NEW YORK, Friday, February 05, 2021 (WAFA) – Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, called yesterday upon the international community to hold Israel to account for its violations and discriminatory and apartheid policies against the Palestinian people.
In remarks addressed to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), he said the tools for achieving peace in the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis set out the terms of reference for a just solution with global backing, but “what is the missing is the will.”
Mansour urged the UN Secretary-General to continue to mobilize action, including the convening of an international peace conference, as proposed by President Abbas, as well as the recently announced decree on elections.
In the meantime, he said the past year deepened existing inequalities, which were even more trying for Palestinians, already under occupation for decades. Emphasizing that Palestine must not be the exception to the lofty goal of leaving no one behind, he said “building back better” makes it imperative to revive global cooperation, led by the United Nations, in addressing chronic injustices and inequalities.
Describing the Palestinian Rights Committee as a symbol of multilateralism, Mansour expressed regret over false accusations of anti-Semitism levelled against it, and urged all States to cooperate with its important efforts in the quest for peace.
Mansour welcomed the appointment of Tor Wennesland as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority.
He also called for attention to funding challenges facing the UNRWA. Noting that some say the agency faces too many obstacles, he said such views contradict the Committee’s mandate and United Nations principles.
As a matter of fact, the UN General Assembly established CEIRPP in 1975 and tasked it with recommending “a program of implementation” that would enable the Palestinian people to exercise “their inalienable rights to self-determination, independence and sovereignty; and to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced.”
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