The General Assembly today adopted a text to enable the high-level Palestinian delegation to participate virtually in the general debate next week, even as the representative of the United States said that the Palestinian Authority is subsidizing terrorists and using diplomatic theatre.
By a recorded vote of 152 in favour to 3 against (United States, Israel and Paraguay), with 4 abstentions (Colombia, Honduras, Panama and Peru), the 193-member organ adopted the resolution on “Participation by the State of Palestine during the eighty-first session” (document A/81/L.2)
By its terms, the Assembly decided that the State of Palestine may submit a pre-recorded statement of its President, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall during the general debate at its eighty-first session, after introduction by its representative who is physically present in the Assembly Hall.
Further, the State of Palestine may submit a pre-recorded statement of its President or other high-level representative at any high-level meeting or United Nations conference if its representatives are prevented from participating in the meetings of the United Nations.
The resolution became necessary in the wake of the decision of the United States to deny visas to and revoke visas from representatives of the State of Palestine ahead of the eightieth and eighty-first sessions of the General Assembly.
Host Country Visa Obligations
The responsibility of the host country to facilitate the visits of UN diplomatic delegations is governed by the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations. According to Sections 11, 12 and 13 of that Agreement, the authorities of the United States are not to impose any impediments to the transit of UN member representatives to or from the Headquarters. When visas are required, they shall be granted without charge and as promptly as possible. That Agreement was signed on 26 June 1947 and approved by the Assembly on 31 October 1947.
Speaking in explanation of vote, the representative of the United States said that her country, under President Donald J. Trump, has been clear that the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) “are not compliant with their commitments under the Oslo Accords”. The Palestinian Authority committed “to renounce terrorism and violence as a means to political ends”, she said, adding that the Authority “continues to refuse to directly condemn terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens”.
She also said the Authority is incentivizing terror by continuing payments to “terrorists, living and dead”, and to their families, through new mechanisms. “The United States will not be fooled by creative accounting,” she said. She also rejected the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic and legal campaigns as a “strategy to isolate Israel and internationalize the conflict while avoiding the hard work of governance, diplomacy and leadership”.
Palestine Says Visa Denial Violates Agreement
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, exercising his right of reply, said that the 152 votes in favour of the text make the position of the international community crystal clear. The efforts by the United States to deny the Palestinian delegation — headed by President Mahmoud Abbas — the right to participate in the high-level week is a clear violation of the host country, under the provisions of the host country agreement. “This agreement is part of the national law of the United States,” he said, noting that not only was it signed by the Administration at that time but also ratified by the United States Congress.
“The fact that we were denied visas does not mean that the big elephant at the United Nations — the Palestinian people and their leadership — are not present,” he added. Palestinians will be front and centre at the UN until there is an end to the illegal occupation and a free and sovereign State of Palestine is established, he underscored.
Speakers Criticize Visa Decision
In an explanation of vote, China’s delegate said that depriving Palestinians of the right to make their case at the General Assembly is “unacceptable in conscience and indefensible in reason”. Iran’s delegate added that this text does not absolve the host country from its obligations. The representative of the Russian Federation said the non-issuance of visas is a glaring violation of host country commitments. However, his “vote in favour should not be interpreted as support for remote or hybrid formats of work”, he added.