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UNITED
NATIONS
E
        Economic and Social Council
Distr.
GENERAL
A/42/289/Add.1
E/1987/86/Add.1
13 July 1987

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Forty-second session
Item 12 of the preliminary list*
REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL		ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Second regular session of 1987
Agenda item
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECLARATION
ON THE GRANTING OF INDEPENDENCE TO
COLONIAL COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES BY
THE SPECIALIZED AGENCIES AND THE
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UNITED NATIONS



Assistance to the Palestinian people

Report of the Secretary-General

Addendum


1. In its resolution 41/181 of 8 December 1986, the General Assembly, inter alia, welcomed the decision of the Secretary-General to send a mission to prepare the programme of economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people requested in Assembly resolution 38/145 of 19 December 1983. Further, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to convene in 1987 a meeting of the relevant programmes, organizations, agencies, funds and bodies of the United Nations system to consider economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people and to invite the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Arab host countries and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to participate in the meeting.

2. Accordingly, the Secretary-General convened a meeting of the relevant entities of the United Nations system that was held at Geneva on 19 June 1987. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 41/181, representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Arab host countries and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations participated in the meeting.

3. Representatives of the following programmes, organizations, agencies and bodies of the United Nations system attended the meeting: Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Technical Co-operation for Development and the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political and General Assembly Affairs and Secretariat Services of the United Nations Secretariat, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, International Labour Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Health Organization, Universal Postal Union, International Telecommunication Union, World Meteorological Organization, World Intellectual Property Organisation and United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

4. The following intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations were represented: Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Commission of the European Communities, Islamic Development Bank, International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations and Organization of the Islamic Conference.

5. The Director, Office of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation of the United Nations Secretariat, acted as Chairman.

6. The meeting had before it the report of the Secretary-General (A/42/289-E/1987/66), which deluded the draft programme of economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people.

7. There was a useful exchange of views at the meeting, which led to agreement on the following general conclusions:

(a) The report of the Secretary-General provided evidence of the continuing commitment of the agencies and programmes of the United Nations system to provide economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people. Given its focus on the activities of the system in the occupied territories, the report did not reflect the contributions of the Arab host countries;

(b) There was general agreement on the co-ordinated programme presented in the report. It was noted that such a programme should not be viewed as static but as an evolving, dynamic framework for action. Note was also taken of the specific priorities within the programme identified by the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Concern was expressed that the consultant did not visit the occupied territories an part of his mission;

(c) With general agreement on the proposed programme, efforts should now turn to its implementation. A major effort in that regard involved the mobilization of the necessary resources. To that end, it was suggested that a joint effort by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the United Nations might he considered. It was agreed that all appropriate modalities for raising the necessary resources should be pursued in order to promote the early implementation of the programme;

(d) The participants in the meeting noted the difficulties encountered by some organizations in implementing projects in the occupied territories and expressed the hope that these difficulties would be resolved;

(e) The participants recognized the need for projects to be productive and to help the Palestinian people better themselves, especially in terms of providing training and employment opportunities;

(f) The participants recognized the seriousness of financial constraints but agreed that this should not be an insurmountable obstacle to the implementation of an effective programme of economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people.


_______________

*A/42/50.

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