RES/31/33 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

Human Rights Council Thirty-first session

Agenda item 7

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2016

31/33. Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in

particular the provisions of Articles 1 and 55 thereof, which affirm the right of peoples to

self-determination, and reaffirming the need for the scrupulous respect of the principle of

refraining in international relations from the threat or use of force, as specified in the

Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and

Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted

by the General Assembly in its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, and affirming

the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory resulting from the threat or use of force,

Guided also by the provisions of article 1 of the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights, which affirm that all peoples have the right to self-determination,

Guided further by the International Covenants on Human Rights, the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to

Colonial Countries and Peoples, in particular article 1 thereof, and by the provisions of the

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted on 25 June 1993 by the World

Conference on Human Rights, 1 and in particular Part I, paragraphs 2 and 3, relating to the

right of self-determination of all peoples and especially those subject to foreign occupation,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 181 A and B (II) of 29 November 1947 and

194 (III) of 11 December 1948, and all other relevant United Nations resolutions, including

those adopted by the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human

Rights Council, that confirm and define the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,

particularly their right to self-determination,

Recalling also Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338

(1973) of 22 October 1973, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002 and 1402 (2002) of 30 March

2002,

1 A/CONF.157/23.

Taking note of General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012,

Reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination in accordance

with the provisions of the Charter, relevant United Nations resolutions and declarations,

and the provisions of international covenants and instruments relating to the right to self-

determination as an international principle and as a right of all peoples in the world, and

emphasizing that this jus cogens norm of international law is a basic prerequisite for

achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East,

Deploring the plight of millions of Palestine refugees and displaced persons who

have been uprooted from their homes,

Affirming the applicability of the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural

resources to the Palestinian situation as an integral component of the right to self-

determination,

Recalling the conclusion of the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion

of 9 July 2004, that the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, which is a right

erga omnes, is severely impeded by Israel, the occupying Power, through the construction

of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which, together

with the Israeli settlement enterprise and measures previously taken, results in serious

violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including forcible transfer of

Palestinians and Israeli acquisition of Palestinian land,

Considering that the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people is being

violated further by Israel through the existence and ongoing expansion of settlements in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Reaffirming that the United Nations will continue to be engaged on the question of

Palestine until the question is resolved in all its aspects in accordance with international

law,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian

people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity and

the right to their independent State of Palestine;

2. Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to end its occupation of the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and reaffirms its support for the

solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security;

3. Expresses grave concern at the fragmentation and the changes in the

demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

which are resulting from Israel’s continuing construction and expansion of settlements,

forcible transfer of Palestinians and construction of the wall, stresses that this

fragmentation, which undermines the possibility of the Palestinian people realizing their

right to self-determination, is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter

of the United Nations, and emphasizes in this regard the need for respect for and

preservation of the territorial unity, contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

4. Confirms that the right of the Palestinian people to permanent sovereignty

over their natural wealth and resources must be used in the interest of their national

development, the well-being of the Palestinian people and as part of the realization of their

right to self-determination;

5. Urges all States to adopt measures as required to promote the realization of

the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and to render assistance to the

United Nations in carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Charter regarding

the implementation of this right;

6. Decides to continue the consideration of this question at its thirty-fourth

session.

66th meeting

24 March 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]