UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

In 1975, by its resolution 3376, the UN General Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), and requested it to recommend a programme of implementation to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights to self-determination without external interference, national independence and sovereignty; and to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced. The Committee’s recommendations were endorsed by the General Assembly, to which the Committee reports annually. The Assembly established the Division for Palestinian Rights as its secretariat and, throughout the years, has gradually expanded the Committee’s mandate.
The Committee welcomed the 1991 Madrid peace conference, as well as the 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent agreements reached by Israel and the PLO. The Committee has strongly supported the objective, affirmed in Security Council resolution 1397 (2002), of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognised borders. The Committee welcomed the Quartet’s Road Map, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative, and called on the parties to implement them. The Committee strives to heighten international awareness of all aspects of the question of Palestine and promote international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people.
The General Assembly renews the mandate of the Committee annually. Assisted by the Division for Palestinian Rights, the Committee organises international meetings and conferences, conducts an annual training programme at UN Headquarters and several other capacity building activities, cooperates and liaises with civil society organizations worldwide, maintains publications and information programme, and holds each year on 29 November or around that date a special meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Towards the beginning of each calendar year, the Committee elects its Bureau and adopts a Programme of Work for the year. The Division of Palestinian Rights supports the Committee in implementing the Programme of Work. The Committee reports to the General Assembly on the implementation of its mandate through its annual Report. On 29 November, the General Assembly begins its consideration of the “Question of Palestine” agenda item, which includes presentation of the annual report of the Committee, and later voting on the four resolutions (A/RES/73/18, A/RES/73/21, A/RES/73/20, A/RES/73/19) whose drafts have been approved by the Committee.
The Security Council, during its quarterly debate on the situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian question, invites the Chair of the Committee to state the committee’s position. Please find here the statements delivered by the Chairs of the Committee till date.
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