General Assembly: Press Release

This statement was issued today by the Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the resumption of permanent status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians:

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the spirit of this resolution and its integral link with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Rabat, Morocco, at the conference centre of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, from 1 to 2 July.

The twentieth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will be held at Headquarters from 14 to 18 June.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations International Meeting in Support of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process in Istanbul, Turkey, at the Sheraton Hotel Istanbul Ataköy, from 25 to 26 May.

“Our task this morning is simple — to look at the way forward,” Donatus St. Aimee (Saint Lucia), Chairman of the Special Committee on Decolonization, said today as that body began the final session of its Pacific Regional Seminar on Implementation of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization continued its deliberations today at its Pacific Seminar on the Implementation of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, discussing challenges in the Pacific, Caribbean and elsewhere, as well as the broader role of the United Nations in the decolonization process.

In a message to open the Pacific Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all involved to undertake “fresh and creative efforts” towards full implementation of decolonization.

Countries will open negotiations today on the road back to Rio, where, in 1992, countries agreed on the landmark Agenda 21, the blueprint for sustainable development. In 2012, countries will meet again in Rio de Janeiro to determine the next steps for achieving sustainable development — to manage and protect the ecosystem and bring about a more prosperous future for everyone.

The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, also known as the Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization, will hold its annual regional seminar in Noumea, New Caledonia, from 18 to 20 May 2010.