Background Release

United Nations Roundtable on Legal Aspects of Question of Palestine

To Be Held in Geneva, 24-25 April

 

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene a United Nations Roundtable on Legal Aspects of the Question of Palestine on 24 and 25 April at the United Nations Office at Geneva. 

The Roundtable builds on numerous previous events that highlighted the significance of the provisions of international law in efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.  The last such meeting was held in April 2012 at the United Nations Office in Geneva on “The question of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention facilities: legal and political implications”.  This Roundtable, among other things, will discuss the legal status of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in international law.  The Meeting will also consider the issue of Palestine’s admission to the United Nations as a non-Member Observer State and the general legal implications stemming from this status.

The Meeting is being organized in keeping with General Assembly resolutions 68/12 and 68/13 of 26 November 2013.  Invited to the Meeting are renowned experts on the issues under consideration, as well as the Committee Members and Observers.

The opening session will take place on Thursday, 24 April, at 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room XXII in the E-Building of the Palais des Nations. Statements will be made by Michael Møller, Acting Head of the United Nations Office at Geneva, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General; Abdou Salam Diallo, Committee Chairman; Anders Kompass, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division in the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner; and Issa Qaraqe, Palestinian Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs.  Following the opening session, the Roundtable will conduct the plenary sessions in closed meetings of invited experts and the Committee Members and Observers.  The official languages of the Meeting will be Arabic, English and French.

Session I entitled “The legal status of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in international law” will begin on Thursday, 24 April, at 11 a.m.  The session will provide insight into the status of “prisoners of war” in international law and its application to Palestinian prisoners and detainees; United Nations procedures and mechanisms to address the issue of political prisoners: the General Assembly, Human Rights Council and treaty bodies; and the issue of political prisoners in international courts and other mechanisms.

Session II entitled “Available legal mechanisms to ensure compliance with international law and Third Party responsibility” will start on Thursday, 24 April, at 3 p.m.  During the session, experts and participants will discuss the responsibilities of the occupying Power under international humanitarian and human rights law; the need to ensure compliance with international humanitarian and human rights laws — actions by States parties to the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions; and the importance of engaging the International Court of Justice.

Session III on Friday, 25 April, at 10 a.m., entitled “General legal implications stemming from the status of non-Member Observer State” will conduct a legal analysis of General Assembly resolution 67/19; look at the  rights and obligations of non-member observer States; International conventions and treaties; and membership in United Nations specialized agencies and other global organizations.

Session IV on Friday, 25 April, at 3 p.m., entitled “The State of Palestine and International Courts” will look into the issue of placing complaints before the relevant international courts, including conditions, procedures, practices as well as drawbacks and challenges.

The closing session of the Meeting will take place on Friday, 25 April, at 5:30 p.m.

Committee Members and Observers are requested to register with the Secretariat either at its Office or prior to entering the conference room.  The main Secretariat is located in Office 1014/16 on the first floor of Building E.  Contacts at the Palais des Nations Secretariat — tel: (41 22) 917 7124, 917 7128; fax: 917 0327; and e-mail: dpr-meeting@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record