ISRAE
Sixty-firstSession the General of Assembly F'OTJRTH COMMITTEE Statement bv: Mr. Ran GIDOR Israel'sRepresentative the Fourth committee to

AgendaItem 32: Reportof the Special committeeto Investigate IsraeliPractices Affecting the HumanRights of the Palestinian Peopleand other Arabs of the Occupied Territories

united Nations,New york 7 November2006

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Mr. Chairman, This year, the so called SpecialCommittee has been busy again with resolutions, reports, statements and documentson the situation in the Middle East, which are then discussedat greatlength by the 4th Committee.Again, we undertakethe tedious task of drawing this committee'sattentionto the sheerwaste and duplication, which some of our colleaguesinsist on imposing on the llN's woefully overtaxedagenda.Indeed, when we look around us in this very chamber, it is obvious that even those of us who do bother to attendthe hearingsand follow the long, interminable and vacuous speeches, not seriouslythink that they produce any real effect on the ground. do It is an incontestablefact, that all thesehours, days and weeks of futile rhetoric have no bearing whatsoeveron the well-being of the Palestinianpopulation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The only effect of this absurd,indeed shameful,waste of resourcesis to further underminethe credibility of the United Nations as a relevant, player in global politics.Moreover,it reinforcesthosevoices seriousand balanced (not only in Israel) who advocatethe marginalizing of the lIN, in order to leave the real and complex businessof peacenegotiationsto other, more effective and more objective intermed iaries. But then again,it is not just a questionof resources, also the one-sided but natureof the mandateof the SpecialCommittee.Its very name establishes, priori, the a conclusionsof its purported 'investigation'.Moreover, the fact that lessthan half of this body's membershipvotes to renew the Special Committee'smandate,atteststo the internationalcommunity's view of its work. And let us not forget,that while the SpecialCommittee'investigates', while my esteemed colleagues deliberate endlessly New-York and Genevaand while the in observers busy 'observing', Palestinians are the themselves - and should- actively can - if canied out - would greatly improve their own pursuemeasureson the ground that situationon the ground. lndeed, in 2005 it certainly did improve. According to the World Bank figures, total PalestinianGDP shot up by 9 percentand per capita - by 5 percent.The volume of bilateraltradewith Israelincreased 13 percent, by and unemployment diminishedby 3.4 percent. The numberof touristsvisiting the Palestinian town of Bethlehemwent "El up by 165 percentand the Palestinian Kuds" share-index propelledupwardsby 300 percent.By the end of 2005 - again,accordingto the World Bank - the PalestinianGNP was back up to about 90 percentof its 2000 level. Not for the first time, a window of opportunitywas briefly openedfor the Palestinians. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction. Mr. Chairman. Last year Israel withdrew its army and communities from Gaza, and we addressed this Committeewith words of hope and cautiousoptimism.Later on, in February2006, the Israeli people electeda new government,headedby Mr. Ehud Olmert, which committed itself to a massive,unprecedented realignrnentof its forces and civilian populationin the West Bank. Sadly,the Palestinians responded electinga by governmentdrawn from the ranks of the Hamas terrorist organization,and by

the continuingandescalating Gaza-based terroristactivities, includingrocketattacks, directed against Israelitownsandvillages.
The responseof the intemational community was clear. The Quartet (made up of the United Statesof Americ4 the RussianFederation,the United Nations and the European Union), statedon the 26mJanuary2006: "The Palestinianpeople have voted for change,but it is the view of the Quartet that their aspirationsfor peaceand statehood. . remain unchanged. .... The Quartet reiteratesits view that there is a fundamentalcontradictionbetweenarmed group and militia activities and the building of a democratic state.A two-statesolution to the conflict requires all participantsin the democraticprocessto renounceviolence and terror, accept Israel'sright to exist, and disarm, as outlined in the Roadmap". and added: Four days later, on the 30thJanuary,the Quartet reiteratedthat message "lt is the vierv of the Quartetthat all members of a future Palestiniangovernmentmust be committedto nonviolence, recognitionof Israel,and acceptance previous of agreements and obligations, includingthe Roadmap". leadership not heeded has thosecautionary words. Unfortunately,the Palestinian Instead,it continued to consolidateits terrorist links with Syria and lran, and entrencheditself even further in an ideology of hatredand incitement.Consequently, the international community was left with no altemative but to severits links with the Hamas government,and cut down its direct aid to PalestinianAuthority organs. populationinto deeper Hamaswas thus itself responsible plunging the Palestinian for levelsof misery, deprivationand despair. Now, this SpecialCommitteeand someof my colleagues this room are treatingus in to a litany of depressingfacts and figures, describingthe tragic conditions for Palestinianson the ground. Yet again, every4hingis placed at Israel'sdoorstep.What we are told here, essentially,is that the Palestinianscannot be held responsiblefor their own choices.They are tantamountto children, who should not be held accountablefor their own wrong decisions.Well, Mr. Chairman,we do not adhereto peoplearejust as responsible their actionsand this view. The Palestinian for omissionsas any otherpeople. of Israel cannot always be held responsiblefor the consequences the bad choices government, were free to elect a peace-pursuing rnadeby others.The Palestinians which could have built upon the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the good faith and generousaid extendedby the internationalcommunity. They chosenot to. Now they are unfortunately paying the price. Naturally,we do not considerourselves beyondcriticism.Nothing leveledat us in this Chamber can even begin to compareto the degreeand intensity of the self-criticism so acutein lsraeli society.You are all invited - especially Arab colleagues to my peruseour free press(someof it also in English and Arabic), in orderto witnessfor yourselves severifywith which we judge ourselves, the and the openness our social of and political culture. Furthermore,Israel wishes to make clear that it is open - as a democratic state- to discussionof the human rishts situation in the West Bank and

