Resolution 50/84
(December 15, 1995)
This was the most important resolution of
the 50th session. Israel argued that its contents
were prejudicial to the Israel-Palestinian peace
process as many of its provisions were subject to
negotiations. However, section A was approved by
95 in favor, 2 against and 52 abstentions.
Section B was adopted by 96 in favor, 2 against
and 53 abstentions. Section C: 142 for, 2 against
and 7 abstentions. Section D: 143 for, 3 against,
3 abstentions. The United States voted
consistently with Israel. A number of delegates
told the Israeli representatives that the
resolution contained only declarative parts and
had little operative significance.
A
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable
Rights of the Palestinian People
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 181 (II) of 29
November 1947, 194 (III) of 11 December 1948,
3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, 3375(XXX) and
3376(XE) of 10 November 1975, 31/20 of 24
November 1976, 32/40 A of 2 December 1977, 33/28
A and B of 7 December 1978, 34/65 A of 29
November 1979 and 34/65 C of 12 December 1979,
ES-7/2 of 29 July 1980, 35/169 A and C of 15
December 1980, 36/120 A and C of 10 December
1981, ES-7/4 of 28 April 1982, 37/86 A of 10
December 1982, 38/58 A of 13 December 1983, 39/49
A of 11 December 1984, 40/96 A of 12 December
1985, 41/43 A of 2 December 1986, 42/66 A of 2
December 1987, 43/175 A of 15 December 1988,
44/41 A of 6 December 1989, 45/67 A of 6 December
1990, 46/74 A of 11 December 1991, 47/64 A of 11
December 1992, 48/158 A of 20 December 1993 and
49/62 A of 14 December 1994,
Having considered the report of the Committee
on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People,
Welcoming the signing of the Declaration of
Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements, including its Annexes and Agreed
Minutes, by the Government of the State of Israel
and the Palestine Liberation Organization at
Washington, on 13 September 1993, as well as the
subsequent implementation agreements, in
particular the Agreement on the Gaza Strip and
the Jericho Area, signed at Cairo on 4 May 1994,
and the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip, signed at Washington on 28
September 1995,
Reaffirming that the United Nations has a
permanent responsibility with respect to the
question of Palestine until the question is
resolved in all its aspects in a satisfactory
manner in accordance with international
legitimacy,
1. Expresses its appreciation to the Committee
on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People for its efforts in performing
the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly;
2. Considers that the Committee can continue
to make a valuable and positive contribution to
international efforts to promote the effective
implementation of the Declaration of Principles
on Interim Self-government Arrangements and to
mobilize international support for and assistance
to the Palestinian people during the transitional
period;
3. Endorses the recommendations of the
Committee contained in section VII of its report;
4. Requests the Committee to continue to keep
under review the situation relating to the
question of Palestine and to report and make
suggestions to the General Assembly or the
Security Council, as appropriate;
5. Authorizes the Committee to continue to
exert all efforts to promote the exercise of the
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, to
make such adjustments in its approved programme
of work as it may consider appropriate and
necessary in the light of developments, to give
special emphasis to the need to mobilize support
and assistance for the Palestinian people, and to
report thereon to the General Assembly at its
fifty-first session and thereafter;
6. Also requests the Committee to continue to
extend its cooperation to non-governmental
organizations in their contribution towards
heightening international awareness of the facts
relating to the question of Palestine and
promoting support and assistance to meet the
needs of the Palestinian people, and to take the
necessary steps to involve additional
non-governmental organizations in its work;
7. Requests the United Nations Conciliation
Commission for Palestine, established under
resolution 194 (III), and other United Nations
bodies associated with the question of Palestine,
to continue to cooperate fully with the Committee
and to make available to it, at its request, the
relevant information and documentation which they
have at their disposal;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to circulate
the report of the Committee to all the competent
bodies of the United Nations and urges them to
take the necessary action, as appropriate;
9. Also requests the Secretary-General to
continue to provide the Committee with all the
necessary facilities for the performance of its
tasks.
