The Sustainable Development Goals will be meaningless if people in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan are left behind, delegates warned the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it took up the issue of those lands.
Tarik Alami, Director of the Emerging and Conflict‑Related Issues Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), introduced the Secretary‑General’s note on the “Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan” (document A/77/90–E/2022/66). He noted that Israel has escalated its use of force against the Palestinians, including illegal unwarranted force, amounting to arbitrary deprivation of life.
He further shared that Israel has denied Palestinians access to their natural resources, including shared water resources and an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves in the West Bank as well as more than $2.5 billion worth of natural gas off the Gaza coast. “Israel’s system of policies and practices has systematically stripped the Palestinian economy of vital elements for its healthy operation, whose productive base continues to shrink, thereby exacerbating dire living conditions,” he emphasized. The Syrian Golan has also suffered from discriminatory policies regarding land, water and zoning, he added.
The observer for the State of Palestine, noting that over 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza continue to suffer from the illegal blockade, deepening poverty and unemployment, stressed that Israel continues to allow “terrorist settlers” to kill her people in plain sight, destroying their homes and attacking their agricultural land, fruit and olive trees. Ending the illegal occupation is key to ending the suffering of the Palestinians so they can achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, she stated, further urging the international community to fulfil its legal obligations to end the apartheid regime.
Syria’s representative emphasized that the occupying Power is imposing its tax laws on Syrian farmers, while preventing those with work injuries to access health benefits under the compensation law, adding that lands of displaced Arab Syrians are being confiscated. Pointing out that Israel has buried 1,500 barrels of radioactive nuclear waste in 20 locations in the occupied Syrian Golan, he highlighted that cancer deaths in the area have increased by 30 per cent. He called for immediate implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions to end that country’s long‑term occupation.
Similarly, Iraq’s delegate, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, stressed that “the list of Israeli violations of international law is very long and cannot be counted” as Israel continues to exploit mineral resources in the West Bank and prevents Palestinians’ access. Noting that the continuing blockade and the import ban on raw materials seeks to “almost annihilate the export sector”, he emphasized that the situation exacerbates the high level of unemployment and poverty in the region as 60 per cent of the population in Gaza live below the poverty line.
The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, stated that the Charter of the United Nations advocates for the rights of all peoples including the Palestinian people, adding that the occupation has had deleterious effects in violation of all relevant resolutions. Pressing Israeli authorities to engage in serious negotiations, he also called for the establishment of a Palestinian State according to 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The representative of Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that Israel must cease its confiscation of Palestinian property, construction and expansion of Israeli settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes. He called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility and protect the Palestinian people while exerting pressure on Israel to cease its repeated attacks on civilians and infrastructure.
Malaysia’s representative, stressing that the systematic oppression of Palestinians is tantamount to the crime of apartheid and clearly inconsistent with the pursuit of peace and peaceful coexistence, urged the international community to call upon Israel to immediately end its occupation of Palestinian territories and cease its apartheid practices. He further called for the return to meaningful negotiations based on the two‑State solution.
From a different perspective, the representative of the Maldives noted that the escalation in May 2021 had shown that the international community is not well equipped to address the needs of displaced women and girls suffering from forced displacements and a lack of shelter. Referring to the 2030 Agenda, she underscored that the Palestinian people and the Syrian population in the Golan show that “we are in fact leaving them behind, so long as they have no sovereignty over their natural resources and their land”.
Also speaking today were the representatives of Qatar, South Africa, Namibia, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Cuba, United Arab Emirates, Iraq (in national capacity), Russian Federation, Indonesia, Egypt, Venezuela, Oman, Algeria and Libya.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 October, to conclude today’s agenda item and meet with regional commissions of the United Nations system for the annual dialogue.
Source: United Nation