A UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/RES/53/136 1 March 1999 Fifty-third session Agenda item 109 RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [on the report of the Third Committee (A/53/624)] 53/136. The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination The General Assembly, Aware that the development of friendly relations among nations, based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, is among the purposes and principles of the United Nations, as defined in the Charter, Recalling the International Covenants on Human Rights,1 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,2 the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples3 and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993,4 Recalling also the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations,5 Expressing deep concern about the difficulties facing the Middle East peace process, and expressing the hope for rapid progress in the peace process and the achievement of a final settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides within the agreed time, 1 Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 2 Resolution 217 A (III). 3 Resolution 1514 (XV). 4 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III. 5 See resolution 50/6. /...