Background Release

Palestinian Rights Committee, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Turkey Jointly

 

to Convene International Meeting on Jerusalem, 12-13 May

 

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, jointly with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, will convene the International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem on 12 and 13 May 2014 at the Sheraton Hotel and Convention Centre in Ankara.

It is being held in the context of the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 2014, under the theme “Strengthening international support for a just and lasting solution of the question of Jerusalem”.  Its objective is to raise the international community’s awareness of the significance of a just solution to the question of Jerusalem for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieving peace in the Middle East.  The organizers wish to contribute to current international efforts to achieve a permanent settlement of the question of Palestine by emphasizing the need to establish an independent and sovereign State of Palestine within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

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 all United Nations Member States and Observers, other intergovernmental organizations, United Nations system entities, parliamentarians, members of the academic community, civil society representatives and the media.  The Meeting’s official languages will be Arabic, English and French, and interpretation into Turkish will be provided.

Opening

The Opening session will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, 12 May, in the Conference Room of the Sheraton Hotel and Convention Centre.  Statements will be made by Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey; Iyad bin Amin Madani, Secretary-General of OIC; Robert Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; and Abdou Salam Diallo (Senegal), Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, as well as a representative of the State of Palestine.  The opening statements will be followed by a press conference and a keynote presentation.

Plenary I

Entitled “The status of Jerusalem in international law”, the session will begin at 3 p.m. on Monday, 12 May.  It is expected to provide insight into the international regime for Jerusalem and efforts by the United Nations to implement it, the Holy Places, and United Nations resolutions on Jerusalem.

Plenary II

The session, entitled “The current situation in Jerusalem”, will begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 May, with experts and other participants discussing measures taken by Israel in the city, land expropriation and settlements, as well as social and economic issues.

Plenary III

Titled “The role of the international community in promoting a just solution”, the third session will take place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 May, and participants will analyse the question of Jerusalem in the permanent status negotiations, international approaches to resolving the question of Jerusalem, and the role of the United Nations, OIC and other intergovernmental organizations, as well as that of non-State actors, including parliamentarians and civil society.

Closing

The closing session will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 May.

The International Meeting will be followed on 14 Mayby a public forum in support of the Palestinian peopleat TOBB University in Ankara.  The forum will engage some of the experts from the International Meeting in discussing the situation in Jerusalem.  It will also feature the screening of the award-winning and Oscar-nominated film Omar, with co-star and producer Waleed F. Zuaiter present for a discussion following the screening.

All invited participants, including the media, are requested to register with the secretariat of the Meeting at e-mail:  dpr-meeting@un.org.  The secretariat will open its office at the Sheraton Ankara on Tuesday, 6 May, and can be reached at phone: +90 312 457 6000.  Updated information about the Meeting will be available on the Division’s website, at: www.un.org/depts/dpa/qpal/calendar.htm.

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For information media • not an official record