NEW YORK, The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations unanimously confirmed today its commitment to achieving justice for the Palestinian people and fulfilling their inalienable rights to freedom and justice. It also affirmed its commitment to ending the historical injustice the has befallen the Palestinian people since 1948 until now.
The declaration was made in a joint communique released by the countries participating in the annual ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, which was held in New York today on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session.
The communique of the Group, according to a statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed the importance of ending the Israeli colonial occupation and apartheid regime and building an independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
In a speech to the Group, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Maliki praised the positions of the member states in support of Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian people to independence and freedom.
He affirmed the State of Palestine’s commitment to the United Nations Charter and multilateral action, and stressed that the right to self-determination is one of the pillars of the Charter, and that the Palestinian people and throughout 75 years of oppression and historical injustice have been deprived of this right.
“The Israeli occupation is unaccountably continuing its systematic violations and racist practices against the Palestinian people. This requires the group of countries defending the Charter to urge the countries of the international community to protect the Palestinian people and their rights, which is consistent with the Charter and with the provisions of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy,” said Al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki urged the participating countries “to support the State of Palestine in its diplomatic and legal path in the United Nations and its various bodies, including the Security Council and the General Assembly, and to support the State of Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations.”
He also urged the countries “not to recognize any Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem, and to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine to fulfil the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, independence and return.”
He stressed that “nations, large and small, have the right to justice and equality, and this is what unites the friendly states who defend the Charter.”
Source: Palestine News & info Agency