Resolution 50/58
(December 20, 1995)
Section H of the above mentioned resolution
was devoted to assistance to the Palestinian
people, it called for measures to build the
Palestinian economy while welcoming the major
agreements signed since May 1994 between Israel
and the Palestine Liberation Organization. It was
adopted without a vote. Israel has been working
in various capitals to secure economic aid for
Palestinians.
Assistance to the Palestinian people
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 49/21 N of 20
December 1994,
Recalling also previous resolutions on the
question,
Welcoming the signing at Cairo on 4 May 1994
by the Government of the State of Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization, the
representative of the Palestinian people, of the
first implementation agreement of the Declaration
of Principles on Interim Self-government
Arrangements, namely the Agreement on the Gaza
Strip and the Jericho Area, and the Agreement on
Preparatory Transfer of Powers and
Responsibilities of 29 August 1994, and the
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip
of 28 September 1995,
Gravely concerned about the difficult economic
and employment conditions facing the Palestinian
people throughout the Occupied Territory,
Conscious of the urgent need for improvement
in the economic and social infrastructure of the
Occupied Territory and the living conditions of
the Palestinian people,
Aware that development is difficult under
occupation and best promoted in circumstances of
peace and stability,
Noting, in the light of the recent
developments in the peace process, the great
economic and social challenges and needs facing
the Palestinian people and their leadership,
Conscious of the urgent necessity for
international assistance to the Palestinian
people, taking into account the Palestinian
priorities, Noting the convening of the United
Nations Seminar on Palestinian Administrative,
Managerial and Financial Needs and Challenges in
the light of the New Developments, held at the
headquarters of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization from 28 to
30 June 1995, Welcoming the signing of the
agreements between the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization and the International
Labour Organization,
Stressing the need for the full engagement of
the United Nations in the process of building
Palestinian institutions and in providing broad
assistance to the Palestinian people, including
assistance in the fields of elections, police
training and public administration,
Noting the appointment by the
Secretary-General in June 1994 of the United
Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied
Territories,
Welcoming the results of the Conference to
Support Middle East Peace, convened in Washington
on 1 October 1993, and the establishment of the
Ad Hoc Liaison Committee and the work being done
by the World Bank and its secretariat, as well as
the establishment of the consultative group and
the convening of an International Conference on
Economic Assistance to the Palestinian People to
be held in Paris,
Welcoming also the results of the meetings of
the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on 29 and 30
November 1994 at Brussels, and on 27 April 1995
in Paris,
Having considered the report of the
Secretary-General,
1. Takes note of the report of the
Secretary-General;
2. Expresses its appreciation to the
Secretary-General for his rapid response and
efforts regarding assistance to the Palestinian
people;
3. Also expresses its appreciation to the
Member States, United Nations bodies and
intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations that have provided and continue to
provide assistance to the Palestinian people;
4. Stresses the importance of the appointment
of the United Nations Special Coordinator in the
Occupied Territories and of the steps taken under
the auspices of the Secretary-General to ensure
the achievement of a coordinated mechanism for
United Nations activities throughout the Occupied
Territories;
5. Urges Member States, international
financial institutions of the United Nations
system, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and regional and interregional
organizations to extend, as rapidly and as
generously as possible, economic and social
assistance to the Palestinian people in order to
assist in the development of the West Bank and
Gaza, and to do so in close cooperation with the
Palestine Liberation Organization and through
official Palestinian institutions;
6. Calls upon relevant organizations and
agencies of the United Nations system to
intensify their assistance in response to the
urgent needs of the Palestinian people in
accordance with the Palestinian priorities set
forth by the Palestinian Authority, with emphasis
on national execution and capacity-building;
7. Urges Member States to open their markets
to exports from the West Bank and Gaza and on the
most favourable terms, consistent with
appropriate trading rules;
8. Calls upon the international donor
community to expedite the delivery of pledged
assistance to the Palestinian people to meet
their urgent needs;
9. Suggests the convening in 1996 of a United
Nations-sponsored seminar on building the
Palestinian economy;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a
report to the General Assembly at its fifty-first
session, through the Economic and Social Council,
on the implementation of the present resolution,
containing:
(a) An assessment of the assistance actually
received by the Palestinian people;
(b) An assessment of the needs still unmet and
specific proposals for responding effectively to
them;
11. Decides to include in the provisional
agenda of its fifty-first session, under the item
entitled “Strengthening the coordination of
the humanitarian and disaster relief assistance
of the United Nations, including special economic
assistance,” the sub-item entitled
“Assistance to the Palestinian people.”
Sources: The United Nations |