The Division for Palestinian Rights was established by the General Assembly pursuant to resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977. The core functions of the Division are as follows:

- Organises the meetings of the Committee and its Bureau at UN Headquarters;
- Monitors political and other relevant developments;
- Organises a programme of international meetings and conferences;
- Implements a publications programme;
- Develops and maintains the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL);
- Cooperates with civil society organizations active on the issue;
- Organises the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People;
- Conducts an annual training programme at UN Headquarters and several other capacity building workshops for staff of the State of Palestine.

The United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) is the world’s largest online repository of documents on the question of Palestine. It was established and is maintained by the Division for Palestinian Rights in response to successive General Assembly mandates. The main collection contains the texts of current and historical United Nations material concerning the question of Palestine and other issues related to the Middle East situation and the search for peace. UNISPAL contains the English texts with a growing number in the other official UN languages.