Gaza Strip. In any given year, the region is examinedby foreign governmentagencies - such as the US Departmentof state; by the Europeanunion; by trN bodies and Special Rapporleurs;and reputableNGO's of internationalstaturesuch as Amnesty International. It is however a pity that some of the afore-mentioned chooseto examine Israeli actions, but for some reasonrefrain from examining the PalestinianAuthority actions, which so often impinge upon the human rights of its own people. Distinguished colleagues,you are therefore askedto consider:Do we really need yet another body to rehashthe work that is already being done by others?And can we really accept the work of the Special Committee when its outcome has been predictated by its own mandate? The answer is, of course,that we must not sanctionsuch a body. That is precisely why a majority of statesdo not vote in favour of the resolution.Nevertheless, the resolution has passedas a matter of courseyear after year. And in all thoseother states where the "human rights situation"is examined- it goes without sayingthat all violationsby all relevantpartiesshouldbe equallyand objectivelyinvestigated. Why is it then that this Committeeis calledupon to authorize a mandateof "investigation" one side only? Surelyno one in this chambercontends of that the Palestinian Authority is innocentof numeroushumanrights violationsas documentedrepeatedlyby the international community and responsible NGos. However, the imbalancedoes not stop with the SpecialCommittee.Let us not forget the existence two other redundant of bodies:the Division for Palestinian Rights,the only division within the DPA that is devoted to one people,and the Committee on the Exerciseof the Inalienable rights of the Palestinian People.All are bodiesthat invariably serveas anti-Israelpropagandaapparatuses, counteringthe principles of the Charter and the objective of a more effective United Nations that abidesby high standardsof integrity, efficiency and prioritized allocation of resources. In this context it would be appropriateto repeatthe budgetaryconsiderationalready raised by my delegationin the past. The UN budget for the biennium 2006-2007, earmarks ,500 USD for the SpecialCommittee.That comeson top of 61,000USD 227 for the Committeeon the Exerciseof the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, 604,600USD for the Information Programmewithin the DpI, and 5,826,700USD for the Departrnentof PalestinianRights within the DPA. The above figures betray the most amazingtruth: the IIN has decidedto expend during 2006-2007no less than 6.7 million USD out of its own regular operations' budget on these4 organs.That is astonishing,especiallywhen comparedwith the tIN regular budget ofjust 9.7 million USD earmarkedfor Africa. Mr. Chairman, Our committeewill soonconcludeits deliberations. this point, we would like to At rernindthe distinguished delegates the words of paragraph of 161(0 of the Outcome Documentof the High-Level PlenaryMeeting (N59x,.70) of 13th September 2005:

"We strongly urge the Secretary-General make the best and most efficient use of to resourcesin accordance with clear rules and procedures agreedby the General Assembly, in the interestof all Member States,by adopting the best management practices,including effective use of information and communicationtechnologies, with a view to increaseefficiency and enhanceorganizational capacity,concentrating on those tasks that reflect the agreedpriorities of the Organization". Many of my distinguishedcolleaguesin this Chamberwill agreethat the work of the Special Committee doesnot serve in any conceivablemannerthe agendaor agreed priorities of the United Nations as a member of the Quartet,cosponsoringthe Road Map processto end terror and violence and renew dialogue in the Middle East. We must not shy away from putting an end to this futile waste of IIN resources. We therefore call upon all like-minded member-states withdraw their supportfor this to redundantCommittee. Mr. Chairman, Israelbelievesthat the work of the SpecialCommitteeis ufferly divorcedfrom reality. The text before us betraysa biasedand anachronisticpicture of the situation in the region, where the rights of only one side are acknowledged.We thereforeurge the Palestinians stopwastingtheir efforts on futile diplomaticmaneuvers to and concentrateon the only possibleway for emerging out of the current situation, namely: ending terror, acceptance all existing agreements of and the re-openingof direct and sincerepeacenegotiationswith Israel. We call upon the international community to take real, constructivemeasuresin order to assistand supportthe Israeli and Palestinian peoplesin their attemptto end their decades-long bloody conflict. Unfortunately, the work of the Special Committee does not constitutesuch a measure. I thank you Mr. Chairman.