Summary: EU Presidency Statement - Question of Palestine (1 December 2005: New York)
EU Presidency Statement on the Question of Palestine by Adam Thomson, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union, General Assembly Plenary, New York
Mr President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Country Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this statement.
The European Union welcomes the recent positive developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank; the Agreement on Movement and Access and subsequent opening of the Rafah border on 25 November, 2005; and the forthcoming multi-party elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, foreseen for 25 January 2006 all represent significant steps towards implementing the Roadmap.
While recognising that more remains to be done, the EU believes that such developments should be taken into account when considering the role of existing UN structures.
Equally, the European Union has consistently supported the objective of streamlining in the General Assembly as part of the overall process of revitalisation of the Assembly. In this respect, the European Union was pleased that the Palestinian Observer delegation was willing to withdraw its resolution on Palestinian children in the third Committee this year, incorporating relevant elements into another existing resolution.
The European Union also supports the updating and re-examination of existing UN structures, such as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people, to better take into account political developments and realities on the ground and looks forward to further discussions on this issue.
Mr President,
The European Union has in the past had some reservations about the terms of reference of this United Nations body, as it felt that it does not sufficiently reflect the spirit of the peace process. Nevertheless, since the EU now has two Member States who have historically held a different view, our voting pattern will respect this position and reflect it accordingly.
The EU remains committed to the two-State solution as laid out in the Roadmap and agreed between the parties, which would result in a viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestinian State existing side by side in peace with Israel, both living within recognised and secure borders.
* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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