SIXTY-FIFTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
A65/53 24 May 2012
First report of Committee B Committee B held its first and second meetings on 23 May 2012 under the chairmanship of Dr Mohammad Hossein Nicknam (Islamic Republic of Iran), Professor Charles Kondi Agba (Togo) and Dr Enrique Tayag (Philippines). In accordance with Rule 34 of the Rules of Procedure of the World Health Assembly, the Committee elected Professor Charles Kondi Agba (Togo) and Dr Enrique Tayag (Philippines) Vice-Chairmen, and Dr Paul Gully (Canada) Rapporteur. It was decided to recommend to the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly the adoption of the attached five resolutions relating to the following agenda items: 15. Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan One resolution 16. Programme budget and financial matters 16.2 Financial report and audited financial statements for the period 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011 One resolution 16.3 Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution One resolution entitled: Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution One resolution entitled: Special arrangements for settlement of arrears 17. Audit and oversight matters 17.1 Report of the External Auditor One resolution
Agenda item 15
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Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Mindful of the basic principle established in the Constitution of WHO, which affirms that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security; Recalling all its previous resolutions on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory and other occupied Arab territories; Taking note of the report of the Secretariat on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan;1 Stressing the essential role of UNRWA in providing crucial health and education services in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in addressing the emergency needs in the Gaza Strip; Expressing its concern at the deterioration of economic and health conditions as well as the humanitarian crisis resulting from the continued occupation and the severe restrictions imposed by Israel, the occupying power; Affirming the need to guarantee universal coverage of health services and to preserve the functions of the public health services in the occupied Palestinian territory; Recognizing that the acute shortage of financial and medical resources in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which is responsible for running and financing public health services, jeopardizes the access of the Palestinian population to curative and preventive services; Affirming the right of Palestinian patients, medical staff and ambulances to have access to the Palestinian health institutions in occupied east Jerusalem; Affirming that the blockade is continuing and that the crossing points are not entirely and definitely opened, meaning that the crisis and suffering that started before the Israeli attack on the Strip are continuing, hindering the efforts of the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Authority to reconstruct the establishments destroyed by the Israeli military operations by the end of 2008 and in 2009; Expressing deep concern at the grave implications of the wall on the accessibility and quality of medical services received by the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem,
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Document A65/27 Rev.1.
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DEMANDS that Israel, the occupying power: (1) immediately put an end to the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the closure of the crossing points of the occupied Gaza Strip that is causing the serious shortage of medicines and medical supplies therein; (2) abandon its policies and measures that have led to the prevailing dire health conditions and severe food and fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip; (3) comply with the Advisory Opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice on the wall which, inter alia, has grave implications for the accessibility and quality of medical services received by the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem; (4) facilitate the access of Palestinian patients, medical staff and ambulances to the Palestinian health institutions in occupied east Jerusalem and abroad; (5) improve the living and medical conditions of Palestinian detainees, particularly children, women and patients, and provide the detainees who are suffering from serious medical conditions worsening every day with the necessary medical treatment, and facilitate the transit and entry of medicine and medical equipment to the occupied Palestinian territory; (6) respect and facilitate the mandate and work of UNRWA and other international organizations, and ensure the free movement of their staff and aid supplies;
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URGES Member States and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations: (1) to help overcome the health crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory by providing assistance to the Palestinian people; (2) to help meet urgent health and humanitarian needs, as well as the important health-related needs for the medium and long term, identified in the report of the Director-General on the specialized health mission to the Gaza Strip; (3) to call upon the international community to exert pressure on the Government of Israel to lift the siege imposed on the occupied Gaza Strip in order to avoid a serious exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis therein and to help lift the restrictions and obstacles imposed on the Palestinian people, including the free movement of people and medical staff in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to bring Israel to respect its legal and moral responsibilities and ensure the full enjoyment of basic human rights for civilian populations in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in east Jerusalem; (4) to remind Israel, the occupying power, to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949, that is applicable to the occupied Palestinian territory including east Jerusalem; (5) to call upon all international human rights organizations to intervene on an urgent and immediate basis vis-à-vis the occupying power, Israel, and compel it to provide adequate medical treatment to Palestinian prisoners and detainees who are suffering from serious medical conditions worsening every day, and urge civil society organizations to exercise pressure on the
