The General Assembly expressed the hope that the Palestinian people could soon exercise their rights to self-determination in the current peace process by a resolution adopted this afternoon on the recommendation of its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

By a vote of 145 in favour to 2 against (Israel and the United States), with 9 abstentions (Republic of Moldova, Lithuania, Norway, Argentina, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russian Federation and the Federated States of Micronesia), the Assembly urged all States, specialized agencies and organizations of the United Nations system to continue to support the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination. (For details of voting, see Annex I.)

Acting on a number of recommendations of the Third Committee, the Assembly this afternoon adopted two draft resolutions with recorded votes and 22 drafts without votes on such issues as racism and racial discrimination, the rights of people to self-determination, social development, refugees, crime prevention and criminal activities as well as international drug control. It also adopted three draft decisions.

By its second recorded vote the Assembly urged all States to exercise the utmost vigilance against the menace posed by the activities of mercenaries and to take legislative measures against those activities. That resolution was adopted by 106 votes in favour to 18 against, with 31 abstentions. (Annex II.)

In the first of three draft resolutions on crime prevention issues adopted without a vote, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders be provided with adequate funds within the overall appropriation of the United Nations programme budget and from extrabudgetary resources, by another text adopted without a vote.

By the second text, the Assembly endorsed the resolutions adopted by the Ninth Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. A third text stressed the improvement of operational activities of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme.

Turning to racial discrimination texts, the Assembly decided to call upon all States to include in all their educational curricula and social programmes, knowledge, tolerance and respect for foreign cultures, peoples and countries.

Next, the Assembly decided that the international community in general and the United Nations, in particular, should give the highest priority to programmes for combating racism and racial discrimination and should intensify their efforts, during the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, which began in 1993, to provide assistance and relief to the victims of racism.

Finally, the Secretary-General was requested to ensure adequate financial arrangements and appropriates means to enable the functioning of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by the terms of another text adopted without a vote.

By another resolution on the issue of self-determination, the Assembly called upon the States responsible to cease immediately their military intervention in and occupation of foreign countries and their territories and all acts of exploitation and maltreatment.

The Assembly then adopted four texts without a vote on social development issues. In one resolution the Assembly invited Member States to adapt the conceptual framework to national conditions and to consider formulating national programmes for the International Year of Older Persons. By another text, the Assembly called upon governments, as well as organizations, individuals, and the private sector, to contribute generously to the United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities.

In the third text, the Assembly called upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to continue leading the follow-up to the International Literacy Year and the World Conference on Education for All.

Also, in the fourth text, governments were called upon, when implementing the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, to take into account the elements suggested in the Long-term Strategy to Implement the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons to the Year 2000 and Beyond.

By the terms of a seven-part resolution on international drug control the Assembly called upon all States to intensify their actions to promote effective cooperation in the efforts to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

In connection with the report on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Assembly called upon the international community as a whole to strengthen the emergency response capacity of the UNHCR on the basis of the emergency experience in Rwanda, in a first text adopted without a vote. It also adopted resolutions on assistance to United Nations accompanied refugee minors and on a comprehensive review of the problems of refugees, returnees, displaced persons and related migratory movement.

Also this afternoon, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which called upon all States that have not yet done so to accede to and implement fully the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, and relevant regional refugee instruments, as applicable, for the protection of refugees.

The representative of Ukraine made a statement on that text.

Under the terms of a six-part resolution, the General Assembly urged all States that had not yet done so to sign and ratify or accede to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as a matter of priority, in order to reach universal adherence by the end of 1995.

The Assembly then adopted without a vote a text addressing the particular needs of the girl child.

Also, the Assembly adopted a draft resolution on the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, introduced by the representative of Chile.

The Assembly then decided that the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations should also be used to assist representatives of indigenous communities and organizations to participate in the deliberations of the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights as well as in the deliberations of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations by another draft.

It also decided, without a vote, to adopt the programme of activities for the Decade contained in an annex to the resolution on the Programme of activities for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

The representative of the United States made a statement on that text.

Also this afternoon, the Assembly adopted, without a vote, a resolution urging the United Nations to facilitate the participation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in its peace-keeping and peacemaking operations and in joint fact-finding missions in Africa, and to continue to support the OAU in its efforts to manage a peaceful democratic transition in Africa.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 22 December, to consider strengthening the coordination of United Nations humanitarian and disaster relief assistance; implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s; and implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development. It will also take action on the reports of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

For further details please see source:
MEETINGS COVERAGE

For further details please see official record:
A/50/PV.97

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