UN General Assembly resolution on Palestinian Statehood

The General Assembly adopted a resolution granting to Palestine the status of non-member observer State in the United Nations. The vote was 138 for, 9 against, with 41 abstentions.

Mahmoud Abbas (front centre), President of the Palestinian Authority, with his delegation in the General Assembly Hall following the Assembly's decision. 29 November 2012

Click here to read the voting record. 
DRAFT (26 November 2012) - Rev. 1

67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

Agenda Item 37: Question of Palestine

Status of Palestine in the United Nations

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and stressing in this regard the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,

Recalling its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970 (1), affirming, inter alia, the duty of every State to promote through joint and separate action realization at' the principle of equal rights and self- determination of peoples,

Stressing the importance of maintaining and strengthening international peace founded upon freedom, equality.justice and respect for fundamental human rights,

Recalling its resolution 181 (ll) of 29 November 1947,

Reaffirming the Charter principle of tile inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,
Reaffirming relevant Security Council resolutions, including, inter alia, resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973),446 (1979),478 (1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) and 1850 (2008),

Reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons inTime of War, of 12August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, 'with regard to the matter of prisoners,

Reaffirming its resolution 3236 (XXIX) of22 November 1974, and all relevant resolutions, including resolution 66/146 of 19 December 20 11,reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self~ determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine,

Reaffirming its resolution 43/176 of 15 December 1988, resolution 66117 of 30 November 20 11, and all relevant resolutions regarding the "Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine", which, inter alia, stress the need for (a) the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem ;(b) the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestin ian people, primari Iy the right to self-determination and the right to their independent State; (c) ajust resolution of the problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity with resolution 194 (Hl) of I1 December 1948; and (cl)the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Security Council's statement on ceasefire in Gaza

Security Council Press Statement on Situation in the Middle East

The following Security Council press statement on the situation in the Middle East was read out by Council President Hardeep Singh Puri (India):

The members of the Security Council welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached in relation to the Gaza Strip in order to bring about a sustainable and durable cessation of hostilities that had been affecting the Gaza Strip and Israel.  The members of the Council called on the parties to uphold the agreement and to act seriously to implement its provisions in good faith.  They expressed their continued support for the ongoing international efforts to consolidate this agreement.

The members of the Council strongly commend the efforts of Egyptian President Morsi and others to achieve the ceasefire. The members of the Council also expressed strong appreciation for the efforts of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in this regard.

The members of the Council affirmed the need for the people of Israel and the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip to live without fear.  They called on the international community to contribute to improving the living conditions of the people in the Gaza Strip, notably through providing additional emergency aid through appropriate established channels to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to work in this regard with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt for the expeditious and unimpeded delivery of such humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment.

The members of the Security Council deplored the loss of civilian lives resulting from this situation and reiterated the need to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians and their protection in accordance with international humanitarian law.

           

The members of the Council stressed the urgency of the restoration of calm in full and reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders.

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Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas

This is the full text of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, sources in Cairo and Jerusalem said.
• Israel shall stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land sea and air, including incursions and targeting of individuals. All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel, including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.
• Opening the crossings and facilitating the movement of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents' free movements and targeting residents in border areas.
• Procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.
• Other matters as may be requested shall be addressed.
  
  
  Implementation mechanism
• Setting up the zero hour understanding to enter into effect.
• Egypt shall receive assurances from each party that the party commits to what was agreed upon.
• Each party shall commit itself not to perform any acts that would breach this understanding. In case of any observations, Egypt as a sponsor of this understanding, shall be informed to follow up.
  
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أ - تقوم اسرائيل بوقف كافه الأشكال العدائيه العسكريه والإجراءات على قطاع غزة براً، بحراً وجواً بما في ذلك الاجتياحات وعمليات استهداف الاشخاص. وتقوم الفصائل الفلسطينية بوقف كافة العمليات العدائية من قطاع غزة باتجاه الجانب الاسرائيلي بما ذلك اطلاق الصواريخ والهجمات على خط الحدود.

ب - فتح المعابر وتسهيل حركة الاشخاص والبضائع وعدم تقييد حركة السكان أو استهدافهم في المناطق الحدودية.
جـ -  يتم التعامل مع إجراءات تنفيذ ذلك بعد ٢٤ ساعة من دخول الاتفاق حيز التنفيذ.
د- سيتم مناقشة أي قضايا أخرى حال الحاجة لذلك.

