Resolution 58/91
(December 17, 2003)
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 194 (III) of 11 December
1948 and all its subsequent resolutions on the question, including resolution
57/117 of 11 December 2002,
Recalling also its resolution 302 (IV) of 8
December 1949, by which, inter alia, it established the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,
Recalling further relevant Security Council
resolutions,
Aware of the fact that the Palestine refugees
have, for more than five decades, lost their homes, lands and means
of livelihood,
Affirming the imperative of resolving the problem
of the Palestine refugees for the achievement of justice and for the
achievement of lasting peace in the region,
Acknowledging the essential role that the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
has played for more than fifty-three years since its establishment in
ameliorating the plight of the Palestine refugees in the fields of education,
health and relief and social services,
Taking note of the report of the Commissioner-General
of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East covering the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003,1/
Aware of the continuing needs of Palestine refugees
throughout all the fields of operation, namely Jordan, Lebanon, the
Syrian Arab Republic, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
Expressing grave concern at the especially difficult
situation of the Palestine refugees under occupation, including with
regard to their safety, well-being and living conditions, and the continuous
deterioration of those conditions during the recent period,
Noting the signing of the Declaration of Principles
on Interim Self-Government Arrangements on 13 September 1993 by the
Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization 2/
and the subsequent implementation agreements,
Aware that the Multilateral Working Group on
Refugees of the Middle East peace process has an important role to play
in the peace process,
1. Notes with regret that repatriation
or compensation of the refugees, as provided for in paragraph 11 of
its resolution 194 (III), has not yet been effected and that, therefore,
the situation of the Palestine refugees continues to be a matter of
concern;
2. Also notes with regret that the United Nations
Conciliation Commission for Palestine has been unable to find a means
of achieving progress in the implementation of paragraph 11 of General
Assembly resolution 194 (III), and requests the Commission to exert
continued efforts towards the implementation of that paragraph and to
report to the Assembly as appropriate, but no later than 1 September
2004;
3. Affirms the necessity for the continuation
of the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East and the importance of its operation and services
for the well-being of the Palestine refugees and for the stability of
the region, pending the resolution of the question of the Palestine
refugees;
4. Calls upon all donors to continue to make
the most generous efforts possible to meet the anticipated needs of
the Agency, including those mentioned in recent emergency appeals.
72nd plenary meeting
9 December 2003
1/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth
Session, Supplement No. 13 and corrigendum and addendum (A/58/13
and Corr.1 and Add.1).
2/ A/48/486-S/26560, annex.
Sources: The United Nations |