SPECIAL MEETING TO MARK SIXTY YEARS OF DISPOSSESSION PALESTINE REFIJGEES OF
United Nations'Headgffi;f^, NewYork

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Statement bv

H.E. Mr. Paul Badji Chairman Committeeon the Exerciseof the Inalienable Rishts of the Palestinian People

Excellencies, guests, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the Committeeon the Exerciseof the InalienableRights of the Palestinian People,I havethe honourto welcomeyou to the Specialmeetingof the Committeeconvened mark sixty yearsof to dispossession Palestine of refugees. Sixfy long years havepassed sincehundredsof thousands Palestinians of were forcedto leave their homesand properfy as a resultof the Arab-Israelihostilitiesof 1948. By the time armistice agreements were signedtn 1949,Israeliforceshad endedup controlling largepartsof British Mandate areas Palestine, that becamethe new Stateof Israel. The remainingareaof the land - the West Bank and - was underthe control of Jordanand Egypt, respectively.Even worse,the conflict the GazaStrip resultedin the massflight of some800,000Palestine refugees leavingbehindtheir homes,land and property. The outcomeof the war was mournedas a disaster the Palestinians, Nakba. by the The United Nations has beeninvolved with the conflict over Palestine from the outsetand probablyno issuehas receivedas much attentionfrom the Organization. Since 1941,every phasein the unfolding crisis has beenaddressed reportsof the GeneralAssembly,the SecurityCouncil, and other in organs,not only marking the events,but in somecasesshapingthem. The issueof Palestine refugees becameand continuedto be a core aspectof the Arab-Israeliconflict. On 11 December1948,the General Assembly,in resolution 194 (III), resolvedthat "the refugees wishing to returnto their homesand live at peacewith their neighbours shouldbe permittedto do so at the earliestpracticable date,and that paid for the properfyof thosechoosingnot to returnand for loss of or damage compensation shouldbe to properly which, under principlesof international law or in equity, shouldbe madegood by the Governments authorities or responsible."For six decades, Palestinian the peoplewho fled their homesin 1948have remainedrefugees, whosestatushasbeenpassed from generation generation.No other to refugees modernhistory have remainedrefugees such a long time, yet their predicament in for and longlostjustice havereceivedlittle attentionof the international community. The issueof Palestine refugees centralto achievingthe inalienable is rights of the Palestinian people. ln 1914,the GeneralAssemblyadoptedresolution3236(XXIV), reaffirmingthe inalienable people,namelythe right to self-determination rights of the Palestinians without externalinterference, the right to national independence and sovereignfy,and the right to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced uprooted. Our Committee,which was established following year, or the 197 was mandated promotethe exerciseby the Palestinian 5, to peopleof its inalienablerights. refugees today? Nowadays,the original Palestine Where are Palestine refugees and their descendants estimated numbermore thanT million and constitute world's oldestand largest are to the refugeepopulation. They include4.5 million 1948refugees who are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees the Near East (UNRWA); 1.5 million 1948refugees in not registered with LTNRWAeitherbecause they did not registeror did not needassistance the time at persons they became refugees; 950,000displaced from the 1967war; and 350,000internallydisplaced in Israel. About a third of the refugees still live in refugeecampsin Jordan,Syria,Lebanonand the OccupiedPalestinian Tenitory. While the life of a Palestine refugeeis difficult, it is particularly deplorable the OccupiedWest Bank and GazaStrip. In the West Bank, refugees in have beensubjected to the demolition of their homesand confiscation their land. Confiscated of Palestinian land has beenset asidefor the exclusiveuseof some480,000settlers.Of the homesdemolished the last six months, in more than half belongedto refugees.Some38 per cent of the West Bank is inaccessible Palestinians. to