آلية تنفيذ الاتفاق:

أ- تحديد ساعة الصفر لدخول تفاهمات التهدئة حيز التنفيذ.

ب- حصول مصر على ضمانات من كل طرف بالالتزام بما تم الاتفاق عليه.

ج- التزام كل طرف بعدم القيام بأية أفعال من شأنها خرق هذه التفاهمات، وفي حال وجود أي ملاحظات يتم الرجوع إلى مصر راعية التفاهمات لمتابعة ذلك. 

American draft statement on Gaza

The US mission proposed this draft press statement on Gaza, diplomats said. The text will be discussed at the Security Council in a closed meeting at 3 pm today.

Security Council Press Statement on Situation in Gaza

The following Security Council press statement on the situation in Gaza was read out by Council President Hardeep Singh Puri (India):

The members of the Security Council welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached by the parties in order to bring about a sustainable and durable cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel.  The members of the Council called on the parties to uphold the agreement, and expressed their continued support for the ongoing international efforts to consolidate this process.

The members of the Council strongly commend the efforts of Egyptian President Morsi and others to achieve the ceasefire. The members of the Council also expressed strong appreciation for the efforts of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in this regard.

The members of the Council called on the international community to provide additional emergency aid to Gazans and to work with Israel and Egypt on the expeditious delivery of such humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment.

The members of the Security Council deplored the loss of civilian lives resulting from this situation.

           The members of the Council stressed the urgency of the restoration of calm in full.

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Security Council Resolution 2076 on DRC/ M23

United Nations Security Council

France: draft resolution

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions and the statements of its President concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially the presidential statement S/PRST/2012/22 of 19 October 2012 and the press statements of 2 August 2012 and 17 November 2012 on the situation in eastern DRC,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC and emphasizing the need to respect fully the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness and regional cooperation,

Reiterating its deep concern regarding the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC due to ongoing military activities of the 23 March Movement (M23),

Expressing its deep concern regarding the resumption of attacks by the M23 and the entry of the M23 into the city of Goma on 20 November 2012, as well as the continuation of serious violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights law by the M23 and other armed groups,

Calling for all perpetrators, including individuals responsible for violence against children and acts of sexual violence, to be apprehended, brought to justice and held accountable for violations of applicable international law,

Revised Morrocan draft press statement on Gaza (Updated)

This draft press statement is under silence procedure until Tuesday, 20 November 2012, at 9 am. Diplomats said that Morocco changed the language  as follows: 

SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON SITUATION IN GAZA

The following Security Council press statement on the situation in Gaza was read out by Council President Hardeep Singh Puri (India):

The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the escalation and steep deterioration of the situation in Gaza and southern Israel and called on the parties to immediately halt all violence. 

The members of the Council strongly support the Government of Egypt and others’ efforts to work towards a negotiated ceasefire. The members of the Council welcome the mission of the United Nations Secretary General to the region.

The members of the Council called for all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and recalled Resolution 1860 (2009), notably the call for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment.

The members of the Security Council deplored the loss of civilian lives resulting from this escalation and emphasized that the civilian populations must be protected

The members of the Council stressed the urgency of the restoration of calm in full.

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Russian blue draft resolution on Gaza

S/2012/855

Russian Federation: draft resolution

The Security Council,

Recalling all of its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), 1850 (2008) and 1860 (2009), and noting the importance of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative,

Gravely concerned at the dangerous escalation and steep deterioration of the situation in and around Gaza, in particular the resulting heavy civilian casualties, deploring the worsening humanitarian situation, and emphasizing that the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations must be protected,

Stressing the importance of and appreciating ongoing international and regional efforts aimed at the immediate end of violence,

Noting in this regard the important role of the Quartet in seeking a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,

Recalling that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means,

Reaffirming the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders,

1. Stresses the urgency of and demands an immediate, durable and fully respected cessation of violence, leading to the restoration of calm;

2. Supports international and regional efforts with a view to a prompt solution of the current situation;

3. Encourages Israel and the Palestinian authority to resume without delay a substantive bilateral negotiating process in order to reach the final goal of concluding a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exception, on the internationally recognized basis of the two-state solution as envisaged in Security Council resolution 1850 (2008);

4. Condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism;

5. Urges all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to allow for the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian assistance and personnel to the Palestinian people and to ensure the unimpeded provision of humanitarian supplies throughout Gaza;

6. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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