15 May – Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba at UN Headquarters in New York
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the mass displacement of Palestinians known as “the Nakba” or “the Catastrophe”. The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba at UN Headquarters in New York. | For the first time in the history of the UN, this anniversary will be commemorated pursuant to the mandate by the General Assembly (A/RES/77/23 of 30 November 2022). ● The CEIRPP will organize a High-Level Special Meeting on 15 May 2023, from 10 am to 12.30 pm (NY Time) in Conference Room 4. The High-Level event will be conducted in the six official languages. The High-Level event will be presided over by the Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Cheikh Niang. It will include a keynote address by the President of the State of Palestine, H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, and statements by Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, representatives of Regional Groups and civil society. The High-Level event will be conducted in the six official languages. A Special Commemorative Event will be held in the General Assembly Hall in the evening from 6 pm to 8 pm (NY Time). ● Palestine refugees have been on an epic journey since their catastrophic displacement in 1948 and remain, today, a scattered people, further displaced by conflict, blockaded and living under occupation, marginalized by national legislations, deprived of rights and fervently longing for a resolution of their exile and dispossession. UNRWA, the UN Agency created to bring human development and emergency assistance to Palestine refugees, has been with these Palestinians every step of the way. UNRWA photographers have chronicled the Palestine refugee experience since it started operations in 1950. This photo essay is a snapshot of the extensive UNRWA exhibition of archival photographs inaugurated in November 2013 in Jerusalem entitled, ‘The Long Journey of Palestine Refugees’. The images are drawn from the magnificent and extensive UNRWA archive which was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2009, recognizing its historical value.
■ For first time in its history, UN commemorates Palestinian Nakba Day (PressTV)
■ The Nakba at 75 – Palestinians’ struggle to get recognition for their ‘catastrophe’ (The Conversation)
■ The Nakba: All you need to know explained in five maps and charts (Middle East Eye)
■ What is the Nakba? Day of catastrophe for Palestinians, explained (Middle East Eye)
■ ISRAEL & PALESTINE: The Maps Tell The True Story (What Really Happened)