As customary, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Solidarity Day) will be marked by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) with a Special Meeting of the Committee where UN Members States express their solidarity with the Palestinian people through messages by Heads of States and Government. Similar events are held at UNOG, UNON, UNOV and UNICs around the world.

This year, the Special Meeting will be held on Monday, 29 November from 10.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. (New York time) and will be livestreamed on UN WebTV.

The International Day of Solidarity provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved and that the Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right to return.

The Special Meeting will be presided by the Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, who will deliver the opening statement, followed by remarks by the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Security Council, and by the Chef de Cabinet, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General.

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine will deliver a statement on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine. Video messages of solidarity by H.E. Ms. Tarja Halonen, Former President of Finland, Ms. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary-General, and Ms. Hanan Hroub, Palestinian winner of “Global Teacher Prize,” will be broadcast.  Mr. Mohammed El-Kurd, Palestinian activist from Sheikh Jarrah and Representative of civil society, will also deliver a statement.

The Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories and representatives of regional organizations (AU, LAS, OIC, NAM) will deliver statements in the second part of the Meeting.

This year, the Special Meeting will be held in-person, in the General Assembly Hall, with some of the COVID-19 restrictions and limits to access to the UN compound.

The Special Meeting will be open to the media. The Special Meeting will be conducted in the six official languages.
The meeting will be broadcast on UN Web TV

Updates, including on the programme of the event and press releases, will be posted online at Home – Question of Palestine (un.org).

There will be live updates from the Committee Twitter account and Facebook page.

• Sign up for the Committee’s mailing list: https://app.mdirector.com/render-subscription-form/empId/84424/formId/2/lang/en
• Visit the Committee’s Website: http://www.un.org/unispal
• Like the Committee’s Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/UN.palestinianrights
• Follow the Committee on Twitter at @UNISPAL: https://twitter.com/UNISPAL
• Follow the Committee on Instagram at @UNISPAL: https://www.instagram.com/unispal/
• Subscribe to the Committee YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/UNpalestinianrights/

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.  For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.