Palestinian Rights Committee Bureau Welcomes Expanding Wave of Recognition of State of Palestine, Condemns Ongoing Attacks in Gaza
The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
The Bureau warmly welcomes the recent recognition of the State of Palestine by Barbados, the Bahamas, Ireland, Jamaica, Norway, Spain and Trinidad and Tobago. The Bureau commends the determination of these countries to uphold and advance the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to bring hope in the midst of a devastating war in Gaza and increased threats to the survival of the Palestinian people.
The expansion of recognitions follows the UN General Assembly resolution of 10 May 2024, reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and their independent State of Palestine. Such developments echo growing international voices clamouring for equal rights and self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter and for an end to the 57-year Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and a just, peaceful diplomatic solution to the question of Palestine. The Bureau urges the Security Council to align itself with the broad consensus expressed by the General Assembly and recommend the admission of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
The Bureau welcomes the International Court of Justice Provisional Measures Order of 24 May 2024, following on Provisional Measures indicated on 26 January 2024 and 28 March 2024, ordering Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, allow for unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and for access to Gaza of UN investigative mandates.
The Bureau deplores the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza and particularly in Rafah on 26 May, two days after the International Court of Justice’s ruling, and where at least 45 Palestinian civilians, including children, among them infants, were killed and more than 200 wounded in their displacement camp by an Israeli missile attack. It calls for an investigation and to hold accountable those responsible for such grave breaches of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law.
The Bureau appeals to the international community for urgent and coordinated efforts aimed at ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, in accordance with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, to bring an end to this historic and grave injustice.