Sommaire: November 18, 2004: EXPLANATION OF VOTE BY MR. BENGT VAN LOOSDRECHT, FIRST SECRETARY OF THE NETHERLANDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian children. THIRD COMMITTEE (New York)
Madame Chair,
The European Union has abstained on the resolution on Palestinian children. We have done so first and foremost because we do not support the proliferation of resolutions on agenda items where this Committee has traditionally not dealt separately with country-specific situations. The European Union continues to support the practice whereby thematic resolutions are all encompassing and do not highlight one situation or another.
The fact that the EU abstains on principle is not, however, an expression of indifference. On the contrary: the EU is concerned about the plight of all children in the world, including Palestinian and Israeli children. More specifically, the European Union continuously and consistently expresses its deep concern about the situation of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
Several reports paint a disturbing picture of how Palestinian children have been affected by the worsening crisis. The EU calls for every possible effort by the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority to give children special protection and to fully respect the rights of children, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Many children have also become victims of the conflict in violation of international humanitarian law. We express also our deep concern at the recent deaths of a number of Palestinian Children in UNRWA schools as a result of Israeli military operations. The EU calls upon Israel to take effective measures to avoid any harm to Palestinian children, and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and exercise appropriate care to avoid civilian casualties in its military
operations.
The decline in children's health conditions, including malnutrition and psychological trauma, is deeply worrying. Curfews and roadblocks have restricted access to education and health services. The effects of the construction of the separation barrier in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on the well being of Palestinian children are worrying. The lives of Palestinian children have become increasingly difficult and dangerous, and we believe that their situation is in sore need of
improvement.
Similarly, Israeli children continue to suffer from attacks by Palestinian terrorist groups and from the threat of such attacks, which have repeatedly targeted innocent men, women and children. The European Union is concerned about the use of civilian areas as staging grounds for attacks against Israelis. These attacks, both through their direct effect, and through the fact that they attract Israeli retaliatory action, endanger both Israeli and Palestinian children. The EU calls for the end of
such attacks. The incitement of Palestinian children to participate in acts of violence and their recruitment are also a matter of grave concern.
With regard to the resolution on which we have taken action, I would like to underline the continuing strong commitment of the European Union to improving the humanitarian situation of Palestinians and their children. As a practical demonstration of this the European Union, in the form of the European Commission and the Member States, is the largest supporter not only of UNRWA, but also of other humanitarian programs, which among other things provide social services, including education for
Palestinian children and their families.
Our position on the Palestinian question is well-known through our engagement on the many other resolutions that the General Assembly considers on this issue each year and during the tenth emergency special sessions. The European Union continues to believe that only a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, achieved on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and the Quartet's Road Map presented to the parties on 30 April 2003 and accepted by them, will provide a real prospect of
improvement of the daily lives of Palestinian children, and their families. The European Union, also as a member of the Quartet, stands ready to do what it can to help reach that goal.
Thank you, Madame Chair.
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