• by IPS Correspondents (united nations)
• Wednesday, December 21, 1994
• Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Dic 21 (IPS) - The U.N. General Assembly defied expectations this year by passing some two dozen resolutions on Palestinian rights that several parties -- notably the United States and Israel -- expected it would drop.

Palestinian envoy Nasser al-Kidwa said Wednesday the Assembly demonstrated that it is "determined to remain engaged, refusing calls to become neutralised, and that it is committed to shouldering the responsibilities of the United Nations toward the question of Palestine."

Al-Kidwa noted that, of the 23 resolutions that the Assembly will have passed on Palestine by the time it ends this session Friday, 18 were drafted by the Palestinians and three others by Syria and Egypt.

More crucially, many pro-Palestinian resolutions that the United States last August declared were anachronisms and should be dropped won approval in the Assembly by overwhelming majorities.

Those resolutions included measures declaring Israel's occupation and settlement of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem illegal and efforts to improve human rights conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

As in previous years, most resolutions passed with only Israel and the United States opposing the measures. Costa Rica also voted against a resolution deeming any Israeli effort to change Jerusalem's disputed status as illegal.

Overall, though, the picture has been one of a remarkable consistency in the General Assembly despite what the United States has argued is the inapplicability of the Palestinian resolutions to the current Middle East peace process.

In August, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles signed last September invalidated the Assembly's "divisive" posture on the Middle East, U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright said Washington would oppose any measure that would pre- judge any further Israeli-Arab negotiations.

But the Assembly held firm, al-Kidwa said, noting the only loss of resolutions arose from the Palestinians' consolidation of several old measures into another one.

"Generally speaking, the vote on the Palestinian resolutions has improved," he added. "Unfortunately, the Israeli vote remained the same, as basically did the vote of the United States."

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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