UN General Assembly To Vote On Resolution Granting New Rights To Palestine

The United Nation’s General Assembly is gearing up for a pivotal vote on Friday concerning a resolution that could extend fresh “rights and privileges” to Palestine while urging the Security Council to reconsider its bid to become the 194th member of the U.N.

The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, vetoed a council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for Palestine’s full U.N. membership. Deputy ambassador Robert Wood reiterated the Biden administration’s opposition to the assembly resolution on Thursday.

According to the U.N charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be “peace-loving”, and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. In 2012, Palestine became a U.N non-member observer state.

Wood said, “We’ve been very clear from the beginning there is a process for obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and this effort by some of the Arab countries and the Palestinians is to try to go around that. We have said from the beginning the best way to ensure Palestinian full membership in the U.N. is to do that through negotiations with Israel. That remains our position.”

However, in the General Assembly where there are no vetoes, the resolution is anticipated to be approved by a significant majority, according to Western diplomats familiar with the matter.

The proposed resolution affirms that Palestine meets the qualifications for membership and urges the Security Council to reconsider its request positively. This move comes amid heightened global attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in the wake of the recent Gaza war that claimed thousands of lives.

The initial draft of the resolution underwent substantial revisions to address concerns from key stakeholders, including the United States, Russia, and China. The revised version omits language that would have granted Palestine equal status with member states, addressing worries from China and Russia about potential precedents for other aspiring U.N. members.

The draft also adds a provision in the annex on the issue of voting, stating categorically: “The state of Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly or to put forward its candidature to United Nations organs.”

The final list of rights and privileges in the draft annex includes giving Palestine the right to speak on all issues not just those related to the Palestinians and Middle East, the right to propose agenda items and reply in debates, and the right to be elected as officers in the assembly’s main committees. It would give the Palestinians the right to participate in U.N. and international conferences convened by the United Nations — but it drops their “right to vote” which was in the original draft.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas initially applied for U.N. membership in 2011, but the Security Council vote fell short of the necessary support. However, Palestine succeeded in elevating its status to a non-member observer state, allowing access to international organizations like the International Criminal Court.

In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining, and the United States voting no and vetoing the resolution.

Melissa Enoch

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