.
Chapter five reviews the action taken by the committee.  It is divided into two main sections.  Section A describes action aimed at promoting Palestinian rights in the United Nations including the General Assembly and the Security Council.  This section makes reference to the communications addressed by the Chairman of the committee to the Secretary General and President of the Security Council and includes information on the participation by the Chairman at events organized by civil society in support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
Section B contains a detailed account of the implementation of the program of work of the committee and the division.  It provides information on the continued dialogue between the committee and members of the European Union and the Inter-parliamentary Union.
Subsection one gives an account of the various international meetings and conferences organized in the course of the year.  The section also deals with the committee's cooperation with intergovernmental organizations and civil society, research, monitoring and publications work of the division, the United Nations information system on the question of Palestinian, UNISPAL, the training program for staff of the Palestinian Authority and the observance of the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.   
Chapter six provides an overview of the work done over the year by the Department of Public Information in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 59/30 of 1 December 2004.  
The last chapter of the report contains the conclusions and recommendations of the committee.  In this chapter, the committee welcomes the Israeli withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern West Bank as a rare window of opportunity that should be used to revive negotiations within the framework of the road map and move the stalled political process forward.
It expressed particular concern about the intention of the Israeli government to expand large settlement blocks in the West Bank, isolating East Jerusalem from the West Bank and separating the southern west bank from its northern part. 
The committee reiterates its position of principle [inaudible] the settlements and the wall constructed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are contrary to international humanitarian law and numerous resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly adopted since 1967, as well as provisions of the road map.
The committee states that it has been encouraged by renewed efforts of the international community to revitalize the road map, to facilitate the dialogue between the parties and to implement their commitments under the road map.
The committee affirms its intention to continue to promote support for the road map and the important work of the Quartet as the best way to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting solution on the question of Palestine based on Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and other relevant resolutions and the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights.
The committee expresses its appreciation to governments and to governmental organizations, United Nations entities and civil society for their involvement in its programs of international meetings and conferences.  It expresses its intention to address issues, such as the need to end the occupation of all Palestinian land, support of the Palestinian authority efforts to rehabilitate the economy, especially that of the Gaza Strip, the responsibility of all governments to apply international law to all aspects of the question of Palestine, the adverse consequences of the settlement policy, and the construction of the wall for the achievement of a two state solution.  
The committee further commends civil society organizations for their efforts at upholding international legitimacy with regard to the question of Palestine through advocacy and mobilizing public opinion, as well as for their unremitting initiatives to provide relief and assistance to the Palestinian people.  
The committee stresses the essential contribution of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat in support of the committee's objectives, and request it to continue its program of publications and other informational activities, including the further development of the UNISPAL documents collection.
The committee also notes the usefulness of the annual training program for staff of the Palestinian Authority in spite of the difficulties on the ground, and requests the Division to continue it.  
The committee expresses the view that the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestinian of the Department of Public Information has made an important contribution to informing the media and public opinion on the relevant issues.  The committee requests the program's continuation with the necessarily flexibility as warranted by developments relevant to the question of Palestine.
Finally, wishing to make its contribution to the achievement of a just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine, and in view of the many difficulties facing the Palestinian people and besetting the peace process, the committee calls on all states to join in this endeavor and invites the General Assembly, again, to recognize the importance of its role and to reconfirm its mandate with overwhelming support.  
I trust that the report I have just introduced will be of assistance to the General Assembly in its deliberations on this very important issue.  Thank you Mr. President.