United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually observed across the globe on November 29 to raise awareness of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the horrors still occurring.
- International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed to mark the adoption of the UN’s resolution to partition Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State.
- The UN celebrates the day by undertaking its annual debate on the question of Palestine.
Background:
i. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/32/40 on 2nd December 1977 and proclaimed November 29 of every year as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with the Palestine people.
ii. International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People has been observed since 1978.
Special Meeting:
i. The day is observed as customary by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) in a Special Meeting.
ii. The UN Member States expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people through messages from Heads of State and Government in the meeting in accordance with the UNGA resolution.
iii. The Special Meeting was chaired by Ambassador Cheikh Niang, the Chair of the Committee, followed by remarks by the Presidents of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Secretary-General through his Chef de Cabinet (head of the office).
Why November 29?
On 29th November 1947, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine A/RES/181(II).
- It provided for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State,” with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime.
- Of the 2 States to be created under this resolution, only one, Israel, has so far come into being.
2022 United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East:
i. The 2022 United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East was held on the 3rd & 4th of November 2022 at the Palais des Nations (Room XXVI), Geneva, Switzerland.
ii. The event was organized by the UN Department of Global Communications, in the context of its special information programme on the question of Palestine.
- It aims to educate the public on the question of Palestine and support a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
iii. The 3-panel discussions at the 2022 United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East discussed the following themes:
Panel 1– Honoring the legacy of Shireen Abu Akleh: Protecting journalists covering the conflict.
Panel 2– Forgotten stories in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: how political news eclipses coverage of economic challenges.
Panel 3– Young journalists: Opportunities and challenges.
iv. The event was inaugurated by Melissa Fleming, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, along with Ambassador Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart, the Swiss Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa.
United Nations Relief and World Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
UNRWA is a subsidiary agency established by the UNGA (A/RES/302 (IV))on 8th December 1949 to provide relief, health, and education services for Palestinians, victims affected by the Arab-Israeli wars & the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
- The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950.
Commissioner-General- Philippe Lazzarini
Headquarters- Amman (Jordan) & Gaza (Palestinian territory)
