General Assembly Session 59 meeting 71

The President

The General Assembly will now consider the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) on agenda items 22, 73 to 82 and 20.

I request the Rapporteur of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), Mr. Kais Kabtani of Tunisia, to introduce in one intervention the reports of the Committee.

Mr. Kabtani (Tunisia)

It is a great honour and privilege for me to introduce to the General Assembly the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) submitted under agenda items 22, 73 to 82 and 20. Those reports, contained in documents A/59/467 to A/59/478, include the texts of draft resolutions and draft decisions recommended to the General Assembly for adoption. For the convenience of delegations, the Secretariat has prepared a checklist of voting in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee); it is contained in (document A/C.4/59/INF/3).

During this first part of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee held 25 formal meetings. In conformity with established practice, it held an informal interactive meeting under agenda item 77, "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects". An open-ended working group established by the Committee under item 74, "International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space", also held several informal meetings.

During that stage of its work, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted 24 draft resolutions and four draft decisions, of which nine draft resolutions and all four draft decisions were adopted without a vote.

The first report, submitted under agenda item 22, "Assistance in mine action", is contained in document A/59/467. This year was the first time that that item had been considered by the Fourth Committee, in accordance with a decision of the General Assembly. The Committee also held, on an experimental basis, a round table on the subject of demining as an element of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Because we were unable to obtain a consensus on a draft resolution concerning that issue -- which, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 58/316, should be examined only every two years -- the Committee recommended that it be included on the provisional agenda of the sixtieth session for further consideration.

The second report, submitted under agenda item 73, "Effects of atomic radiation", is contained in document A/59/468. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, contained in document A/59/46. The draft resolution submitted under that agenda item is contained in paragraph 7 of the report of the Fourth Committee.

The third report, submitted under agenda item 74, "International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space", is contained in document A/59/469. In considering that item, the Fourth Committee held several informal meetings of an open-ended working group chaired by the Nigerian delegation. That working group formulated the draft resolution contained in paragraph 14 of the report.

The fourth report, submitted under agenda item 75, "United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East", is contained in document A/59/470. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), published under the symbol A/59/13, as well as the report of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA and various reports of the Secretary-General. Under this item, the Committee adopted four draft resolutions whose adoption by the General Assembly would extend UNRWA's mandate until June 2008 and enable it to continue the various important activities that it is carrying out to reduce the suffering of Palestinian refugees. The draft resolutions also invite donors to support the tireless efforts made by the Agency in increasingly difficult conditions. The Fourth Committee recommends those draft resolutions for adoption by the General Assembly.

The fifth report, on item 76, "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories", is contained in document A/59/471. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the Special Committee concerning the protection and the promotion of the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arab inhabitants of the occupied territories (A/59/381), as well as other reports of the Secretary-General issued under this item. The Fourth Committee adopted five draft resolutions, which are found in paragraph 27 of its report. The draft resolutions reaffirm the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and demand that Israel respect its obligations under international law, as indicated by the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of July 2004. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolutions.

The sixth report, on agenda item 77, "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects", is contained in document A/59/472. The Fourth Committee heard a detailed preliminary statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and held a general debate on this question. The Committee also held an interactive discussion with the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and other senior officials of the Department.

The seventh report, on agenda item 78, "Questions relating to information", is contained in document A/59/473. The Fourth Committee reviewed the report of the Committee on Information (A/59/21) and the report of the Secretary-General (A/59/221 and Corr.1) and heard a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Mr. Shashi Tharoor, on the innovative measures taken by the Department to overcome the obstacles encountered last year in disseminating the message of the United Nations throughout the world. The Committee adopted, without a vote, two draft resolutions and one draft decision, which are contained, respectively, in paragraphs 12 and 13 of the report.

By the terms of the draft decision, Cape Verde, Iceland, Luxembourg, Madagascar and Qatar would be appointed as members of the Committee on Information, which would comprise 107 members. The Special Political and Decolonization Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolutions and the draft decision.

Following informal consultations that I had the honour of chairing, the Committee took, under agenda item 109, "Programme planning", a decision concerning the strategic framework of the Department of Public Information for the period 2006-2007. That decision, which was conveyed to the Fifth Committee through the President of the General Assembly, is contained in a document of the Fifth Committee published under the symbol A/C.5/59/14.

The Fourth Committee has clustered the review of the items on Non-Self Governing Territories and on the Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, agenda items 79 to 82 and agenda item 20. The Committee held a single general debate and heard 23 speakers in connection with the various non-autonomous territories.

The report presented under agenda item 79, "Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations", is contained in document A/59/474. The draft resolution submitted under this item can be found in paragraph 7 of the report. The Fourth Committee recommends its adoption to the General Assembly.

