{"id":314984,"date":"2026-02-03T14:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=314984"},"modified":"2026-02-06T11:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:15:06","slug":"the-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people-must-be-realized-un-secretary-general-tells-the-palestinian-rights-committee","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/the-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people-must-be-realized-un-secretary-general-tells-the-palestinian-rights-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"“The inalienable\u00a0rights of the Palestinian people must be realized” ±¬ÁÏÍø Secretary-General tells the Palestinian Rights Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Secretary-General’s remarks
\nat the 2026 Opening Session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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New York, 3 February 2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Statements | Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/span><\/p>\n

My congratulations to the Bureau members on their election.<\/span><\/p>\n

For fifty years, this Committee<\/a> has stood firm in defending a simple truth: the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people \u2013 including the right to self-determination \u2013 must be realised and respected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fully. Consistently. And without delay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We enter 2026 with the clock ticking louder than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will the year ahead bend towards peace \u2013 or slip into the abyss of despair?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0New York Declaration<\/a> and its annexes \u2013 endorsed by the General Assembly last year \u2013 provide a clear, actionable path toward a two-State solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution offers a platform to galvanize long-overdue progress.<\/p>\n

But what matters is durable change on the ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And, as we sadly know all too well, the situation is perilously fragile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Gaza, Palestinians continue to endure grave suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the October agreement, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I urge all parties to implement the agreement in full, exercise maximum restraint, and comply with international law and ±¬ÁÏÍø resolutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also call for the facilitation of rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief at scale \u2013 including through the Rafah crossing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The continued suspension of international NGOs providing vital aid defies humanitarian principles, undermines fragile progress, and worsens the suffering of civilians.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelter, food, education materials, and other basic needs must reach those in need.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any sustainable solution in Gaza must be consistent with international law, and result in Gaza and the West Bank \u2013 including East Jerusalem \u2013 being governed by a unified, legitimate, and internationally recognized Palestinian Government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaza is and must remain an integral part of a Palestinian State.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellencies,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the occupied West Bank, relentless illegal settlement expansion, demolitions, displacement and evictions are accelerating.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced in the West Bank in 2025 alone \u2013 a year that also saw record-high levels of Israeli settler violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The recently published tender by Israel for 3,401 housing units in the E1 area \u2013 alongside continued demolitions \u2013 is profoundly alarming.<\/span><\/p>\n

If carried forward, it would sever the northern and southern West Bank, undermine territorial contiguity, and strike a severe blow to the viability of a two-State solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such actions, including Israel\u2019s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, are not only destabilizing but \u2013 as recalled by the International Court of Justice \u2013 unlawful.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also note with deep concern the recent report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights detailing Israel\u2019s discriminatory administration of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem \u2013 with evidence-based findings on entrenched racial discrimination.<\/span><\/p>\n

I urge Member States to significantly step up on every front \u2013 including through the 2026 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

I reaffirm my full support for ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA<\/a> and condemn the adoption by the Israeli parliament of laws that further impede the Agency\u2019s ability to operate and carry out its mandate activities.<\/p>\n

I also condemn in the strongest terms actions by Israeli authorities to demolish\u00a0the ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound in occupied East Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me be clear: ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA premises are United Nations premises.<\/p>\n

They are inviolable and immune from any form of interference.<\/p>\n

Public threats by officials of Israel against the staff of ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA are utterly abhorrent and must be met with unequivocal repudiation.<\/span><\/p>\n

±¬ÁÏÍøRWA and its personnel hold the privileges and immunities specified in the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel has as an obligation under Article 105 of the Charter of the United Nations to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the ±¬ÁÏÍø, including its agencies and bodies, and its officials, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

±¬ÁÏÍøRWA is critical.<\/p>\n

I call on all Member States to continue to politically support it and to financially sustain it.<\/p>\n

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,<\/span><\/p>\n

The work of this Committee reminds the world that we must never lose sight of the core objective: resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The occupation must end, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The inalienable\u00a0<\/span>rights of the Palestinian people must be realized.<\/p>\n

International law must be respected, and accountability ensured.<\/p>\n

The unity, contiguity, and integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory must be preserved.<\/p>\n

The path must be opened for a just lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one viable route: the two-State solution in line with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

A solution with Israel and a fully independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian State, of which Gaza is an integral part \u2013 living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.<\/span><\/p>\n

I urge the international community to act \u2013 with clarity, unity and determination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n

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