HIGH-LEVEL PALESTINIAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT BRUSSELS, 24 - 25 FEBRUARY

12 February 1998

Press Release
PAL/1851/Rev.1*

HIGH-LEVEL PALESTINIAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT BRUSSELS, 24 - 25 FEBRUARY

19980212 Organized Jointly by Palestinian Rights Committee, Organization of Islamic Conference, League of Arab States

A high-level Conference in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to be held in Brussels on 24 and 25 February, has been organized by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States. In convening the Conference, the Chairman of the Committee and the Secretaries-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League have expressed their great concern at the continuing serious situation faced by the Arab-Israeli peace process and at the growing hardships and hopelessness of the Palestinian people living in the occupied territory, including Jerusalem. They voiced their belief that efforts to achieve a political settlement will succeed only if they are accompanied by policies designed to restore faith in a just solution based on internationally accepted principles, and to promote improved living conditions and economic cooperation and development, thus giving hope for a better future not only to Palestinians, but also to all the peoples of the region. The organizers also stated that, in this spirit, their organizations had decided to redouble their efforts to respond constructively to the situation and to help the peace process move forward. The purpose of the Conference is to address the most pressing issues in that regard and to promote intensified international action in support of the attainment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and for the success of the peace efforts. The opening session of the Conference will take place on Tuesday, 24 February, at 10 a.m. in the Louise Hall of the Brussels Hilton. The Conference will be opened by Erik Derycke, Foreign Minister of Belgium. Among the high-level officials who have accepted the organizers' invitation to address the Conference are: Hennady Udovenko (Ukraine), President of the General Assembly; Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian Authority; Carlos Lemos Simmonds, Vice-President of Colombia, representing the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries; and Moustapha Niasse, Foreign Minister of Senegal. The Secretary-General of the United Nations will be represented by Sir Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. The three organizations convening the Conference will be

__________ * Issued for technical reasons.

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represented, respectively, by Ibra Deguène Ka (Senegal), Chairman of the Palestinian Rights Committee; Azeddine Laraki, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference; and Ahmed Esmat Abdel Meguid, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

The high-level segment of the Conference will be followed by a great exchange of views on three main issues, beginning on Tuesday afternoon and continuing into the morning of the following day. The following topics will be introduced by a panel of eminent persons: promoting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people -- a key to peace in the Middle East; the need to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people and promote economic and social development; the Middle East peace process; and the current situation and prospects. A number of well-known personalities from different regions and backgrounds have also been approached.

It is envisaged that representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations, and United Nations bodies and entities will participate in this segment. It is also envisaged that the main points of the Conference proceedings will be summarized in a brief final document, to be circulated on the afternoon of Wednesday, 25 February. The closing session will take place on Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. A report on the proceedings of the Conference will be issued in due course as a publication of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

Invitations to attend the Conference have been sent to all Member and observer States, United Nations agencies, bodies and programmes, and interested intergovernmental organizations. European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accredited to the Palestinian Rights Committee and a number of international NGOs have been invited to attend the Conference as observers. Following the Conference, they will take part in a one-day European NGO Symposium to be held at the same venue, under the theme, "NGO action in support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people".

The working languages of the Conference will be Arabic, English and French.

Registration with the United Nations Secretariat will take place at the Brussels Hilton starting on Friday, 20 February, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and on Monday, 23 February, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All participants, observers and media representatives are kindly requested to avail themselves of the advance registration during these hours, in order to get the necessary badges for their delegations to enter the premises. On Tuesday, 24 February, registration of participants begins at 8 a.m.. From Wednesday, 18 February, the Conference secretariat will operate from the Brussels Hilton, Room "Marie-Henriette"; phone (32-2) 504-1111, fax 504-2111.

For additional information, contact the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat, room S-3362; phone: 212-963-8231; fax: 212-963-4199.

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