RES/40/22 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

GE.19-06404(E)

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Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019 Agenda item 7

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 22 March 2019

40/22. 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, 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, 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 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,

Recalling further 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

United Nations A/HRC/RES/40/22

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, and expressing deep regret about the fact that more

than half of the Palestinian people continue to live in exile in refugee camps throughout the

region and in the diaspora,

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 the 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,

Noting that the failure to bring the occupation to an end after 50 years heightens the

international responsibility to uphold the human rights of the Palestinian people, and

expressing its deep regret that the question of Palestine remains unresolved 70 years since

the resolution on partition,

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 immediately end its occupation of

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and further 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 any action taken in contravention of the General

Assembly and Security Council resolutions relevant to Jerusalem;

4. 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;

5. 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;

6. Calls upon all States to ensure their obligations of non-recognition, non-aid

or assistance with regard to the serious breaches of peremptory norms of international law

by Israel, in particular of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force, in order to

ensure the exercise of the right to self-determination, and also calls upon them to cooperate

further to bring, through lawful means, an end to these serious breaches and a reversal of

Israel’s illegal policies and practices;

7. 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;

8. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

54th meeting

22 March 2019

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 41 to 3, with 2 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,

Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czechia, Egypt,

Eritrea, Fiji, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal,

Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia,

Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay

Against:

Australia, Denmark, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Abstaining:

Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo]