Previous session of the UN Security Council (Anatolia)
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority officially asked the UN Security Council to reconsider a request it submitted in 2011 to become a full member of the United Nations, which raises questions about whether Palestine can obtain full membership there.
UN Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said that the goal is for the Council to take a decision at a ministerial meeting to be held on April 18 regarding the Middle East.
What is the current status of the Palestinians in the United Nations?
Palestine is a non-member state in the United Nations that has observer status, which is the same as the Vatican.
The United Nations General Assembly, consisting of 193 states, agreed to effectively recognize the sovereign State of Palestine in November 2012 by raising its observer status in the international organization from “entity” to “non-member state.” The result of the vote was 138 votes in favor and against. 9, and 41 abstentions.
What happened to Palestinian demand in 2011?
A UN Security Council committee evaluated the Palestinian application for several weeks to see if it met the requirements for UN membership.
But the committee was unable to reach a unanimous position, and the Security Council did not formally vote on a resolution regarding Palestinian membership.
Diplomats said the Palestinians lacked the minimum nine votes needed to adopt the resolution, and even if they received enough support, the United States said it would veto the move.
How does the United Nations accept new member states?
Countries seeking to join the United Nations usually submit an application to its Secretary-General, who sends it to the 15-member Security Council for evaluation and a vote.
A council committee first evaluates the application to see if it meets the requirements for UN membership, and the application can then either be postponed or put to a formal vote in the Security Council.
Approval requires at least 9 supportive votes, and that the United States, Russia, China, France, or Britain do not use a veto.
If the Council approves the membership application, it goes to the General Assembly for approval.
The application for membership requires a two-thirds majority in order to be approved by the General Assembly, and no country can join the United Nations except with the approval of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Source: Reuters