[The following statement was issued by a group of Palestinians on August 29, 2011.]
A note on the Palestinian diplomatic initiative at the United Nations (UN)
Your excellences,
The chairman and members of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Leaders of Palestinian political parties and factions
Leaders of Palestinian trade unions and NGOs
Emphasizing the importance of the Palestinian diplomatic initiative at the UN, and in order for it to succeed in shaping a strategic turn and a new political and resistance path in light of the impasse bilateral negotiations have reached, and based on achieving national reconciliation, and the rehabilitation of national representation within the framework of the PLO, this initiative must be linked to the transfer of the Palestinian issue in all its dimensions and aspects to the UN, in a way that ensures preserving national rights, including those contained in UN resolutions since the beginning of the conflict until now, at the forefront of which are UN resolutions 181 and 194, with the need for the UN to assume it’s responsibilities under its charter. This initiative must renew the emphasis on:
- Reaffirm that Palestinians are a people with fundamental national and human rights, foremost amongst them the right of return of the refugees to their homes and properties from which they were forcibly displaced and uprooted, the right to self-determination, including the right to national independence and sovereignty. These rights are recognized by the United Nations as inalienable rights held by the Palestinian people, based on UNGA resolution 194, 11 December 1948; and UNGA resolution 3237 (XXIX), 22 November 1974. The right to self-determination is a collective right of all Palestinians, irrespective of their geographic location.
- The PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and its legitimacy derives from the people in exile and the homeland. The PLO is recognized as the representative of the Palestinian people by the League of Arab States and United Nations, based on UNGA Resolution 3236 (XXIX), 22 November 1974.
- In its role as the legitimate representative, the PLO is responsible to protect and advance the human rights of the Palestinian people, foremost the inalienable rights to return as an individual and collective right, and self-determination as a collective right for Palestinians wherever they are.
- All diplomatic initiatives, including the initiative at the United Nations this September, must preserve the status of the PLO as the sole representative in the United Nations and protect and advance the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
- Based on the above, the Palestinian leadership, on the level of the PLO and the parties bear the historic responsibility of taking all needed steps and policies to ensure that the PLO remains the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people wherever they are, and to preserve it in the UN in September and after, and to commit to transparency and the right of the Palestinian public to view all the political steps and decisions that are related to its future, including the content of any draft resolutions related to Palestinian diplomatic initiatives at the UN.
Endorsed by:
Mohammed Abu Dakka - Hani al-Masri - Jamil Hilal - Talal Al-Sharif - Shawan Jabarin - Karma Nabulsi - Mohammed Abu Mahadi - Khalil Abu Shamala - Hind Awwad -Oraib Rantawi - Mamdouh Aker - Walid Allouh – Munib Masri -Mohsen Abu Ramadan - Mohammed Maqadma – Mouin Rabbani - Muhammad Hijazi - Yusri Darwish - Khalil Shaheen - Gaza - Khalil Shaheen - Ramallah - Ibrahim Abrash - Omar Shweiki - Abdul Razzaq Al-Takriti - Bassam Darwish - Talal Okal - Nadia Hijab - Tayseer Muheisen - Hani Habib - Noura Erekat - Nasser Abu Atta- Akram Al-Ajaleh- Ziyaad Abu Shawish - Camille Mansour - Mohammed Arouqi - Sami Abu Sultan - Sami Abu Salem - Rajab Abu Sireyeh - Mamoun Sweidan - Muhammad Dahman - Zakaria Muhammad - Akram Atallah - Bashir Bashir - Lama Abu Odeh - Maged Kayali -Samira Al-Natour - Ali Abu Shahla - Saad Abdul-Hadi - Faiha Abdul- Hadi – Hasan Jabareen - Hafez Omar - Ismat Quzmar -Antoine Shalhat - Awad Abdel Fattah - Ismat Quzmar - Ibrahim Shikaki - Ahmed Yacoub - Issam Younis - Akram Salhab - Anas Abu Oun – Salah Abdul-Ati – Taisir Nasrallah – Ziyad Khaddash – Zeinab Al-Ghonaimi – Issam Al-Yamani, Ismail Al-Zabri, Haitham Al-Azabri – Nadim Ruhana – Hazim Abu-Hilal – Samia Bamia – Mazin Al-Masri – Rima Tarazi – Mustafa Ibrahim – Rami Saigh – Saed Abu-Hijla – Bisan Ramadan – Nadia Abu-Nahla – Abdullah Al-Najjar – Mohammad Masoud.