PERMANENT OBSERVER MISSION OF PALESTINE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
115 EAST 65TH ST. NEW YORK 10021 NY T E L 2 12 B B 5 O O B FA\2'125172377

statement bv Dr. Rivad Mansour, Ambassador,Perman nt Observer of Pales e to the iitu on tn" rctse lhe-Jnalienable Ri, hts of the Pslestinian Peonle, I0 Februsrv 20i6:

Mr. Chairman, At the outset, allow me take this opportunity to extend Palestine'scongratulations !o upon the re-electionof the Chairmanund thr Members of the Bureau of the Commitree on the Exerciseof the InalienableRights of the Palestinian people. We are confident that with their guidance and stewardship,the Committee will succeedin carrying out the important work entrusted it in the coming year. to We would also like to express heartfeltappreciation our to all of the Membersand observers of the Committee for their valuable efforts and constantsupport for the just struggle of the Palestinianpeople. Their unwavering commitment towaids the reali zation i of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian peJple, including their right to selfdeterminationand the establishment their independent of Stat. or palestine,delivers a strongmessage solidarity.t.o*the of Palestinian peopleliving underIsraeli occupation. We wish to also thank the Divisioir for PalestinianRigtrtr for all of their efforts in support of the Committee'simportantwork. Allow me to also convey our deep appreciation His Excellency, to the Secr etaryGeneral of the united Nations, for joining us today at this important meeting. His attendance not only reaffirms the premise that the united Nations has a permanent responsibility towards the questionof Palestineuntil the question is resolvedin all its aspects, also displayshis personalcommitmentto achieving but a peacefulsettlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. we welcomehim and expressour appreciation to him for all of his efforts, both within the United Nations system and u, u ,n.*ber of the euartet, to promotepeacewithin our resion. Mr. Chairman, For the second time. in_the history of the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestinianpeople living under Israeli occupationwent to the polls to vote in their new legislature. In fact, according to the Palestinian Central Elections Committee voter turnout was at an astonishing77 percent. The international community, including the international observersmonitoring the elections, applauded the palestinianpeople for conductingthe electionsin a free and fair mannerand their commitmentto democracv

P

R

E

S

S

R

E

L

E

A

S

E

It was a very proud day for the Palestinian peoplenot only because the festival of of democr:acy displayed,but because they did so under Israel'smilitary occupation. Even more extraordinary,the elections took place at a period of time when the Palestinian people are facing the severest imposition of restrictions, including the right to the freedomof movement. It should also be takeninto account, that this is the first time in an Arab country in which a ruling party loses an election, bestows legitimacy upon the results of the elections and then proceedsto peacefully transferthe cabinet to the winning party. Indeed, this provides further evidenceof the commitment to democracyby the Palestinian people living under occupation, and,as suchdeserves additionaltribute. Despite all of the difficulties posed by the occupationand the policies of the Israeli govemment,PresidentMahmoud Abbas remainedcommittedto holding the electionson the set date and proceededaccordingly.He made it unequivocallyclear that the elections were a sine que non for future progressand would commenceregardlessof the insecure environment the Palestinian people were living in under occupation. After the resultsof the vote were announced,PresidentAbbas reiteratedthe commitment by the Palestinian side to all the treatiesand agreements signed by the PalestineLiberation Organization and by the PalestinianNational Authority. Moreover, he reaffirmed the commitmentby the Palestinianside to the road map and its intent to uphold its obligationstherein.He fuither went to statethat he expectedthe future new cabinetto uphold the samepositions. In that connection,I would like to reiteratethat for the Palestinianside, our policy related to the question of Palestinewill not change.We will continue to call for the recognition of the inalienablerights of the Palestinianpeople. We will continueto shed light on the trampling upon tfe human rights of the Palestinianpeople by Israel, the occupying Power, and its violations of international law and international humanitarian law. We will continue to explicitly reject the destruction and the colonization of Palestinian-land. We will continue to reaffirm the rights of the Palestinerefugees,in accordance with IIN resolution 194. We will continueto call for Israeli withdrawal from all the land it occupiedsince 1967, including eastJerusalem. And, we will continueto call for the establishment an independent of PalestinianState,with eastJerusalem its as capital,in order for the Palestinianpeopleto live in freedom,peaceand security. Mr. Chairman, Over the past week, PresidentAbbas has engagedin intense discussionswith all political parties represented the new PalestinianLegislative Council (PLC) regarding in new cabinet formation. These consultations will formally continue in a meeting to be convenedon 16 Februaryto elect officers of the PLC and to be followed thereafter with the processof forming a new cabinet. In this regard,I want to reiteratethe declaredposition of Palestine that the economic aid provided to the Palestinian people should not be halted or intemrpted. The international community must not collectively punish the Palestinian people for exercisingtheir democraticright to elect their representatives. Irrespectiveof diverging opinions regarding the political parties the Palestinian people elected, it must be

