UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

TO BE HELD IN GENEVA, 15 - 16 JULY

NEW YORK, 7 July (Department of Political Affairs) -- The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene a United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People on 15 and 16 July at the United Nations Office at Geneva, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 57/107 and 57/108 of 3 December 2002.  The theme of the Seminar is “Prerequisites of Palestinian economic recovery –- the role of the international community”.

The Seminar will provide the international community with an opportunity to renew its commitment to helping normalize the life of the Palestinian people through emergency relief and humanitarian assistance, but also through rehabilitating the badly damaged economy and bringing about a substantial improvement in the living conditions of the Palestinians.  In welcoming the Road Map, the Committee noted that the plan stipulated, among other things, a series of specific steps aimed at improving the humanitarian and economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.  Implementing these provisions and creating an appreciable change for the better on the ground are vital for the Palestinian people and crucial for the overall success of the Road Map.

The aim of the Seminar is also to review the state of the Palestinian economy and efforts by governments, intergovernmental and civil society organizations at alleviating the current humanitarian emergency.  While focusing on immediate priorities, the Seminar will also look at the broader factors that affect the Palestinian economy and its longer-term prospects.

The opening session will take place on Tuesday, 15 July 2003, at 10 a.m. in Conference Room XVI of Building A of the Palais des Nations.  Statements will be made by the representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); Papa Louis Fall, Chairman of the Committee; and Maher Masri, Minister of Economy and Trade of the Palestinian Authority.  This will be followed by a segment in which representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations bodies and agencies interested in and active on the issue will be invited to make statements.  The opening session will be followed by panel sessions during which experts will make presentations on specific issues.  The official languages of the Seminar will be English and French.

Panel I, “The dimensions of the Palestinian economic crisis”, will begin just after the opening session, at 12 noon on Tuesday, 15 July.  The keynote address will be made by Mr. Masri, Minister of Economy and Trade of the Palestinian Authority.  It will be followed by a broader discussion with invited experts and other participants.

Panel II, “Priorities for humanitarian and economic assistance”, will start at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 15 July.  The panel will look at needed support for the budget of the Palestinian Authority, the restoration of essential services, the rehabilitation of physical infrastructure and agricultural land, reducing unemployment and poverty, alleviating the plight of Palestine refugees, and the recovery of the private sector.  Panellists include Mohammad Shtayyeh, Managing Director of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction; Finn Martin Vallersnes, President of the Committee on Middle East Questions of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; Danny Rubinstein, Columnist at Ha’aretz; David Shearer, Head of the Jerusalem Office of the United Nations Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs; Donna Baranski-Walker, Campaign Manager of the Global Campaign to Rebuild Palestinian Homes; and Abdelaziz Abu Ghoush, Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

On Wednesday morning, 16 July, at 10 a.m., Panel III will be entitled “Looking ahead:  Coping strategies for the Palestinian economy”.  Speakers will present the Palestinian perspective, discuss prospects for longer-term economic development and the economy of an independent Palestinian State, and review donor strategies and assistance coordination.  Presentations will be made by Ghania Malhis, Director of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute; Mohammad Abu Koash, General Delegate of Palestine to Denmark; Eli Sagi, Head of the Department of Economics and Management at the Academic College of Tel Aviv Yaffo; Judy Barsalou, Director of the Grant Program at the United States Institute of Peace; and Francis Okelo, Deputy United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

The closing session of the Seminar will take place on Wednesday, 16 July, at 12.30 p.m.  A summary report of the proceedings will be presented to the forthcoming fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.  The report will also be issued as a publication of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

Participants are requested to register with the secretariat either at its Office or prior to entering the conference room.   The Seminar secretariat will open its office at the Palais des Nations from Thursday, 10 July 2003.  The main secretariat will be located in Office 827/829 of Building A on the 8th floor.  The telephone number of the secretariat is (41-22) 917-6910/6911.

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