Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour urges Safety Council to ‘elevate itself to implementing the worldwide consensus on the two-state answer’.
The United Nations Safety Council president has referred the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) software for Palestine to change into a full member of the world physique to its membership committee.
The 15-member committee is anticipated 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 contemplate the applying.
Malta is president of the Safety Council for April.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour advised 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 worldwide consensus on the two-state answer 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 change 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 “shifting ahead” and highlighted that it is a important and symbolic second for Palestine.
“That is solely the second time that Palestine has been in a position to get this far of their bid for full UN membership. The final time was 2011 when it primarily failed within the Safety Council standing committee resulting from a risk by the US to veto it if it ever got here to a vote,” he famous.
He added that for any nation to change into a full member of the UN, the worldwide physique’s constitution says the nation’s membership first must be authorised by the Safety Council after which it might have to get the assist of two-thirds of the 190 members of the UN Normal Meeting.
“It’s believed that Palestine has the assist within the Normal Meeting. That’s just about extensively accepted. The problem is within the Safety Council, … the place any of the 5 everlasting members may veto it, and this could then cease the method,” Elizondo mentioned.
Safety Council approval requires no less than 9 votes in favour and no vetoes by america, Russia, China, France or Britain.
Earlier on Monday, the Safety Council met behind closed doorways to debate the letter from the PA.
Mansour advised 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 can be a risk to Israel’s nationwide safety.
“Granting the Palestinian statehood will not be solely a blatant violation of the UN Constitution, it additionally violates the elemental precept that everybody can perceive of reaching an answer, a long-lasting answer, on the negotiating desk,” Erdan advised reporters on Monday.
“The UN has been sabotaging peace within the Center East for years, however at present marks the start of the purpose of no return,” he mentioned.