j

This land was oncemeantto form part of a Palestinian State. Over 600 checkpoints obstacles or impede freedomof movement,negativelyimpactingsocio-economic activity and development.The separation wall, illegally built in largepartson Palestinian land, now extendsover 57 per cent of its planned723kilometre route, confining thousandsof Palestinians,and preventingthousandsmore from enteringEast Jerusalem. The continuing settlementactivity is contrury to internationallaw and Security Council resolutions. The constructionof the wall deviatesfrom the Green Line and is contrary to the Advisorv Opinion of the InternationalCourt of Justice. The severeisolationof the Gaza Strip hasbroughtmisery and destitutionto the 1.5 million Palestiniansliving there. Two thirds of them are refugees,many continue to live in UNRWA camps. The humanitariancondition of Gazaresidentshas becomeincreasinglygrave. They are caughtbetween the closureof crossings and Israeli measures amountingto collectivepunishment. Basic commodities population,like food, fuel, medical suppliesand equipment, for the schoolbooks,construction materials, farming inputs, and other have barely trickled in. LTNRWAhad to temporarily suspendits operationsfor lack of fuel. The fypical monthly traffic of 11,000trucks ladenwith goodshas shrunkto about2,000. The blockageof the GazaStrip has worsenedpoverty,unemployment and longer-termeffectssuchas child malnutrition. At least 80 per cent of Gazansare now fully dependent food aid and humanitarian on assistance. UnrelentingIsraeli incursionshaveresultedin the high numberof deathsand injuriesamong civilians, including women and children. The international communityshouldhold Israel fully responsiblefor the welfare and protection of the refugeesin the PalestinianTerritory it continuesto occupy, including the GazaStrip. The United Nations hasbeeninvolved with assisting Palestine refugees since 1948. IINRWA's main purposeis the direct provision of essential public services Palestine to refugees the Middle East. in It providesprimary education somehalf a million childrenannuallyand primary healthcareto the to entire refugeepopulation. Through its hard work, it has eliminatedcommunicable diseases among refugees. LINRWA offers social services,particularly to thoserenderedvulnerableby poverfy, disability and social exclusion. Building homesand replacingthosedamaged Israeli forcesand a microfinance by programmeare amongother services UNRWA. by On a personalnote, I would like to sharewith you that I was ableto witnessthe work of UNRWA when a delegationof the Committee visited two refugeecampsin northern Jordanduring its stay in the country in connection with the United Nations Seminaron Assistance the Palestinian to Peopleheld in Amman last February. This experience, very moving and emotionalat times, helpedus betterunderstand and appreciatethe work done by UNRWA and the important role of the host countries,namely Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. LINRWA cannot operatewithout their full cooperation. On behalf of the Committee,allow me to thank Commissioner-General IINRWA, of Ms. Karen Abu-Zayd, and the dedicatedand hard-working staff of the Agency for their important work of alleviatingthe hardshipof millions of Palestine refugees the region. This importantwork of the in Agency, however,is often restrained underfinancing.I would also like to usethis occasion appeal by to to all donors,through their representatives presenthere,to continueto support LINRWA and be generous in their contributions. As most of you know, last April, our Committeeconvened LINESCOHeadquarters Paris,the at in United Nations lnternationalConference Palestine on Refugees, orderto help assess situationof the in the refugees and examinethe role of the United Nations in alleviatingtheir plight. The Conference also just and fair solutionto the Palestine discussed international effortsat finding an agreed, refugeeproblem. The final documentof that Conference beendistributed the Secretariat. has by

4
Clearly, a solutionto the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is overdue. Our Committeecontinues to supportthe Middle East peaceprocess basedon SecurityCouncil resolutions 242 and 338. It fully supportsthe objectiveof two States, Israeland Palestine, living side by side within secureand recognized borders,as endorsed SecurityCouncil resolution1515. We have welcomedthe Arab PeaceInitiative by and the Quartet's Road Map, calling on the partiesto implement them. The Committeehas also supported holding of the Annapolis Conference the and welcomedthe Joint Understanding reached the by parties. The Committee has continuously urged both partiesto intensifu political negotiationsand action to improve conditions for both Israelis and Palestinians the ground, notwithstandingthe domestic on challenges both sides. We commendthe activerole of regionalpartnersfor finding political solutions on just and lasting peacein the region. It is important that on severalfronts, in support of a comprehensive, in the permanent statusnegotiations partiesseriouslyfocus on all the core issues borders, the settlements, Jerusalem and refugees. Palestine refugees, sheernumbers,constitutea significantpresence the region. The by in resolution of their tragic plight should thereforebe paramornt in any p.ur. settlement.they have gone through suffering,humiliation and dispossession far too long - too long to be paralleledwith any for other refugeesituationsin the world. At the start of my statementI said that this specialmeeting was convenedto mark sixty yearsof dispossession Palestine of refugees.But, in fact, when Palestinians talk about the tragedy of Al-|,{akba they always mean the dispossession deprivation of the entire and peopleof their homeland,their properly and their identity. Under international Palestinian law and also on a moral ground,all of us have a responsibility continueto work toward bringing aboutajust to solutionto this problem. ***