RES/19/15 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

GE.A/CONF.157/23. 2-12999

Human Rights Council Nineteenth session

Agenda item 7

Human rights situation in Palestine and other

occupied Arab territories

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*

19/15

Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in

particular the provisions of Articles 1 and 55 thereof, which affirm the right of peoples to

self-determination, and reaffirming the need for the scrupulous respect of the principle of

refraining in international relations from the threat or use of force, as specified in the

Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and

Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted

by the General Assembly in its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970,

Guided also by the provisions of article 1 of the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights, which affirm that all peoples have the right to self-determination,

Guided further by the International Covenants on Human Rights, the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial

Countries and Peoples and by the provisions of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of

Action, adopted on 25 June 1993 by the World Conference on Human Rights,1 and in

particular Part I, paragraphs 2 and 3, relating to the right of self-determination of all

peoples, and especially those subject to foreign occupation,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 181 A and B (II) of 29 November 1947 and

194 (III) of 11 December 1948, as well as all other resolutions that confirm and define

the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, particularly their right to self-determination,

* The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its nineteenth session (A/HRC/19/2), chap. I.

Recalling also Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338

(1973) of 22 October 1973, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002 and 1402 (2002) of 30 March

2002,

Recalling further the conclusion of the International Court of Justice, in its advisory

opinion of 9 July 2004, that the construction of the wall by Israel, the occupying Power, in

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, along with measures

previously taken, severely impedes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,

Recalling the resolutions adopted in this regard by the Commission on Human

Rights, the last of which was resolution 2005/1 of 7 April 2005,

Reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination in accordance

with the provisions of the Charter, relevant United Nations resolutions and declarations,

and the provisions of international covenants and instruments relating to the right to self-

determination as an international principle and as a right of all peoples in the world, as it is

a jus cogens in international law and a basic condition for achieving a just, lasting and

comprehensive peace in the region of the Middle East,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian

people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity,

and to establish their sovereign, independent, democratic and viable contiguous State;

2. Also reaffirms its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel,

living side by side in peace and security;

3. Stresses the need for respect for and preservation of the territorial unity,

contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem;

4. Urges all Member States and relevant bodies of the United Nations system to

support and assist the Palestinian people in the early realization of their right to self-

determination;

5. Decides to continue consideration of this question at its twenty-second

session.

53rd meeting

22 March 2012

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 46 to 1, with no abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Angola, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic,

Djibouti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan,

Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius,

Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Republic of

Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain,

Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay

Against:

United States of America]