Summary: EU Presidency Statement - Explanation of Vote: Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their Natural Resources (2 December 2005: New York)
EU Presidency Explanation of Vote on the Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the Occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, by the UK Mission to the UN, on behalf of the European Union, United Nations General Assembly, Second Committee, New York
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.
The European Union has voted in favour of the draft resolution contained in document L.11/Rev.1 on the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their natural resources. We believe that the natural resources of any territory seized by force of arms should not be used inappropriately or illegally by the occupying power. We wish, however, to take this opportunity to express our interpretation of certain aspects of the text.
The European Union reaffirms the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to the occupied territories and also reaffirms that any infringement of the rights of the Palestinian people with regard to this Convention is illegal.
However, the issues referred to in this resolution are matters which need to be dealt with in the framework of the permanent status negotiations of the Middle East Peace Process. The European Union remains committed - in close co-operation with our partners in the Quartet and in the Arab world - to assisting the parties in their efforts to find a final settlement to the Middle East conflict. The resolution adopted today must therefore not be considered as prejudicial to or pre-emptive of the
outcome of these negotiations. Any actions or statement, which might be seen as doing so, has to be avoided.
The position of the European Union regarding the separation barrier and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory remains unchanged.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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