UN Third Committee Votes For Palestinian Right To Self Determination

Wednesday November 28, 2012 20:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The General Assembly of the United Nations, Social, Humanitarian, & Cultural – Third Committee, unanimously voted Wednesday for a resolution acknowledging the Palestinian Right to Self Determination.

173 countries voted for the resolution while six countries (United States, Canada, Israel, Micronesia, The Marshall Islands and the Republic of Nauru) voted against, and three countries (Southern Sudan, Cameron and Honduras) abstained.

The new resolution affirms that Palestinian right to self determination, including the right to an independent state, and urges all countries, and all United Nations organizations and other related agencies, to continue to support the Palestinian people, and to help them achieve their internationally-guaranteed rights.

Nadia Rashid, Palestinian Advisor at the Permanent Palestinian Mission at the UN, delivered a speech after the vote thanking all countries that supported the resolution, and said that this vast majority of votes proves that the International Community supports the historic Palestinian right to self determination and independence.

Rashid added that Israel’s decision to escalate its illegal settlement construction and expansion activities in occupied Palestine, especially in occupied East Jerusalem, and Israel’s apartheid wall, are ongoing violations of International Law, and clearly prove that Israel denies the legitimate Palestinian right to self determination, and its rejection to the two-state solution.

She added that “the time has arrived to oblige Israel to stop its violations, to prosecute it for its violations and crimes, and to oblige it to abide by International Law and United Nations resolutions”.

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