UNITED NATIONS ASIAN MEETING ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE IN HANOI 1-3 MARCH

Press Release
GA/PAL/818*

UNITED NATIONS ASIAN MEETING ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE IN HANOI 1-3 MARCH

The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has convened the Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine, which will be held from 1 to 3 March at the Meliá Hotel in Hanoi. The theme of the Meeting is “Achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people -– a key to peace in the Middle East". It is organized in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 54/39 and 54/40 of 1 December 1999.

The Committee has considered that, at this sensitive stage in the Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations, it is important to promote international support for the success of the peace process and to make its objectives better known in the Asian region. At the same time, the Committee maintained that, at this crucial juncture, the international community should spare no effort in order to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine, as well as bring peace and stability to the entire region of the Middle East.

The opening session of the Meeting will take place on Wednesday, 1 March, at 10 a.m. in the main conference room, Ballroom I, of the Meliá Hotel. The session will be addressed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Nguyen Dy Nien; Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and representative of the United Nations Secretary-General; Ibra Deguène Ka, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; Suleiman Al-Najab, Special Envoy of Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian Authority; and representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations bodies and agencies.

Plenary I, in the afternoon of Wednesday, 1 March, is entitled “The peace process and Palestinian statehood”. The speakers will brief the participants on the status of the peace process and international efforts towards the realization of the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights; the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and Palestinian statehood and achieving peace in the region. The keynote presentation will be made by Suleiman Al-Najab. Speakers include Sari Nusseibeh, President, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem; Tamar Gozansky, Member of Knesset; Valeriyan Shuvaev, Head of the Division for Palestine and the Peace Process in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Judith Kipper, Director, Middle East Forum, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C. __________ * Reissued to correct Press Release Number.

- 2 - Press Release GA/PAL/818 18 February 2000

On Thursday, 2 March, Plenary II will be devoted to the United Nations and the question of Palestine. Presentations will focus on the United Nations as a guarantor of international legitimacy; guarding the rights of the Palestinian people; and advancing economic and social development of the Palestinian people. Speakers include Ron MacIntyre, senior lecturer in Political Science, University of Canterbury, Christchurch; Mani Shankar Aiyar, member of the Indian Parliament; and Nasser Al-Kidwa, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations.

Plenary III on Thursday afternoon, 2 March, is entitled “International support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”. It will provide information on action by Asian States towards promoting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people within the United Nations system, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other intergovernmental organizations; the experience of Asian States in the struggle for national independence and sovereignty; the experience of Asia in the quest for economic independence and sustainable development; prospects for the development of bilateral economic cooperation, trade and the establishment of business partnerships with the Palestinian people; the role of civil society (business groups, academic, cultural and religious institutions, the media and non-governmental organizations in promoting institution-building; and enhancing the role of women in society. Speakers include Allam Jarrar, Vice-President, Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace, Ramallah; Adam Keller, spokesman, Gush Shalom; Andrew Vincent, senior lecturer in Middle East Politics, School of Philosophy and Politics, Macquarie University, Sydney; Eisuke Naramoto, Professor on International Relations, Department of Economics, Hosei University, Tokyo; Morad Ghaleb, President, Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organization, Cairo; and Li Guofu, Associate Research Fellow, China Institute of International Studies, Beijing.

Plenary IV on Friday morning, 3 March, at 9 a.m., is entitled “The role of parliaments in achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”. The speakers include L. Bold (Mongolia), Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Council; Humayun Rasheed Choudhury (Bangladesh), Speaker of Parliament; and Ziad Abu Amr, member of the Palestinian Council.

A non-governmental organizations workshop follows at 11 a.m. The discussion will focus on the development of action-oriented proposals by Asian non-governmental organizations and mechanisms for their implementation; and cooperation between Asian and Palestinian non-governmental organizations: creating partnerships for development. Speakers include Morad Ghaleb, President, Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, Cairo; and Allam Jarrar, Palestinian non-governmental organizations speaker.

It is envisaged that the main points of the proceedings will be summarized in a brief final document, which will be circulated in the afternoon of Friday, 3 March. The closing session of the Meeting will take place on Friday, 3 March, at 4 p.m.

A report of the proceedings of the Meeting will be issued in due course as a publication of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

- 3 - Press Release GA/PAL/818 18 February 2000

Invitations to attend the Meeting have been sent to all United Nations Member and Observer States, United Nations agencies, bodies and programmes, as well as interested intergovernmental organizations. All Asian non-governmental organizations accredited to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and a number of other non-governmental organizations interested in the subject have been invited to attend the meeting as well. The working languages of the Meeting will be English and French.

Registration for the Meeting takes place at Function Room 1 of the Meliá Hotel, 44 B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi, on Monday and Tuesday, 28 and 29 February, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration on Wednesday, 1 March, will start at 8 a.m. All participants, observers and media representatives are kindly requested to avail themselves of the advance registration during these hours in order to receive the necessary badges to enter the premises. From Wednesday, 23 February, the Meeting secretariat will be operating at Function Room 1 of the Meliá Hotel.

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