B
Division for Palestinian Rights of the
Secretariat
The General Assembly,
Having considered the report of the Committee
on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People,
Taking note, in particular, of the relevant
information contained in section V.B of that
report,
Recalling its resolutions 32/40 B of 2
December 1977, 33/28 C of 7 December 1978, 34/65
D of 12 December 1979, 35/169 D of 15 December
1980, 36/120 B of 10 December 1981 37/86 B of 10
December 1982, 38/58 B of 13 December 1983, 39/49
B of 11 December 1984 40/96 B of 12 December
1985, 41/43 B of 2 December 1986, 42/66 B of 2
December 1987 43/175 B of 15 December 1988, 44/41
B of 6 December 1989, 45/67 B of 6 December 1990
46/74 B of 11 December 1991, 47/64 B of 11
December 1992, 48/158 B of 20 December 1993 and
49/62 B of 14 December 1994;
1. Notes with appreciation the action taken by
the Secretary-General in compliance with its
resolution 49/62 B;
2. Considers that the Division for Palestinian
Rights of the Secretariat continues to make a
useful and constructive contribution through the
organization of seminars and meetings of
non-governmental organizations, as well as
through its research and monitoring activities,
the preparation of studies and publications and
the collection and dissemination of information
in printed and electronic form on all issues
pertaining to the question of Palestine;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to continue
to provide the Division with the necessary
resources, including for the further development
of the United Nations Information System on the
Question of Palestine, and to ensure that it
continues to discharge the tasks detailed in
paragraph 1 of resolution 32/40 B. paragraph 2
(b) of resolution 34/65 D, paragraph 3 of
resolution 36/120 B, paragraph 3 of resolution
38/ 58 B, paragraph 3 of resolution 40/96 B,
paragraph 2 of resolution 42/66 B, paragraph 2 of
resolution 44/ 41 B, paragraph 2 of resolution
46/74 B and paragraph 2 of resolution 48/158 B,
in consultation with the Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People and under its guidance;
4. Also requests the Secretary-General to
ensure the continued cooperation of the
Department of Public Information and other units
of the Secretariat in enabling the Division for
Palestinian Rights to perform its tasks and in
covering adequately the various aspects of the
question of Palestine;
5. Invites all Governments and organizations
to lend their cooperation to the Committee and
the Division in the performance of their tasks;
6. Notes with appreciation the action taken by
Member States to observe annually on 29 November
the International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People, and requests them to continue
to give the widest possible publicity to the
observance, and requests the Committee to
continue to organize, as part of the observance
of the Day of Solidarity, an annual exhibit on
Palestinian rights in cooperation with the
Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the
United Nations.
C
Department of Public Information of the
Secretariat
The General Assembly,
Having considered the report of the Committee
on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People,
Taking note, in particular, of the information
contained in paragraphs 102 to 114 of that
report,
Recalling its resolution 49/62 C of 14
December 1994,
Convinced that the world-wide dissemination of
accurate and comprehensive information and the
role of non-governmental organizations and
institutions remain of vital importance in
heightening awareness of and support for the
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,
Aware of the Declaration of Principles on
Interim Self-Government Arrangements signed by
the Government of the State of Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington,
D.C., on 13 September 1993, and of the subsequent
implementation agreements, in particular the
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip
on 28 September 1995, and their positive
implications,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the action
taken by the Department of Public Information of
the Secretariat in compliance with General
Assembly resolution 49/62 C;
2. Considers that the special information
programme on the question of Palestine of the
Department of Public Information is very useful
in raising the awareness of the international
community concerning the complexities of the
question and the situation in the Middle East in
general, including the achievements of the peace
process, and that the programme is contributing
effectively to an atmosphere conducive to
dialogue and supportive of the peace process;
3. Requests the Department of Public
Information, in full cooperation and coordination
with the Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to
continue, with the necessary flexibility as may
be required by developments affecting the
question of Palestine, its special information
programme on the question of Palestine for the
biennium 1996-1997, with particular emphasis on
public opinion in Europe and North America and,
in particular:
(a) To disseminate information on all the
activities of the United Nations system relating
to the question of Palestine, including reports
on the work carried out by the relevant United
Nations organizations;
(b) To continue to issue and update
publications on the various aspects of the
question of Palestine in all fields, including
materials concerning the recent developments in
that regard, and, in particular, the achievements
of the peace process;
(c) To expand its audiovisual material on the
question of Palestine, including the production
of such material;
(d) To organize and promote fact-finding news
missions for journalists to the area, including
the territories under the jurisdiction of the
Palestinian Authority and the occupied
territories;
(e) To organize international, regional and
national encounters for journalists;
(f) To provide in cooperation with specialized
agencies of the United Nations system,
particularly the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, assistance
to the Palestinian people in the field of media
development.
