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HARARE –Zimbabweans will this evening (November 29) join the international community in commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The commemorations will be held at the Zimbabwe College of Music from 6:15pm.
The event will be attended by senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps who include Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Cde Chris Mutsvangwa, the ambassador of the State of Palestine in Zimbabwe His Excellency H. Dajani, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Istiqamah Foundation representative Ibrahim Mpache.
The day will feature musicians and children reciting poetry. A documentary film, “Jerusalem: the East Side Story” will also be screened as part of the commemorations.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations on or around November 29 each year, in accordance with the mandate given by the General Assembly in its resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the Palestinian question.
November 29 was chosen because of its significance to the Palestinian people. On that day in 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (11), which came to be known as the Partition resolution.
The resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish State and an Arab State, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime.
Of the two states to be created under this resolution, only one Israel has so far come into being.
The day of solidarity with the Palestinian people traditionally provided an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention with on the fact that the question of Palestine is yet to be resolved and that the Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely the right to self-determination without external interference and the right to independence and sovereignty and, the right to return to their homes and properties from where they were displaced.
Meanwhile the UN has named 2014 as the ‘Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.’
The majority of member-states adopted the resolution with 110 voting in favour, 7 opposed and 54 abstaining.
UN officials on Monday voiced their solidarity with the people of Palestine in their aspirations for independence and sovereignty, and stressed the importance of on-going peace talks aimed at a two-state solution which must be given a chance to bear fruit.
“We cannot afford to lose the current moment of opportunity,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message read on his behalf to the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
“I ask all in the international community to work together to translate the solidarity expressed on this occasion into positive action for peace and justice,” he added.
The secretary-general added, “The goal remains clear – an end to the occupation that started in 1967 and the creation of a sovereign, independent, and viable State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders, living side by side in peace with a secure State of Israel.
Jerusalem is to emerge from negotiations as the capital of two States, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all. An agreed solution must be found for millions of Palestinian refugees around the region.”
Israelis and Palestinians resumed direct negotiations in August, following a three-year hiatus owing to Israel’s refusal to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.
After decades of talks and “far too many” adverse developments on the ground, Mr. Ban urged Palestinian and Israeli leaders to take the decisions that will usher in a political solution to this serious and long-standing conflict.
Speaking on behalf of the UN agency responsible for assisting five million Palestinian refugees, Filippo Grandi said that solidarity – which transcends political and financial support – is crucial because it makes Palestinians feel that they are not alone.
Grandi, the outgoing Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said his organisation is “sadly familiar” with this loneliness, given how closely it works with refugees whose plight has remained unresolved for over six decades. – Herald Reporter-UN News Centre.
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