Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour urges Safety Council to ‘elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution’.
The United Nations Safety Council president has referred the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) software for Palestine to turn into a full member of the world physique to its membership committee.
The 15-member committee is predicted to decide about Palestine’s standing this month, mentioned Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s UN ambassador, who additionally proposed that the committee meet on Monday to think about the appliance.
Malta is president of the Safety Council for April.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour informed reporters in New York that the PA sincerely hoped that after 12 years as an observer state on the UN, the Safety Council would “elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership”.
Final week, the PA formally requested for renewed consideration by the Safety Council of its 2011 software to turn into a full member of the world physique. The Palestinians are a non-member observer state on the UN, the identical standing because the Holy See.
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo mentioned the PA’s membership bid was “moving forward” and highlighted that it is a vital and symbolic second for Palestine.
“This is only the second time that Palestine has been able to get this far in their bid for full UN membership. The last time was 2011 when it essentially failed in the Security Council standing committee due to a threat by the US to veto it if it ever came to a vote,” he famous.
He added that for any nation to turn into a full member of the UN, the worldwide physique’s constitution says the nation’s membership first needs to be permitted by the Safety Council after which it might must get the assist of two-thirds of the 190 members of the UN Common Meeting.
“It is believed that Palestine has the support in the General Assembly. That is pretty much widely accepted. The issue is in the Security Council, … where any of the five permanent members could veto it, and this would then stop the process,” Elizondo mentioned.
Safety Council approval requires not less than 9 votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, Russia, China, France or Britain.
Earlier on Monday, the Safety Council met behind closed doorways to debate the letter from the PA.
Mansour informed Reuters final week that the goal was for the council to decide at an April 18 ministerial assembly on the Center East.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, mentioned recognition of a Palestinian state could be a menace to Israel’s nationwide safety.
“Granting the Palestinian statehood is not only a blatant violation of the UN Charter, it also violates the fundamental principle that everyone can understand of reaching a solution, a lasting solution, at the negotiating table,” Erdan informed reporters on Monday.
“The UN has been sabotaging peace in the Middle East for years, but today marks the beginning of the point of no return,” he mentioned.