State of Palestine Must Exercise Right to Sovereignty, Delegates Urge as Third Committee Concludes Thematic Debate
Global Human Rights Covenants Centred on Self-Determination, Speakers Stress
All peoples had a fundamental entitlement to sovereignty and the State of Palestine must be able to exercise that right, several delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today as it concluded its general discussion on self-determination and the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
During the debate, a number of speakers called self-determination the core principle of all international instruments for the protection of human rights. Spotlighting the Palestinian people’s struggle for statehood, some delegates expressed grave concerns over Israel’s human rights violations. Iran’s representative was particularly concerned about illegal settlements on occupied territory.
“It was no coincidence that those who were denied political status tended to be the poorest and most repressed in the countries where they lived,” said a representative of Maldives, calling for a two-State solution for the multi-decade conflict. Where occupied people called for help, the international community had a duty to act, he said.
A representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine voiced a call on the international community to take the necessary steps to bring an end to all Israeli violations. For nearly five decades, they had been subjected to a myriad of violations, including institutionalized racism and discrimination in its most barbaric forms. While the Palestinian citizens of Israel constituted one-fifth of the Israeli population, they continued to be targeted by a barrage of racist laws making them second- and third-class citizens in their own land.
Further, Palestinian people had been deprived of their rights to self-determination and sovereignty over their land, she said. She highlighted that the right of self-determination of peoples underpinned all other human rights, as recognized in Article 1 of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Responding, in exercise of the right of reply, Israel’s representative said that if Palestine wanted self-determination it must disengage from Hamas. It must also return to negotiations with his country.
Only direct negotiations would help to resolve the situation, he said. Neither speeches at the United Nations nor “the war initiated by Hamas in the summer” would help in that regard.
Also delivering statements were representatives of Armenia, Georgia, Eritrea, Turkey, Colombia and Argentina, as well as the International Organization for Migration.
Exercising the right of reply were representatives of Azerbaijan, Israel and Armenia, as well as the State of Palestine.
The Third Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 November, when it is expected to hear a briefing by the High Commissioner for Refugees.
Background
The Third Committee met this morning to continue its consideration of the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as the right of peoples to self-determination. For background, see Press Release GA/SHC/4115 of 3 November.
Statements
SAHAK SARGSYAN (Armenia) said his country considered the exercise of the right to self-determination as a major component of the promotion, protection and respect for human rights in all parts of the world. According to both United Nations international covenants on the matter, he noted, the right to self-determination included the right to determining political status. Accordingly, the principle of the right to self-determination was a binding and universally recognized fundamental norm of international law. One could not blame the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the success of their self-defence, as the opposite would have been the total annihilation and obliteration of a whole population. The peaceful settlement of the Nogorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations in an agreed format and based on the principles of international law, including the right of peoples to self-determination, was an imperative, supported by the international community. In conclusion, he reiterated his country’s appreciation of the major role and mandate of the United Nations to guarantee the unconditional enjoyment of the right to self-determination to be safeguarded to all nations and people on a permanent basis.
JEFFREY SALIM WAHEED (Maldives) said that over the last few decades, the international community had seen steady progress in decolonization, with many Pacific island countries gaining their independence in the 1990s. Yet foreign occupation remained a reality in some parts of the world. “It was no coincidence that those who were denied political status tended to be the poorest and most repressed in the countries where they lived,” he added. Where occupied people called for help, the international community had a duty to act. The Palestinian people had made that call again and again but self-determination continued to elude them. The Maldives was deeply concerned about the worsening human rights situation abuses in Palestine and stressed that a two-State solution was the only viable solution for that multi-decade-long conflict.
FORDUZANDEH VADIATI (Iran) addressed the report of the Secretary-General on the realization of the right to self-determination, sharing the concern of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Thorough prolonged occupation, with practices and policies that appeared to constitute apartheid and segregation, ongoing settlement expansion and continual construction of the separation wall made evident the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, she added. The only solution to the Palestinian issue, she said, would be the restoration of their sovereign right to self-determination, as well as putting an immediate end to the occupation of their land.
