Second Committee Approves Text Demanding Israel End Depletion, Endangerment of Natural Resources in Arab Lands Under Its Occupation
Source: United Nations General Assembly
Date: 18 Nov 2010
GA/EF/3298
Sixty-fifth General Assembly
Second Committee
29th Meeting (PM)
Members Also Pass Draft Resolutions Relating To Globalization, International Trade, Sustainable Development
The General Assembly would demand that Israel stop exploiting, damaging, depleting or endangering natural resources in occupied Arab lands, by the terms of one of five draft resolutions approved today by its Second Committee (Economic and Financial).
By other terms of that text, titled "Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources" the General Assembly would recognize the right of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples to claim restitution for such illegal actions.
Further by the draft, the Assembly would call upon Israel to cease all actions that harmed the environment in all the territories under its occupation, as well as the destruction of their vital infrastructure, including water pipelines and sewage networks. The Committee approved the text by a recorded vote of 162 in favour to 7 against (Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, United States), with 3 abstentions (Cote d'Ivoire, Panama, Papua New Guinea).
Prior to the vote, Israel's representative said the Committee's annual text on the subject continued deliberately to omit key facts, notably his country's interest in preserving and protecting the natural environment, and in addressing, with its regional neighbours, their mutual concerns through existing mechanisms, joint working groups and capacity-development programmes focusing on agriculture and food security, forestry, desalination and water management. He added that the text also conveniently ignored numerous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, opting instead to advance the political agenda of condemning his country.
A representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine retorted, in a general statement after the vote, that holding workshops on water and oil issues did not give Israel it the right to violate the right of the Palestinian people right to sovereignty over their natural resources. He thanked all those who had voted in favour of the text, saying the Committee's broad support for it illustrated once again the international community's rejection of Israel's colonial occupation of Palestine, including East Jerusalem.
The Committee also approved — by a recorded vote of 159 in favour to 7 against (Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, United States), with 3 abstentions (Colombia, Congo, Panama) – a draft on the oil slick on Lebanese shores. By its terms, the Assembly would reiterate its deep concern, for the fifth consecutive year, over the destruction by the Israeli Air Force of oil storage tanks near Lebanon's El-Jiyeh electric power plant due to its adverse implications for sustainable development in that country. By other terms, the Assembly would request that Israel assume responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to Lebanon and Syria, whose shores had been partially polluted. The compensation should pay for the cost of restoring the marine environment and repairing environmental damage.
Speaking before the vote, Israel's representative expressed disappointment with the text, saying it exploited the Committee's professional nature in order to advance the political agenda of specific parties, and aimed at "institutionalizing an anti-Israel narrative within the United Nations". The draft "cherry-picked" certain information and failed to provide relevant context, thereby disregarding the Committee's fundamental obligation to remain objective and impartial.
Lebanon's representative responded by emphasizing that the Committee was indeed the right forum to address that issue, adding that the overwhelming support for the text illustrated the international community's view that the issue was a just cause for his country. He called on Lebanon's friends to step up assistance as since the country was still engaged in treating waste-water, rehabilitating its shores and restoring its ecosystem....READ MORE
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