The United Nations (UN’s) International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually observed across the globe on 29th November to provide a platform for the global community to reaffirm its commitment to the Palestinian people’s dignity, rights, justice, and their right to self-determination.
Background:
i.On 2nd December 1977, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/32/40 B, declaring 29th November of every year as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
ii.The first-ever International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was observed on 29th November 1978.
Why 29th November?
i.It marks the day in 1947 when the UNGA adopted resolution A/RES/181 (II), also known as the Partition Resolution.
ii.The resolution called for the establishment of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State” in Palestine, with Jerusalem placed under international control.
Division for Palestinian Rights:
i.On 1st December 2005, the UNGA adopted resolution A/RES/60/37, mandated the Committee on Palestinian Rights and the Division for Palestinian Rights to organize an annual exhibition or cultural event on Palestinian rights every 29th November, in partnership with the Palestinian Mission to the UN.
ii.The resolution on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People also urges Member States to actively support and promote the observance of the Day of Solidarity.
Special Meeting:
i.The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2024 was observed by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) with a special meeting held to express their support for the Palestinian people through messages from Heads of State and Government.
- Similar events are held at UN Offices at Geneva (UNOG), Nairobi (UNON), Vienna (UNOV) and Information Centre (UNIC) around the world.
ii.The meeting took place in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSCO) Chamber at UN Headquarters (HQ) in New York, the United States of America (USA).
- It was chaired by the Chair of the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. It will be conducted in 6 languages.
Exhibit:
i.The exhibit titled “Gaza, Palestine: A Crisis of Our Humanity,” organized by the Committee and the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, inaugurated on November 26, 2024 in the Visitors’ Lobby of the General Assembly Building (New York, USA).
- The exhibit was displayed from 26th November 2024 to 5th January 2025.
ii.On 17th May 2024, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held a Panel Discussion titled “1948-2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakba” at the United Nations Headquarters (New York, USA).
- The event explored the historical events of 1948 and the continuing impact of the Nakba (or Catastrophe) over the past 76 years, leading up to the current conflict in Gaza.
About the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
Commissioner General – Philippe Lazzarini
Headquarters – Amman (Jordan) and Gaza (Palestinian Territory)
Established – 1949