D
Peaceful settlement of the question of
Palestine
The General Assembly,
Recalling its relevant resolutions,
Recalling also the relevant Security Council
resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967) of
22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October
1973,
Having considered the report of the
Secretary-General of 7 November 1995, submitted
pursuant to the request made in resolution 49/62
D of 14 December 1994,
Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful
settlement of the question of Palestine, the core
of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is imperative for
the attainment of a comprehensive and lasting
peace in the Middle East, Aware that the
principle of equal rights and self-determination
of peoples is among the purposes and principles
of the Charter of the United Nations, Affirming
the principle of the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by war,
Affirming also the illegality of the Israeli
settlements in the territory occupied since 1967
and of Israeli actions aimed at changing the
status of Jerusalem,
Affirming once more the right of all States in
the region to live in peace within secure and
internationally recognized borders,
Aware of the mutual recognition between the
Government of the State of Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization, the
representative of the Palestinian people, and the
signing by the two parties of the Declaration of
Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements at Washington on 13 September 1993,
as well as the subsequent implementation
agreements, including the Interim Agreement on
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 28 September
1995,
Noting with satisfaction the withdrawal of the
Israeli army, which took place in the Gaza Strip
and the Jericho area in accordance with the
agreements reached by the parties, and the
initiation of the Palestinian Authority in those
areas, as well as the beginning of the
redeployment of the Israeli army in the rest of
the West Bank,
Aware that the United Nations has participated
as a full, extraregional participant in the work
of the multilateral working groups of the Middle
East peace process,
Noting the appointment by the
Secretary-General of a "Special Coordinator
in the occupied territories", and the
positive contribution in this regard,
Welcoming the convening of the Conference to
Support Middle East Peace at Washington on 1
October 1993, and all follow-up meetings,
1. Reaffirms the necessity of achieving a
peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine,
the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in all its
aspects;
2. Expresses its full support of the ongoing
peace process which began in Madrid and the
Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements, as well as the
subsequent implementation agreements, and
expresses the hope that the process will lead to
the establishment of a comprehensive, just and
lasting peace in the Middle East;
3. Calls for the timely and scrupulous
implementation of the agreement reached between
the parties towards the negotiation of the final
settlement;
4. Stresses the need for:
(a) The realization of the inalienable rights
of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to
self-determination;
(b) The withdrawal of Israel from the
Palestinian territory occupied since 1967;
5. Also stresses the need for resolving the
problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity
with its resolution 194 (III) of 11 December
1948;
6. Urges Member States to expedite the
provision of economic and technical assistance to
the Palestinian people during this critical
period;
7. Emphasizes the importance for the United
Nations to play a more active and expanded role
in the current peace process and in the
implementation of the Declaration of Principles,
including the monitoring of the forthcoming
Palestinian elections;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to continue
his efforts with the parties concerned, and in
consultation with the Security Council, for the
promotion of peace in the region and to submit
progress reports on development in this matter.
Sources: The United Nations |