Sunday, January 22, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
Seventy-sixth report of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for PalestineIn paragraph 2 of its resolution 76/77, the General Assembly requested the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine to report to the Assembly as appropriate, but no later than 1 September 2022. The Commission recalls its report of 10 August 2021 (A/76/282) and observes that it has nothing new to report since its submission.
The UNCCP was created as part of UN General Assembly Resolution 194 in 1948. It has had nothing to report for over twenty years.
During the 1980s, it still pretended to try to implement UNGA 194. Well, not really: from the 1960s to the 1980s, it pretended that UNGA 194 had only the first part of one paragraph, Paragraph 11, that supposedly gives Palestinians the "right of return" to Israel.
It ignored most of the other part of Paragraph 11, which urged the UN to find permanent homes for Palestinians in other Arab countries: "Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation." The UNCCP indeed worked with Israeli authorities to document and calculate the value of properties that had been owned by Arabs before 1948 but it had not, since the 1950s, tried to resettle Palestinian Arabs nor help them with social rehabilitation in Arab countries.
Another paragraph the UNCCP has ignored since its early years (if even then) was Paragraph 7 that is meant to guarantee access to holy places by all. That isn't even mentioned in its 1951 reports.
Despite decades of inactivity, the Commission still exists.
Which, I suppose, one can say about the UN altogether.
In fact, it is one of only seven Commissions that report to the General Assembly - two of which have "Palestine" in their titles.
What would it take to become a member? I'd love to have a full time salary, with benefits and pension, for doing literally nothing for the next few decades.
I cannot figure out how many members it has now - the UN isn't very transparent about this - but by definition a commission must have more than one member, right? How hard can it be to join? What possible disqualifications do I have to copy and paste last year's report to this year's?
I have great plans for the UNCCP. I would create a Twitter account for it, and proudly report on that accomplishment. I would email to the PLO and Jordan asking how they are implementing Paragraph 7. I would ask Lebanon and Syria how they are resettling Palestinian "refugees."
I would do more in an hour than the UNCCP has done in 22 years.
If any existing members retire or die, I want to be at the top of the list. Who can I talk to?
(h/t Irene)
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