Remarks by the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain on the 75th anniversary of the ‘’Nakba”

I participate with you today in this event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the of mass displacement of Palestinians from their homeland known as “the Nakba” or “the Catastrophe”.

The ‘’Nakba” was and still is at the center of the Palestine tragedy, since it occured in 1948, when over half of the Palestinian population was displaced almost overnight, hundreds of thousands expelled or fleeing for their lives, thousands killed, and hundreds of villages and communities destroyed.

The “Nakba” is millions of people's stories of suffering and resilience, unfulfilled promises, and continued struggle. It always resonates with all Palestinians, reminding them of their uprooting from their homes, their lives, and their land. It reminds them of their decades-long exile from their homeland.

Seventy-five years into the “Nakba”, Palestinians still face dispossession, displacement, collective punishment, and the denial of their inalienable rights. The “Nakba” is not only about the past but also the lived reality of millions of Palestinians today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For the first time in UN history, on 30 November 2022, the General Assembly granted a mandate for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the “Nakba”. In accordance with this mandate, a High-Level Special Meeting and a

A special Commemorative event will be organized, later today in New York, by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, with the support of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat and in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine.  Further meetings and events will be organized throughout 2023.

This commemoration will be an occasion to highlight the noble goals of justice and peace, long sought by the international community, and aims to recognize the reality and history of the Palestinian people’s plight and their inalienable rights.

Finally, the anniversary of the “Nakba” reminds us that only a just solution, firmly rooted in international law and human rights, can secure for the Palestinians the life of freedom and dignity they have been deprived of.

Thank you for listening.