NADYA RIFAAT RASHEED, Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine, said the right of self-determination of peoples underpinned all other human rights, as it was recognized by the Article 1 in both international covenants on human rights and customary international law. For nearly five decades, she continued, not only had the Palestinian people been deprived of their rights to self-determination and sovereignty over their land but they had also repeatedly been subjected to a myriad of violations of their fundamental human rights and freedoms. In complete disregard of international law and repeated calls by the international community, Israel had continued with its illegal settlement campaign and de facto annexation of Palestinian land. In addition to the illegality of Israeli settlements and the human rights violations that stemmed from them, the human rights of the Palestinian people continued to be violated by the more than 520,000 illegal settlers, many armed and fanatical, who had been illegally transferred to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Further, she drew attention to the report of Special Rapporteur Richard Falk, who had asked why Israel supported the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, thus moving an increasing number of Israeli citizens in the area.
TAMTA KUPRADZE (Georgia), aligning her delegation with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union, said that her Government had taken significant measures to address discrimination, including the Law of Georgia on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, adopted on 2 May, 2014. The country continued to face major challenges in meeting its human rights commitments inside the occupied regions of Georgia, as the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali remained under foreign military occupation. Kidnappings, physical abuse and other crimes against ethnic Georgians were an unfortunate reality for the local population. It was crucial that the situation in the occupied regions was brought within the reach of international human rights mechanisms.
ELSA HAILE (Eritrea) said that non-discrimination formed the core principle of all international instruments for the protection of human rights. It was deplorable that millions of individuals continued to be targeted on the basis of their race, religion or gender. Noting with concern the rising xenophobic and racially motivated violence against migrants in Europe and North America, she called on States to take adequate measures to protect migrants. It was also crucial to redress the historical imbalances created by racism, including slavery. All States must make the efforts necessary to adopt the International Decade of People of African Descent.
YIĞIT CANAY (Turkey) said that the definition of racial discrimination in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was directly applicable in his country, where a series of legal reforms, including the adoption of a new penal code, had brought domestic laws in line with global standards. Noting with concern that crimes motivated by racism persisted within the European Union, he said that one example of blatant xenophobia was an insulting caricature of the President of Turkey and the Turkish immigrant community, which was reprinted in a school text book in a European Union member State under the pretext of “integration problems”. Countries hosting immigrant communities must be particularly vigilant about protecting the rights of those vulnerable groups. Local, regional and national authorities must display the sensitivity to stand up against stereotyping and discrimination.
MARÍA PAULINA DÁVILA DÁVILA (Colombia) said it was important to call upon the international community to ensure that every person had access to education and justice. As Member States could notice in the United Nations reports, she emphasized, despite actions and measures adopted, people of African descent faced challenges in all parts of the world, including lack of access to quality education, health services and social security. Noting the diverse population of Colombia, she said her Government was committed to eliminating all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, guaranteeing that all citizens lived under the principle of equality. One significant achievement was the implementation of an anti-discrimination law in her country.
MARÍA LUZ MELÓN (Argentina) said only 10 years ago, the Government had adopted a national plan that had gone beyond the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Argentina was convinced that sports could play an instrumental role in the social development. With respect to discrimination in sports, as discussed by the Third Committee yesterday, her Government was directly cooperating with football clubs to promote good practices campaigns and measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It was also important that national policies were in line with international expectations. Accordingly, Argentina had been training teachers and publishing educational materials to teach diversity and tolerance.
Ms. RASHEED, Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine, said as the Committee discussed the important issue of the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Palestinian people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continued to suffer from an increased level of all forms of such practices. Since 1967, she underlined, the occupying Power had institutionalized racism and discrimination in its most barbaric forms, which was a prolonged foreign military occupation with elements of colonialism and apartheid. The rise in anti-Arab racism in Israel was fuelled by the direct incitement and declarations by Israeli Government officials against the Palestinian people.