The report under agenda item 80, "Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories", is found in document A/59/475. Under that item, the Fourth Committee adopted a draft resolution, which is contained in paragraph 7 of the report. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt it.

The report under agenda item 81, "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations", is contained in document A/59/476. The Fourth Committee recommends that the draft resolution found in paragraph 6 of the report be adopted by the General Assembly.

The report under agenda item 82, "Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories", is contained in document A/59/477. The Fourth Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolution that appears in paragraph 6 of the report.

The report under agenda item 20, "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples", is contained in document A/59/478. The Fourth Committee adopted six draft resolution and two draft decisions. The draft resolutions on the question of New Caledonia and on the question of Tokelau, the consolidated draft resolution on the 11 territories and the two draft decisions, were adopted by the Committee without a vote. The draft resolutions concerning the question of Western Sahara, the dissemination of information on decolonization and the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples were all adopted by recorded vote.

The Committee also adopted a second draft decision, which would raise from 25 to 27 the number of members of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, appointing Dominica and Timor-Leste as new members.

The Fourth Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the six draft resolution contained in paragraph 38 of the report and the two draft decisions contained in paragraph 39.

Before concluding, I would to recall the remarkable spirit of cooperation which prevailed in the work of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. Although it needed two more weeks than anticipated, the Committee was able to fulfil the mandate entrusted to it, and it carried out its work successfully, effectively and constructively.

On behalf of the Bureau of the Fourth Committee, I would like to express our deep gratitude to delegations, whose concerted efforts led to the Committee's adoption of draft resolutions before it. I would like also to thank all delegations that helped the Committee reach consensus on many draft resolutions and draft decisions.

I want to pay special tribute to the Chairman of the Fourth Committee, Mr. Kyaw Tint Swe of Myanmar. His knowledge and experience of multilateral bodies, combined with his talents as a diplomat, made it possible for the Committee thoroughly to study all the items allocated to it by the General Assembly. Thanks to his sense of priorities and his resolve, the Chairman greatly facilitated the consideration of many sensitive issues. All those assets were all the more valuable as the Committee's agenda contained important, and often thorny, questions. The other members of the Bureau -- namely, Mr. Helfried Carl of Austria, Mr. Eduardo Calderón of Ecuador and Mr. Andrej Droba of the Slovak Republic -- with whom I had the pleasure of working were also responsible for the success of the Fourth Committee's work.

I would also like to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Saijin Zhang, the Secretary of the Committee, and to his very able Secretariat team. It is always thanks to their valuable contribution that the work of the Committee can be carried out effectively, and we are very grateful to them for having done what was necessary so that we could conclude our work successfully.

I now have the honour of submitting to the General Assembly for consideration and adoption the recommendations of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), which appear in the reports published under the symbols A/59/467 to A/59/478.

The President

If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) that are before the Assembly today.

The President

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote or position.

The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. May I remind members that, under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401, the General Assembly agreed that,

"When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee".

May I remind delegations that, also in accordance with General Assembly decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

Before we begin to take action on the recommendations contained in the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, I should like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take decisions in the same manner as was done in the Committee, unless the Secretariat is notified to the contrary in advance.

That means that where recorded votes were taken, we will do the same. I should also hope that we will proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

The President

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Fourth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft decision without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 22?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 73?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 14 of its report.

Draft resolution I is entitled "Application of the concept of the 'launching State'". The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution II is entitled "International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space".

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 74?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the four draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 20 of its report. We will proceed to take a decision on draft resolutions I through IV, one by one. After the voting, representatives will have an opportunity to explain their votes.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Assistance to Palestine refugees".

The President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities".

The President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East".

The President

We now turn to draft resolution IV, entitled "Palestine refugees' properties and their revenues".

The President

I call on the representative of Israel, who wishes to speak in explanation of vote on the resolution just adopted.

Mr. Cohen (Israel)

Israel fully supports the humanitarian mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Despite the exceedingly difficult conditions on the ground, we are seeking ways to work with the organization for the benefit of the Palestinian population.

However, because its mission is humanitarian and not political, and because the issue of refugees is specifically reserved for negotiations between the parties, UNRWA resolutions should not deal with extraneous political issues. They should not single out one host country or prejudge issues set aside for final status negotiations. To do so is to reduce the effectiveness of the organization.

The entire United Nations system has devoted itself of late to the mission of reform and revitalization. We do not think that this issue should be excluded from these worthy endeavours, and we believe that further streamlining and depoliticization of these resolutions is necessary. For all of these reasons, Israel has not been able to support the resolutions under this agenda item, despite its support for UNRWA's humanitarian mission.

We are hopeful that we can work with Member States to achieve this goal in future and with UNRWA and other parties on the ground to guarantee that its mandate is fulfilled as effectively as possible.

The President

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 75.

