UNSC to Vote on Palestine’s Full Membership in the UN
The Permanent Representation of Palestine to the UN has put forth a draft resolution recommending that Palestine be accepted as a full member of the UN General Assembly. The draft resolution was prepared by Algeria on behalf of the Arab Group and is set to be voted on at the Palestine ministerial meeting at the UN Security Council on April 18.
However, the US administration has given a veto signal regarding the membership of Palestine. US Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Robert Wood, stated that the US believes the issue of full membership for Palestine should be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.
For the draft resolution to pass, 5 permanent members of the 15-member UNSC must not use their veto power, and the bill must receive 9 “yes” votes. If the Council makes a positive decision, the issue will be referred to the UN General Assembly, where two-thirds of the votes in the 193-member assembly must approve membership.
Palestine previously applied for full membership to the UN in 2011 but only received “observer status” in 2012 due to lack of support in the UN Security Council. In light of this, Palestine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Riyad Mansur, has requested that membership applications be reconsidered. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called for Palestine’s request to be put on the agenda, with the UNSC forwarding the request to the Committee for the Admission of New Members on April 8. However, after two meetings, the Committee was unable to reach an agreement.