While the Palestinian citizens of Israel constituted one-fifth of the Israeli population, they continued to be targeted by a barrage of racist laws making them second- and third-class citizens in their own land. Concluding, she said the State of Palestine truly hoped that the epidemic violence among the settler population and among some in Israeli society would be brought to an end, and called upon the international community to take the necessary steps to bring an end to all Israeli violations.
MICHELE KLEIN SOLOMON, Permanent Observer of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that one in every seven people on the planet today had migrated either across or within borders in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families. Paradoxically, there was widespread anti-migrant sentiment in many parts of the world. Even countries that had in the past taken pride in being called a “nation of migrants” no longer wished to welcome those arriving at their borders today. The overwhelmingly positive contribution that migrants made to societies and economies was being overshadowed while international and domestic debates on migration were turning feverish and highly politicized. Migrants had become convenient scapegoats for problems, such as unemployment and security issues, which were rooted in more complex development processes.
Governments, media, the private sector and civil society, she added, had important roles to play in addressing misperceptions about migration. Her organization was pleased to see Member States reaffirm that principle during the 2013 United Nations General Assembly High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. For its part, IOM had supported the call for intercultural dialogue and a stronger political will to reverse trends of xenophobia and violence. In the autumn of 2013, it had also launched Migrants Contribute, a global campaign intended to highlight the diverse contributions that migrants made to their societies.
Right of Reply
Exercising the right of reply, a representative of Azerbaijan said that the statement made by the representative of Armenia was full of distortions and was intended to mislead the international community. Documentary evidence proved that Armenia had attacked Azerbaijan and had carried out ethnic cleansing on a massive scale. Security Council resolutions of 1992 had condemned the use of force against Azerbaijan and called for an unconditional withdrawal of occupying forces. What Armenia called the exercise of the right to self-determination by the ethnic Armenian groups living within Azerbaijan was an illegal use of force that Armenia was seeking to legitimize.
Also speaking in exercise of the right of reply, a representative of Israel said that if the Palestinian side wanted self-determination, they must disengage from Hamas and return to negotiations with Israel. Only direct negotiations would help to resolve the situation. Speeches here or “the war initiated by Hamas in the summer” would not help.
Responding, a representative of Armenia, exercising the right of reply, said that he regretted that the delegation of Azerbaijan had continued to distort the struggle for self-determination by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. He said that Azerbaijan’s delegation had spoken under the agenda item of self-determination while suppressing the rights of those people. More than two decades ago, Azerbaijan had unleashed a full-scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh but its claims to so-called territorial integrity were politically, legally, historically and morally deficient. While alleging that Armenia was not implementing resolutions, Azerbaijan was the one violating resolutions and misinterpreting a 1993 resolution that had asked for immediate ceasefire. Armenia had continued to use its good offices to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Exercising the right of reply, a representative of Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine said that the comments made by Israel’s delegate were predictable and false. Many of Israel’s violations amounted to war crimes. She said that her statement delivered earlier this morning had conveyed the stark reality of life under occupation. Could the delegate of Israel actually deny the human rights violations that had been carried out by Israel in the State of Palestine?, she said, asking, “can you say with a clear conscience that Israel did not carry out unlawful policies against the Palestinian people?”Regarding the peace process, she added that the entire world had borne witness to a peace process that had gone on for 20 years and had only resulted in the entrenchment of the occupation and countless wars and destruction. Israel must stop using the peace process as a cover for continuing its oppressive policies, she said.
Taking the floor for a second time, the representative of Azerbaijan said that there was no doubt that the Armenian ethnic minority group did not fall into any of the categories that were considered eligible for self-determination under international law. How many times could one nation exercise its right to self-determination? she asked. Armenia had already exercised it and there was a sovereign state called Armenia. High-ranking Armenian officials regularly made statements that promoted hatred and were “tantamount to war-mongering,” she said.
Also speaking for a second time, the representative of Armenia said that it was impossible to remain silent when the representative of Azerbaijan continued to engage in distortion. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh had exercised their right to self-determination, in accordance with international laws. Civil society in that territory continued to participate in political processes. Armenia attached great importance to the rule of law, justice and human rights and called on the leadership of Azerbaijan to stop its war-mongering and to prepare its people for peace, not war.