Resolution 60/126
(December 12, 2005)
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 59/56
of 2 December 2004, as well as previous resolutions
on the question,
Recalling also the signing
of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993,
by the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian
people,1 and the subsequent implementation
agreements concluded by the two sides,
Recalling further the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,2 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights 2 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,3
Gravely concerned at the deterioration
in the living conditions of the Palestinian people throughout
the occupied territory, which constitutes a mounting
humanitarian crisis,
Conscious of the urgent need
for improvement in the economic and social infrastructure
of the occupied territory,
Aware that development is
difficult under occupation and is best promoted in circumstances
of peace and stability,
Noting the great economic
and social challenges facing the Palestinian people
and their leadership,
Emphasizing the importance
of the safety and well-being of all children in the
whole Middle East region,
Deeply concerned about the
negative impact, including health and psychological
consequences, of violence on the present and future
well-being of children in the region,
Conscious of the urgent necessity
for international assistance to the Palestinian people,
taking into account the Palestinian priorities,
Welcoming the results of the
Conference to Support Middle East Peace, convened in
Washington, D.C., on 1 October 1993, the establishment
of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee and the work being done
by the World Bank as its secretariat and the establishment
of the Consultative Group, as well as all follow-up
meetings and international mechanisms established to
provide assistance to the Palestinian people,
Welcoming also the work of
the Joint Liaison Committee, which provides a forum
in which economic policy and practical matters related
to donor assistance are discussed with the Palestinian
Authority,
Stressing the continued importance
of the work of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in the coordination
of assistance to the Palestinian people,
Noting the upcoming meeting
of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee to review the state
of the Palestinian economy, and progress in drawing
up a medium-term development plan for the Palestinian
economy,
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, and welcoming
in this regard the support provided to the Palestinian
Authority by the Task Force on Palestinian Reform, established
by the Quartet in 2002,
Noting, in this regard, the
active participation of the United Nations Special Coordinator
for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative
of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Palestinian Authority in the activities
of the Special Envoys of the Quartet,
Welcoming the endorsement
by the Security Council, in its resolution 1515 (2003)
of 19 November 2003, of the performance-based road map
to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict,4 and stressing the need for its
implementation and compliance with its provisions,
Welcoming also the Israeli
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern
West Bank as a step towards implementation of the road
map,
Having considered the report
of the Secretary-General,5
Expressing grave concern at
the continuation of the recent tragic and violent events
that have led to many deaths and injuries, including
among children,
1. Takes note of the report
of the Secretary-General;
2. Also takes note of the
report of the Personal Humanitarian Envoy of the Secretary-General
on the humanitarian conditions and needs of the Palestinian
people;6
3. Expresses its appreciation
to the Secretary-General for his rapid response and
efforts regarding assistance to the Palestinian people;
4. Also expresses its appreciation
to the Member States, United Nations bodies and intergovernmental,
regional and non-governmental organizations that have
provided and continue to provide assistance to the Palestinian
people;
5. Stresses the importance
of the work of the United Nations Special Coordinator
for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative
of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Palestinian Authority 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;
6. 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 close
cooperation with the Palestine Liberation Organization
and through official Palestinian institutions;
7. 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 Palestinian
priorities set forth by the Palestinian Authority;
8. Calls upon the international
community to provide urgently needed assistance and
services in an effort to alleviate the dire humanitarian
crisis being faced by Palestinian children and their
families and to help in the reconstruction of relevant
Palestinian institutions;
9. Urges Member States to
open their markets to exports of Palestinian products
on the most favourable terms, consistent with appropriate
trading rules, and to implement fully existing trade
and cooperation agreements;
10. Calls upon the international
donor community to expedite the delivery of pledged
assistance to the Palestinian people to meet their urgent
needs;
11. Stresses, in this context,
the importance of ensuring the free passage of aid to
the Palestinian people and the free movement of persons
and goods;
12. Welcomes the recent agreement
on movement and access between the two sides and the
subsequent opening of the Rafah border on 25 November
2005, and stresses the need to ensure that the commitments
made in the agreement are fully implemented in accordance
with the timeline set out in the agreement;
13. Stresses the need for
all concerned parties to work together for the speedy
resolution of all outstanding issues relating to disengagement,
and welcomes in this regard the work of the Quartet
Special Envoy for Disengagement;
14. Urges the international
donor community, United Nations agencies and organizations
and non-governmental organizations to extend as rapidly
as possible emergency economic and humanitarian assistance
to the Palestinian people to counter the impact of the
current crisis;
15. Stresses the need to implement
the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations of 29 April
1994, fifth annex to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim
Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, signed
in Washington, D.C., on 28 September 1995,7 in particular with regard to the full and prompt clearance
of Palestinian indirect tax revenues, and welcomes the
progress made in this regard;
16. Suggests the convening
in 2006 of a United Nations-sponsored seminar on assistance
to the Palestinian people;
17. Requests the Secretary-General
to submit a report to the General Assembly at its sixty-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;
18. Decides to include in
the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session the
sub-item entitled "Assistance to the Palestinian
people".
Notes
1A/48/486-S/26560,
annex.
2See resolution 2200 A
(XXI), annex.
3United Nations, Treaty
Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.
4S/2003/529, annex.
5A/60/90-E/2005/80.
6Available at http://domino.un.org/bertini_rpt.htm.
7A/51/889-S/1997/357, annex.
Sources: The United Nations |