Dr. Riyadh Al-Maliki: On 75th anniversary of Nakba, Consensus on Resolutions of Palestinian cause at UNO

New York/ Islamabad: Monitoring Desk +Press Release –  Dr. Riyadh Al-Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Palestine has welcomed, with a large, unanimous vote and the whole in favor of four resolutions for Palestine in the special session of the United Nations General Assembly, to discuss the Palestinian issue, and its adoption of resolutions, on top of which is the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, in the same halls of the United Nations that where unjustly approved 75 years ago dividing our homeland Palestine.

The Foreign Minister of Palestine Dr. Riyadh Al-Maliki expressed that the vote to commemorate the Nakba is the international recognition of the Palestinian tragedy that led to the displacement of our people and the transformation of more than half of them into refugees in the diaspora, and the other half under the oppression of an apartheid regime and Colonial Colonialism, and that this vote is a step towards correcting the historical injustice to redress the harm that affected Palestine, our homeland and people.
He pointed out that the countries’ vote in favor of the resolutions is evidence of the international consensus on the Palestinian issue, the right of our Palestinian people to live in freedom and dignity, their right to self-determination and independence for the State of Palestine, and the return of refugees. He indicated that the decisions were as follows:

1- Settling the issue of Palestine by peaceful means, as (153) countries voted for it, (9) countries against it, and (10) countries abstained.

2- The special media program undertaken by the Department of Information Affairs of the General Secretariat on the issue of Palestine, where (149) countries voted in favor of it, (11) countries against it, and (13) countries abstained, and as the resolution renews the mandate of the program to support media awareness to contribute to peace, and condemns the field execution of the martyred journalist Sherine Abu Aqle, calls for accountability, and welcomes the decision to name the United Nations Training Program for Palestinian Journalists after her in honor of her.

3- The specific Committee on the Palestinian People’s Exercise of their Inalienable Rights, where (101) countries voted in favor, (17) countries voted against, and (53) countries abstained. The Resolution received requests the Committee to mobilize international solidarity and support for the Palestinian people, to restore the political horizon and advance a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, especially during this critical period of instability, further shrinking of civic space in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, humanitarian distress and financial crisis. It calls on all governments and organizations to cooperate with the Committee.

4- The Palestinian Rights Division of the General Secretariat, where (90) countries voted for it, (30) countries against it, and (47) countries abstained. In it, the resolution requests the Division to devote its activities in 2023 to the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Nakba, including a high-level event in the General Assembly Hall on 15 May 2023.

Dr. Riyadh Al-Maliki thanked the friendly and brotherly countries that voted in favor of these decisions, and the remarkable increase in the number of those countries. He called on the countries that did not support the decisions to stop their double standards, and their coercion and encouragement of the occupation authority in its crimes, and said that we are watching the abusive actions of these countries that contribute to weakening the international system and help the illegal occupation authority in impunity and accountability for its crimes and violations, and that it will not be able to evade the obligations arising from its duties to respect and apply the rules of international law.

Foreign Minister  concluded that resolving the issue, the Palestinian cause, and a settlement by peaceful means addressing the root of the tragedy and the root of instability in the Middle East, which is the existence of a settler-colonial occupation and an apartheid regime that must be ended and dismantled as soon as possible, and for the international community to work on that, and achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is self-determination and independence in the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were displaced.