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occupying power, Israel, to save the lives of detainees and ensure the immediate release of critical cases and to provide them with external treatment, and to allow Palestinian women prisoners to receive maternity care services and medical follow up during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care, and to allow them to give birth in healthy and humanitarian conditions in the presence of their relatives and family members and immediately to release all children detained in Israeli prisons; (6) to support and assist the Palestinian Ministry of Health in carrying out its duties, including running and financing public health services; (7) to provide financial and technical support to the Palestinian public health and veterinary services; 3. EXPRESSES deep appreciation to the international donor community for their support of the Palestinian people in different fields, and urges donor countries and international health organizations to continue their efforts to ensure the provision of necessary political and financial support to enable the implementation of the 2008–2010 health plan of the Palestinian Authority and to create a suitable political environment to implement the plan with a view to putting an end to the occupation and establishing the state of Palestine as proposed by the Government of Palestine, which is working seriously to create the proper conditions for its implementation; 4. EXPRESSES its deep appreciation to the Director-General for her efforts to provide necessary assistance to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and to the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan; 5. REQUESTS the Director-General: (1) to provide support to the Palestinian health and veterinary services, including capacity building; (2) to support the establishment of medical facilities and provide health-related technical assistance to the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan; (3) to continue providing necessary technical assistance in order to meet the health needs of the Palestinian people, including the handicapped and injured; (4) to also provide support to the Palestinian health and veterinary services in preparing for unusual emergencies; (5) to support the development of the health system in the occupied Palestinian territory, including development of human resources; (6) to report on implementation of this resolution to the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly.
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Agenda item 16.2
Financial report and audited financial statements for the period 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011 The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Having examined the Financial report and audited financial statements for the period 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011;1 Having noted the report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board to the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly,2 ACCEPTS the Director-General’s Financial report and audited financial statements for the period 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011.
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Document A65/29. Document A65/45.
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Agenda item 16.3
Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Having considered the reports on the status of collection of assessed contributions,1 including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution;2 Noting that, at the time of the opening of the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, the voting rights of Central African Republic, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Somalia and Tajikistan were suspended with such suspension to continue until the arrears of the Member States concerned have been reduced, at the present or future Health Assemblies, to a level below the amount that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution; Noting that Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Grenada, Gambia, Micronesia (Federated States of), Saint Lucia, Sudan, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were in arrears at the time of the opening of the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly to such an extent that it was necessary for the Health Assembly to consider, in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution, whether or not the voting privileges of those countries should be suspended, for Afghanistan and Grenada at the opening of the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, and for the remaining Member States at the opening of the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly, DECIDES: (1) that in accordance with the statement of principles set out in resolution WHA41.7 if, by the time of the opening of the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly, Bangladesh, Gambia, Micronesia (Federated States of), Saint Lucia, Sudan and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are still in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution, their voting privileges shall be suspended as from the said opening; and in accordance with resolutions WHA59.6 and 64.31 if, by the time of the opening of the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Afghanistan and Grenada, respectively, are still in arrears in the payment of their rescheduled assessments, their voting privileges shall be suspended automatically; (2) that any suspension that takes effect as set out in subparagraph (1) above shall continue at the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly and subsequent Health Assemblies, until the arrears of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Gambia, Grenada, Micronesia (Federated States of), Saint Lucia,
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Documents A65/30 and A65/46. Document A65/30.
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Sudan and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have been reduced to a level below the amount that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution; (3) that this decision shall be without prejudice to the right of any Member to request restoration of its voting privileges in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution.
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Agenda item 16.3
Special arrangements for settlement of arrears The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Having considered that the outstanding arrears of the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2000 amounting to US$ 5 532 592 have already been fully provided for and noting the United Nations General Assembly resolution 63/249 concerning unpaid assessed contributions of the former Yugoslavia, DECIDES, in accordance with Financial Regulation 13.6, to approve the write-off of the unpaid arrears from the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2000 of US$ 5 532 592.
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Agenda item 17.1
Report of the External Auditor The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Having considered the report of the External Auditor to the Health Assembly;1 Having noted the report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board to the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly,2 ACCEPTS the report of the External Auditor to the Health Assembly.
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Document A65/32. Document A65/47.
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