MALAYSIA TO HOST UNITED NATIONS ASIAN MEETING, CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM

IN SUPPORT OF INALIENABLE PALESTINIAN RIGHTS

The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations Asian Meeting in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.  With the agreement of the Government of Malaysia, the Committee has decided to hold this Meeting on 15 and 16 December 2006 in Kuala Lumpur.  It will be followed, on 17 December 2006, by the United Nations Forum of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People.

Both events will focus on promoting support for international efforts at stopping the dangerous deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, salvaging the political process, and realizing the vision of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  Invited to the Meeting are eminent personalities, including high-level officials from the Host Government, internationally renowned experts, including Israelis and Palestinians, representatives of United Nations Members and observers, parliamentarians, representatives of the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, the academic community, representatives of civil society organizations, as well as the media.

Theopening session of the Meeting will take place on Friday, 15 December, at 10 a.m., in the Makhota Ballroom II of the Hotel Istana.  The session will be addressed by Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia; Angela Kane, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations; Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; and Nasser Al-Kidwa, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Palestinian Authority and representative of Palestine.  The opening session will be followed by a segment in which representatives of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations system entities will be invited to make statements.  The Meeting will continue in three plenary sessions, during which experts will address specific issues.  Each plenary session will have a discussion period.

Plenary I entitled “The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, 15 December, with the participation of Dr. Sahar Qawasmi, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council; Omar Yousef, Board Member, International Peace and Cooperation Centre, Jerusalem; Mohamed Barakeh, Member of the Knesset and Secretary-General of the Hadash Party; Luisa Morgantini, Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the Development Committee; and Ziyad Abu Amr, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Professor at Birzeit University.  The presentations will be followed by a broader discussion among the participants.

On Saturday, 16 December, at 10 a.m., Plenary II will be devoted to “Realizing a shared vision of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians”.  Presentations will be made by Nasser Al-Kidwa, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority; Naomi Chazan, Professor and former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and member of Meretz; Matthew Hodes, Director of Conflict Resolution Program of the Carter Centre; and Pang Sen, Vice-President and Director-General of the United Nations Association of China in Beijing.  A broader discussion will follow.

Plenary III, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, 16 December, is entitled “International efforts at salvaging peace in the Middle East, Support of the countries of Asia and the Pacific for the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People”.  Speakers include Dr. Ghada Karmi, Lecturer, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter and Vice-Chair of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding; Andrew Vincent, Director of the Middle East Studies Centre, Macquarie University in Sydney; Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World; and Achin Vanaik, Professor of international relations and global politics, Department of Political Science, Delhi University.  A discussion period will follow.

The closing session will take place on Saturday, 16 December, at 5:15 p.m.

Representatives of civil society will have the opportunity to discuss in greater detail their role in the question of Palestine at a Forum to be held also at the Hotel Istana on Sunday, 17 December, starting at 10 a.m. with an opening statement by Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.  The morning session will look at initiatives of civil society in Asia and the Pacific in solidarity with the Palestinian people.  Speakers include Maysa Baransi-Siniora, Co-Director, All-for-Peace Radio Station in Jerusalem; Sarah Ozacky-Lazar, Initiator and founder of All-for-Peace Radio Station and Fellow Researcher, Center for Strategic Analysis and Policy Studies, Hebrew University; Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir, Coordinator, Malaysians for Peace; Yoshioka Tatsuya, Director of the Peace Boat in Tokyo.  The afternoon session will discuss the joining of forces -– Asian and Pacific civil society and worldwide initiatives to support a peaceful solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Speakers that have accepted the Committee’s invitation include Achin Vanaik, President, International Movement for a Just World, Kuala Lumpur; Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World; Mohideen Abdul Kader, Lawyer and Board Member, Third World Network in Penang; Tanya Reinhart, Professor of Linguistics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; and Ibrahim Khreisheh, President, Al-Bashir Institute for Development and Creativity and former Secretary-General, Palestinian Legislative Council.

All sessions of the Meeting, as well as the Forum of Civil Society are open to the media.

The working languages of the Meeting will be English and French.  The Forum of Civil Society will be held in English only.

Reports of both events will be issued, in due course, as a publication of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

Registration of Participants, Observers

Participants and observers, including the representatives of the media, are required to register and obtain Meeting badges prior to entering the conference room.  A registration area will be set up in front of the Zamrud room in the Lower Lobby of the Hotel Istana.  Advance registration will be held on Wednesday, 13 December from 2 to 6 p.m. and Thursday, 14 December, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Registration on Friday, 15 December, will start at 8:30 a.m.  Kindly take advantage of the advance registration in order to avoid delays on Friday, prior to the opening of the Meeting.  Representatives of civil society, including the media will have to register on Wednesday and Thursday.  On Friday morning, 15 December, registration is reserved for participating delegations only.

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For information media • not an official record