“Our shared challenge is to begin implementing transformative changes on the ground and to create irreversible momentum towards an Israeli-Palestinian agreement,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a statement at the opening of the United Nations Asian and Pacific Meeting on the Question of Palestine.

The United Nations Asian and Pacific Meeting on the Question of Palestine this afternoon heard presentations of four experts, including Israeli and Palestinian, on the theme “International efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine”.

As the Special Committee on Decolonization took up the question of Gibraltar this morning, the representative of Spain opposed any attempt to remove it from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories undergoing decolonization, and reiterated the Spanish Government’s wish to renew “conversations” with the United Kingdom on the future of Gibraltar.

The United Nations Asian and Pacific Meeting on the Question of Palestine addressed the complex question of Jerusalem this morning, with experts warning that unless the issue was addressed immediately, a two-State solution would be impossible.

The United Nations Asian and Pacific Meeting on the Question of Palestine came to a close today with a statement in strong support of the two-State solution: Israel and Palestinian, living side by side in peace and security.

Representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as students and others attending today’s United Nations Public Forum in Support of the Palestinian People, discussed ways in which civil society could promote greater solidarity with the Palestinian people, and how they could join forces in backing a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while stressing that a two-State solution was the only way.

The Special Committee on Decolonization this afternoon approved a draft resolution calling upon the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.

The General Assembly would welcome significant developments in New Caledonia since the 1998 signing of the Nouméa Accord by representatives of that Non-Self-Governing Territory and the Government of France, according to a draft resolution approved by the Special Committee on Decolonization today.

The Special Committee on Decolonization approved by consensus today two draft resolutions concerning implementation of the Independence Declaration, and one on economic and other activities affecting the interests of peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Having heard a statement by the Foreign Minister of Argentina in addition to petitioners from the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), the Special Committee on Decolonization recommended today that the General Assembly call for direct negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom over that Non-Self-Governing Territories.