rememberedthat it came about in a democratic manner. As such, the choice the Palestinian peoplemade deserves respectand support. Hence, we appeal to those parties who made negative pronouncements to revoke financial assistanceto the Palestinianpeople livingl undei Israeli occupation to reevaluateand rescind such-positions. Any dicision to stop aid will have a tremendous negativeimpact on the daily lives of the Palestinian people and compoundtheir already dire humanitarian sifuation. The welfare of the Palestinianpeople should be the main concern of the international community and ways to alleviati their hardships should be the focus, rather than ways that would intensify them. Mr. Chairman, I would now like to turn the direction of my statementto that of the Committee for the coming year. Over the past severalmonths, the Bureau and the Committee,has in good faith, engagedin dialogue with many groups to involve them in the work of the Committee' As such,detailsof the functionsof the Committee and the subjectmatterof upcoming Conferences the Committeewere disclosed. of In doing so, the Committee hoped to actively involve them in the work of the Committee for the pu{pose of positively influencingthe programsand activitiesbenefiting the palestinianpeople. Furthermore,this course of action has been done to make all the activities of the Committeecongruentwith the political processand with the socioeconomic dimensionto provide assistance the Palestinian to people.This would certainlyassistin rebuilding and enhancingthe capacitybuildingfor the reconstruction Palestinian of society,especiallyin Gaza' Such an objective can only be enhancedwith the collective effort and active participation of all those who attach importanceto the principles of international law and thosewho truly want to bring Israel's 38-year-oldoccupation to an end. Mr. Chairman, Clearly the Palestiniannational struggle faces tremendous challenges.It must be recalled,that when the mandateof the Committeeand otherprogru*, reratea palestine to were establishedthirty years ago, the occupation was still in its infant stage and its brutality was not as entrenchedas it is today. Thirty years&go, the monstrousWall being built by Israel in fte occupied PalestinianTenitory, including east J.;;;-,'urrl"*" establishment thousands illegal seftlements, of of altng with the transferof hundredsof thousandsof illegal settlers,swallowing up Palestiniin land did not exist. Moreover today, the Palestinian people also suffetih. consequences the imposition of of hundreds of checkpoints, imprisonmentof thousands Palestinian the of political prisons,the illegal policy of extrajudicialexecutions and a myriad of othermercilessexamplesof occupation against the Palestinian p.opl?, permeating every aspect of their fives. Indeed, the -of . occupation and the illegal policies and practices the Israeli occupying forces have madethe life of everyPalestinian man, *orn.n and child intolerable.

On this note, if programsrelatedto the questionof Palestine were neededthirty years ogo, it would make senseto statethat, today the Palestinian people are in an even more need for the continuation and even strengtheningof these programs. Even more than that, there should be contemplationof establishingadditional programsfor the Palestinian people to ensurethat the crimes of the occupationare not concealed, told. The tragic but plight of the Palestinian people living under occupation should be transmitted to .'n.ry householdto createa more boisterous voice calling for the terminationof the occupation once and for all and to ensure that an entire people will never be under the boot of a brutal occupier, all while the internationalcommunity remained paralyzed. As witnessedthrough various statements, internationalcommunity at the United the Nations has demonstrated strongview on the importanceof the mandates its relatedto the question of Palestine. Unified positions have been establishedto reaffirm that such mandates,as they are democraticallyrenewed each year via the adoption of General Assemblyresolutions,shouldnot fall underthe review of mandates oldei than five years. Mr. ChairmanWe would also like to introducean idea that could provide indispensable supportto the Secretary-General, including supportingthe role His Excellenry pluyr in the Quartet. In this regard,it may be useful to think creatively on ways for the Committeeto play a role in assistingthe Secretary-General, his personal capacity as well as a in euartet member. We must think collectively on additional ways to help His ExcellencyutrOnit good offices in any possible way to further enhancethe work of the Quartet and to bring a just solution to the confliot based on the road map and relevant United Nations resolutions. For my delegation, standready to work with the Membersand Observers we of the Committee,as well as the Secretary-General, finding ways to achievethis. on In closing, Mr. Chairman,allow me to expressour thanks and appreciation you, to to the membersof the Bureau and to all of the Members of this uuguri Committeefor your valuable efforts and contributions and to the Division for all their hard work. We are confident that you will continue to exert seriousefforts towards enabling the Palestinian peopleto finally and truly exercise their inalienablerights.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.