International Labour Conference 13 Provisional Record Ninety-first Session, Geneva, 2003 Twelfth (special) sitting Thursday, 12 June 2003, 3.10 p.m. Presidents: Mr Wamalwa, Mr. Wojcik REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL Officers of the Conference. The Officers of the ON THE SITUATION OF WORKERS Conference decided to make these arrangements in OF THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES: the interest of consistency, objectivity, and of respecting DISCUSSION the legitimate interest of all concerned. They are entirely in accordance with the decisions taken at The PRESIDENT — I call to order this special previous special sittings, and contribute again to the sitting of the Conference to examine the Director- success of this important undertaking. General’s Report on the situation of workers in the Regarding possible requests for right of reply occupied Arab territories. during this sitting, I should like to inform you that a Before giving the floor to the first speaker on my delegate may only avail himself of the right of reply list, I would like to make a few remarks. The sitting is on a specific point in a speech in which his Govern- held following the decision taken by the Selection ment has been implicated. This right of reply will be Committee adoption, at the request of the Governing granted once only in each case at the end of the sitting. Body, on 3 June 2003. The decision appeared in the This means that the general limit of two minutes, de- first report of the Selection Committee which was cided at the beginning of the Conference for exercis- published in Provisional Record No. 3. ing the right of reply, will not be multipliable by the I am fully aware of how sensitive many of us are to number of statements to which the speaker wants to an issue of such grave concern, the more so in view of reply, it has been understood that the President may, if the most recent tragic events in the region. May I reit- time permits, allow this limit to be somewhat ex- erate, however, that as I stressed at the second sitting ceeded if the reply relates to a large number of state- of this Conference, the debates of the International ments. I should like to add that it is not necessary to Labour Conference must not encroach on what is be- stop the debates by calling a point of order when actu- ing discussed by the Security Council and the General ally requesting the right of reply. As I also mentioned Assembly of the United Nations in New York, which in the second sitting, if a delegate feels that there is a have responsibility for political decisions, and of the need to respond to a particular comment, then he or United Nations Charter. she must inform the President of the Conference by I do believe that we can contribute greatly to allevi- coming to the podium, and advising the Clerk of his or ating the suffering of the population in the region, and her intention. The right of reply will be at the discre- that our discussion might facilitate the efforts of the tion of the President, who, assisted by the Clerk, will international community to provide concrete assis- agree with the delegation concerned, on a time which tance to the people concerned. As the Director- the reply may be made. General says in his Report, social dialogue is a pre- If a delegate feels that a point of order should be requisite of lasting peace, and its only through meaningful called, with a view to respect of the Standing Orders, dialogue that the conflict may be defused and overall or on a question of general order, he should do so political, economic and social conditions in the region from the floor. improved. I am counting on each speaker to bring constructive Original Arabic: Mr. KHATIB (Minister of Labour, elements to this debate. While we are required to Palestine) — I had the opportunity a few days ago to exchange our views openly, all speakers should abide explain the relationship between poverty and unem- by parliamentary language and avoid comments or ployment, which were mentioned in the Report of the attacks of a personal nature. Our aim must be to iden- Director-General as being particularly evident in the tify measures that may assist the workers concerned. case of Palestine, and mentioned the fact that the pov- Thank you for your understanding. The sitting will be erty rate in Palestine has reached 67 per cent, while held in accordance with the rules applicable to the dis- the unemployment rate covers one-third to half the cussion of the Director-General’s Report, including manpower, and per capita income has decreased by the restriction on speaking time to five minutes. This half. restriction was clearly announced in the Daily Bulle- And today, in the same context, I would like to tin and is particularly important due to the large place before you the reasons which explain the fact number of speakers who wish to be accommodated. that this unprecedented unemployment, and this I would therefore ask you to respect it especially increasing poverty were not the result of wrong eco- closely. nomic policies nor the result of failure to exploit re- I would also like to inform the Conference of sources, or obstinate failure to implement the recom- certain arrangements concerning the sitting, which mendations of the World Bank, or the International are part of the prerogative of the President and the Monetary Fund, but are the result of deliberate 13/1 policies, planned and carried out by the Israeli Gov- of this opportunity to say that if Israel wants to forge ernment in its attempt to punish the Palestinian ahead with this mentality of solving the problem by people and its leadership, for their insistence on ob- force, then this is only going to lead to further reaction taining their legitimate rights, confirmed by interna- and to further hostility and hatred. But, at the same tional legitimacy, including putting an end to occupa- time, if Israel is really seeking peace and security and tion and establishment of a state and the right to a normal life, the Arabs have opened the door for that return. through the Arab initiative which enables Israel to But before I go into details of these policies and carry out its objectives in return for putting an end their impact, I would like to emphasize the fact that to the occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese this forum is not the appropriate place for propa- territory, and to pave the way for establishing a State ganda, although this is important, but it is the forum of Palestine with its capital in Jerusalem, and by through which we try to carry out a responsible and solving the refugee problem on the basis of United constructive discussion about problems mentioned by Nations Assembly resolution 194. But Israel has fully the Director-General concerning the status of work- rejected this initiative. ers in occupied territories, of which he underlined the The Director-General of the ILO has shown inter- seriousness and the need for a solution. est in the conditions of workers in the occupied Arab We expect this session to enable the International territories by sending a high level fact-finding delega- Labour Organization and the countries concerned, as tion which submitted its report this year. The report well as other international organizations, to adopt the shows positive developments, in keeping with the necessary policies and measures after drafting recom- growing risks and increasing suffering of those work- mendations that address this problem. Therefore we, ers. Therefore, I would like to thank the Director- the delegation of Palestine, hope that we will be able to General and to thank the members of the mission for come to an agreement on what must be done to reduce their efforts in producing their report, which reflects poverty and unemployment, in a practical manner. the minimum of what is actually being suffered by the There is no doubt that the real solution for all forms Palestinian people and workers. of suffering rests with a political solution based on in- The report has succeeded in giving a picture of the ternational legitimacy which calls for an end to occu- basic and fundamental aspects of the Israeli occupa- pation. In this context we have welcomed the efforts tion policies, the fact that these policies run contrary exerted by the Quartet, and activation of the Ameri- to international law, and that these occupation poli- can efforts, as well as the road map. But it has become cies are responsible for the deterioration of the unem- increasingly clear that the presence of an Israeli Gov- ployment and poverty situation in Palestine. ernment which is not seeking peace in the first place, In spite of that, the report could probably show but implements a political ideology which is in full more sensitivity in future vis-à-vis certain aspects of contradiction with the international legitimacy on the the terminology used. It is not possible to use the term basis of which these diplomatic efforts were based. security operations (on page 3) to describe the Israeli This constitutes the main obstacle to these efforts. aggressions which are condemned by the report, and Israel is trying to justify its intransigence by violence, which are responsible for the suffering of the Palestin- or what it calls terrorism, ignoring the fact that the ian people. The same goes for the use of the term, current mutual violence comes within the context of Operation Defensive Shield.