Concluding its annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the General Assembly adopted six resolutions today — including two declaring Israel’s actions in the Syrian Golan and East Jerusalem “null and void” — as several delegates voiced concern that those texts perpetuated a one-sided view that isolated and targeted a single Member State.
Seventy years had passed since the unjust partition of Palestine and Israel’s subsequent illegal acquisition of its territory, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, during a meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Noting that today marked 70 years since the adoption of a United Nations resolution to partition Palestine, speakers stressed the need to capture momentum, redouble efforts and through dialogue and diplomacy achieve a two‑State solution, as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the Palestinian question.
Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message, delivered by Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, marking the seventieth anniversary of General Assembly resolution 181 at the Queens Museum, in New York today:
Critical intra‑Palestinian talks were scheduled to open in Cairo, Egypt, on 21 November, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, emphasizing that a genuine change in Gaza, including full Palestinian Authority control over security, would help restore confidence in the feasibility of a comprehensive peace agreement.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the number of Rohingya refugees having fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since 25 August has now reached 621,000. As of this morning, the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Response Plan has received nearly $140 million, or 32 per cent of requirements. Donors had pledged $360 million for the October response.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved eight draft resolutions, including one calling on Israel to cease exploitation of the occupied Palestinian territory and Syrian Golan.
An occupying Power must act in good faith and comply with the core principles of international humanitarian law, a top United Nations expert told the Palestinian Rights Committee today, as it approved four draft resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly.
A joint study on food security released by the Government of South Sudan and humanitarian partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme, warns that the current harvest season will not end the hunger crisis in the country.
The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the full return of the Gaza crossings to the control of the Palestinian Authority. He said the return was a landmark development in the implementation of the intra-Palestinian agreement, signed in Cairo on 12 October.
