Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to introduce, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, the draft resolution on "Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan", agenda item 11.

Mr. President,

2. Guided by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and affirming the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and recalling all the relevant UN resolutions, the G77 and China expresses concern over the persistence of the difficult economic and social situation of the Palestinian people, including Jerusalem, and stresses the need to preserve the territorial integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to guarantee the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and to respect the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people.

3. The draft resolution expresses grave concern by the serious repercussions on the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people caused by the prolonged occupation, resulting in violation of their economic and social rights, including the rights to work, to health, to education, to property, to an adequate standard of living and to freedom of access and movement.

4. In this regard, the draft resolution also stresses the need to preserve the territorial contiguity, unity and integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to guarantee the freedom of movement of persons and goods through the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as to and from the outside world.

Mr. President,

5. The Group commends the important work being carried out by the United Nations, the specialized agencies and the donor community in support of the economic and social development of the Palestinian people in line with their national development and State-building plan. We reiterate the need for international assistance to support Palestinian development efforts in the economic and social fields, and call on the international donor community to deliver the financial assistance pledges to the Palestinian Authority.

6. We would like to urgently call for the full and speedy implementation of the agreements reached and for international support to revive and accelerate the peace process on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, as well as from the point where it was stopped at, emphasizing the necessity to respect all agreements, pledges and commitments reached during previous stage of the peace talks.
 
7. Lastly, the Group of 77 and China calls for immediate action to be taken by the Social and Economic Council on the draft resolution following the general discussion of this item.

Thank you.