UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR ON ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

 

to take place In Doha, Qatar, 5 - 6 February

NEW YORK, 1 February (UN Division for Palestinian Rights) -- The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People with the agreement of the Government of Qatar will convene the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People on 5 and 6 February at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, at the Corniche.

The Committee has been observing with great concern the deepening economic and social crisis unfolding in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  It has for many years drawn the attention of the international community to the problems caused and exacerbated by the Israeli occupation and its impact on the Palestinian society and economy.  The current situation, however, is particularly troubling due to the continuing instability affecting all aspects of life in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  The role of donor countries and institutions, as well as that of other international actors is of vital importance.

With this in mind, the Seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to assess the scope of the socio-economic and humanitarian emergency in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; discuss the United Nations, international and regional response to the needs of the Palestinian people; and exchange views on the actions that need to be taken on the road to Palestinian economic recovery.

The Seminar is being organized in keeping with General Assembly resolutions 61/22 and 61/23 of 1 December 2006.  Invited to the Meeting will be 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 and representatives of civil society organizations, as well as the media.

The opening session will take place on Monday, 5 February, at 10 a.m. in the Sheraton Conference Center.  The Seminar is expected to be opened by a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.  Other speakers in the opening session will be 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 a representative of Palestine.  This will be followed by a segment in which representatives of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations bodies and agencies will be invited to make statements.

The opening session will be followed by three plenary sessions during which experts will make presentations on a spectrum of economic, social and assistance issues.  Each plenary will have a discussion period.  A copy of the provisional programme is attached.  The official languages of the meeting will be Arabic and English.

Plenary I, under the theme “Socio-economic and humanitarian emergency in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, will begin in the afternoon of Monday, 5 February, at 3 p.m.  The session will discuss the impact of the occupation on the Palestinian economy; the socio-economic decline of the Gaza Strip; and the plight of the most vulnerable, namely the living conditions of Palestinian women, children and the elderly.

Speakers include Salam Fayyad, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Former PA Minister of Finance, Ramallah; Shir Hever, Economic Researcher, Alternative Information Center, Jerusalem; Allegra Pacheco, Chief, Information and Advocacy Unit, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jerusalem;  Marwa Abu Dagga, Board Member, Palestinian Working Women’s Society for Development, Gaza; Khaled Abdel Shafi, Head, Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, United Nations Development Programme, Gaza; and Sara Roy, Research Associate, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Plenary II, entitled “International response to the needs of the Palestinian people”, will start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 6 February.  During the session, experts and participants will address the support by the United Nations system; international donor assistance, including the Temporary International Mechanism; and the role of regional donors.

Speakers include Lex Takkenberg, Director of Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Amman; Ahmad Tibi, Member of Knesset and Head of Arab Movement for Change Party, Tel Aviv; Mahmoud Elkhafif, Officer in-Charge, Assistance to Palestinian People Unit, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva; and Alexander Costy, Head of Coordination, United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Jerusalem.

On Tuesday afternoon, 6 February, at 3 p.m., Plenary III, entitled “Looking ahead:  Creating conditions for Palestinian economic recovery”, will look at the urgent political imperatives -- resuming the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue; restoring the Palestinian Authority’s economic capacity; and addressing socio-economic and humanitarian priorities.

Speakers will include Mohammed Shtayyeh, Former Minister of Public Works and Housing, Palestinian Authority, and President, Palestinian Economic Centre for Development and Reconstruction, Jerusalem; Zahava Gal-On, Member of the Knesset (Meretz) and Secretary-General of the Ratz Party, Tel Aviv; Samir Abdullah, Director-General, Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, Ramallah; and Sari Nusseibeh, President, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem.

The closing session of the meeting will take place on Tuesday, 6 February, at 5:30 p.m.  The report of the meeting will be issued as a publication of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

Registration of participants and observers

Participants and observers, including the representatives of the media are required to register and obtain Seminar badges prior to entering the conference room.  A registration desk at the foyer to the conference room on the ground floor of the hotel will be operating on Sunday, 4 February, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  On Monday, 5 February, registration starts at 8:30 a.m.

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For information media • not an official record