The President

The Assembly has before it five draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 27 of its report.

We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to V one by one.

After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their vote.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories".

The President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories".

The President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan".

The President

Draft resolution IV is entitled "Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem".

The President

Draft resolution V is entitled "The occupied Syrian Golan".

The President

I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote on the resolutions just adopted.

Mr. Arias (Panama)

Allow me to take this opportunity to explain Panama's vote with regard to draft resolution I, on the work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, as well as to make a few comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that we feel are relevant.

Panama reaffirms its solidarity with the Palestinian people and with its right to self-determination through the establishment of a free and independent State. We also reaffirm the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace with the respect of its neighbouring States.

Panama supports every United Nations effort to ensure effective compliance with human rights in any part of the world and acknowledges the special effort that is being made in the Middle East with a view to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Panama has traditionally voted in favour of all draft resolutions submitted on this item. However, on this occasion, Panama decided to abstain in the vote on draft resolution I in document A/59/471. Given the very particular circumstances in the region, it is insufficient that the mandate of the Special Committee, which goes back to 1968, be limited to investigating only one of the parties to the conflict. Panama believes that, in order to make it more relevant, this mandate should be broader and that, as a result, the Committee's report should be more comprehensive.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a source of great concern for our country. In particular, we are concerned by the endless cycle of violence in those territories. In that context, we must reiterate that neither the occupation of the territories and extrajudicial killings nor suicide attacks against civilians are legally permissible means to defend national interests. We do not have the slightest doubt that the settlement of Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires strict compliance with the norms of international law.

We are also concerned by the General Assembly's lack of effectiveness in resolving this conflict. We draw attention to the great number of resolutions adopted at the United Nations on this matter. Everyone is aware of the fact that resolving this conflict -- or any other conflict of similar importance for the international community -- is not a function of the number of resolutions that we adopt, but rather of the consensus that we achieve and the possibility that this would lead to concrete deeds which would contribute to the objective that we seek.

The United Nations Charter establishes as one of the functions of the General Assembly -- perhaps the most important one -- to make recommendations on the peaceful settlement of disputes. That is why we suggest that our work in plenary meetings not be limited to the critical analysis of realities, but rather aim to formulate proposals that would help to resolve conflicts.

I would like to conclude by reaffirming Panama's support for any effort towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. That requires, inter alia, a definitive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a process which requires that all the parties accept and comply with the Oslo Agreements, the principles of the Madrid Conference and the road map.

Mr. Cohen (Israel)

Israel voted against the draft resolutions under this agenda item because we believe that they present a picture that is disconnected from reality. On the ground today there is a sense of opportunity, of a return to negotiations and of new initiatives that may serve to regenerate the peace process. In the texts before us, however, we face a biased and anachronistic picture of the situation in the region, where the rights of only one side are acknowledged. There is no correlation between those two visions.

We believe that these resolutions are wasteful of United Nations resources and counterproductive, as well as contrary to a spirit of reform and revitalization. The problematic nature of the resolutions is even starker today, given the opportunity for real progress that has emerged in the region. In our view, there is an inherent contradiction between the approach of the road map -- which calls for mutual recognition, compromise and compliance -- and these resolutions.

If we are actually to improve conditions in the region for all peoples, we must put such unhelpful, unconstructive efforts behind us. There is opportunity on the ground, and we must embrace it, in the General Assembly and elsewhere, by encouraging negotiations based on mutual respect. Israel is hopeful that the future holds great promise. It is up to all of us to work to realize it.

Ms. Grant (Canada)

As we signalled in this Hall last week, as the result of a full review of all our votes on Middle East resolutions, Canada decided to vote against draft resolution A/59/L.14. Canada is very concerned about the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis and deplores all violence. We have called on Israel to fully comply with its obligations under international law as an occupying Power, and we will continue to do so.

However, we see no value added from the activities of the Special Committee, which duplicate the work of other more appropriate and effective mechanisms, such as the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. We believe that the General Assembly should consider reassigning resources to activities which are more consistent with road map obligations and the Quartet's objectives. By focusing solely on the rights of Palestinians, the resolution distorts the picture, which should reflect the rights and responsibilities of all parties.

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 76?

The President

May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to take note of the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) contained in document A/59/472?

The President

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 77.

The President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 12 of its report (A/59/473) and a draft decision recommended by the Committee in paragraph 13 of the same report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution and on the draft decision.

The draft resolution, entitled "Questions relating to information", is in two parts. Part A is entitled "Information in the service of humanity", and part B is entitled "United Nations public information policies and activities". The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

We now turn to the draft decision, entitled "Increase in the membership of the Committee on Information". The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft decision without a vote. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to do the same?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 78?

The President

(spoke in French): The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

The President

(spoke in French): May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 79?

The President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.