H.E. Ambassador Cheikh Niang speaks
at PRC Parliamentary Event
Dr. Mozammel Haque
H.E. Ambassador Cheikh Niang, Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Senegal to the United Nations and the Chair
of the UN Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People, attended and gave a lecture at the Parliamentary event on
“70 years since UN Resolution 194”. This event was organised by Palestinian
Return Centre (PRC) at the Houses of Parliament, Committee Room 11, on Tuesday,
12th of December 2018. The event was hosted and chaired by Labour MP
Ruth Cadbury.
H.E. Ambassador Cheikh Niang
Followings are the full speech of His
Excellency Ambassador Cheikh Niang which was delivered at the PRC event held at
the Houses of Parliament on 12 December 2018.
Ambassador Cheikh
Niang said: The UN Committee for the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was established by the UN General Assembly in 1975 with a
mandate to promote the realization by the Palestinian people of their right to
self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, and the right of the
Palestinian refugees to return. Our mandate is based on international law, UN
resolutions. The Committee has strongly
supported the objective of two States - Israel and Palestine - living side by
side within secure and recognised borders, as affirmed in Security Council
resolution 1397 (2002), the Arab Peace Initiative of the same year, and the
2003 Quartet Roadmap. I must add that a
number of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions reiterate the two
State solutions as the only viable way forward.
The UN Committee plays an advocacy role
in different manners. Firstly, by convening conferences in various regions of
the world. This year we have organized
an international conference on Jerusalem in Morocco and a forum in New York in
May to commemorate 70 years of the Nakba. Most recently, on 28 and 29 November,
we marked the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian
People through a special meeting of the Committee, in which the UN
Secretary-General participated.
Secondly, the UN Committee carries out delegation visits to different
Member States. In 2019, a Committee delegation visited Panama and Uganda to
mobilize support for the rights of the Palestinian People and promote
diplomatic recognition of the State of Palestine (in Panama). Thirdly, the UN Committee disseminates
information through its website and publications on the question of Palestine
and its UNISPAL repository is the largest online repository on the question of
Palestine with documents from all sources. Lastly, we also support
capacity-building for Palestinian officials, funding and organizing training
that would enable the State of Palestine to become sovereign in terms of
governance and development.
·
This year marks 70 years since the
Nakba – the forced displacement of Palestinians in 1948 during the first
Arab-Israeli war. The UN Committee regrets that this displacement continues to
this day.
·
Just
yesterday (10 December), we celebrated 70 years of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. And yet, this very year, we mark 70 years of the Nakba – the
event that heralded the displacement of the Palestinian people. We cannot
ignore the paradox of celebrating human rights while millions of Palestinians
continue to be deprived of them.
·
The
situation in the Gaza Strip is a man-made humanitarian disaster; this summer’s
protests at the Gaza border fence show the levels of frustration and
desperation among the people in the Gaza after a decade of blockade. We are deeply troubled by the number of
people killed during those demonstrations and second the call of the Secretary-General
for an independent investigation into those killings.
·
The UN Committee for the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People promotes the
two-State solution; therefore, our activities are not directed against Israel
but aimed at reaching a just and lasting peace, including ending the occupation
and all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Indeed, there are many Israelis who
participate in the Committee events, and Israel is always invited to our
conferences, along all other Member States of the UN.
·
UN General Assembly Resolution 181
provided for the formation of two States. The UK has repeatedly endorsed this
resolution. In February 2018, the Chargé d’Affaires at the UK Permanent Mission
to the UN told the Security Council: “The United Kingdom’s position on an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement
has not changed. It should be based on the lines as they stood on June 4, 1967
with equal land swaps to reflect the national, security, and religious
interests of the Jewish and Palestinian peoples. Jerusalem should be the shared
capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states, and its status must be
determined through a final status agreement. A just, fair, agreed and realistic
settlement for refugees is needed that is demographically compatible with the
principle of two states for two peoples.”
·
We welcome this reiteration of the UK’s
position. In that spirit, as the UK has recognized one of them, Israel, we urge
the UK to also move forward towards the speedy recognition of the State of
Palestine. The House of Commons would have to play a critical role in this
effort. We look forward to the support of the Labour Friends of Palestine in
this regard.
·
The UN Committee has a long track
record of cooperation with Parliamentarians. We believe that solidarity of
Parliamentarians worldwide is a manifestation of the support of citizens of all
countries to the Palestinian people. The International Parliamentary Union and
the African Parliamentary Union are valuable partners of the Committee.
·
Parliamentarians provide a
link between voters and Governments. You also pass laws which implement
international law obligations and approve aid budgets.
·
Parliamentarians have been leading
the way on the recognition of the State of Palestine. The UN Committee believes that by recognizing
the State of Palestine, the UK along all other 139 countries that have already
taken such a step, would be contributing to peace in the Middle East and would
be reaffirming adherence to international law and UN resolutions which have
called for the two-State solution for over 70 years now.
·
We would like to also urge you to
facilitate the provision of regular and predictable funding for the UN Relief
Works Agency (UNRWA) that is critical to providing humanitarian assistance to
millions of Palestinian refugees in the region.
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