When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads to New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations this month, he will be sitting in the General Assembly Hall for the first time among the leaders of other member states of the world body.
But the Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, is not a full member and does not have voting rights in the 193-member General Assembly.
What is the current status of Palestinians at the UN?
Palestine is a non-member state of the United Nations with observer status, as is the Vatican.
The United Nations General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status in the international organization from “entity” to “non-member state.”
The vote was then voted with 138 votes in favour, 9 against, and 41 abstentions.
What happened this year?
Last May, the General Assembly overwhelmingly supported Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the United Nations by recognizing it as an eligible state and recommending that the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably.”
This resolution granted the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges starting in September 2024, such as a seat among the UN members in the General Assembly Hall.
The General Assembly vote in May was a global test of support for Palestine’s bid to become a full member, a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state, after the United States vetoed it in the Security Council in April.
But the 15-member Security Council did not adopt the General Assembly’s recommendation, and so the situation continued as it was, and Palestine remained an observer and did not obtain full membership.
How does the UN accept new member states?
Countries seeking to join the United Nations usually submit an application to the Secretary-General, who sends it to the Security Council for evaluation and vote.
A committee of the Council first assesses the application to see if it meets the requirements for UN membership. The application can then either be deferred or put to a formal vote in the Security Council.
Approval requires at least nine votes in favour and no veto by any of the council’s permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
If the Council approves the membership application, it goes to the General Assembly for approval. The membership application requires a two-thirds majority to be approved by the General Assembly. No country can join the United Nations without the approval of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
What happened to the Palestinian demand in 2011?
A Security Council committee has been evaluating the Palestinian application for weeks to determine whether it meets the requirements for UN membership, but the committee has been unable to reach a unanimous position and the Security Council has not formally voted on a resolution on Palestinian membership.
Diplomats said the Palestinians lack the minimum nine votes needed to adopt the resolution, and even if they get enough support the United States has said it will veto the move.