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The General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2012 granting Palestine non-member observer state status at the United Nations. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
– The 193-member General Assembly, the highest policy-making body at the United Nations, is likely to elect Palestine as its next president in an unprecedented move by voting for a “non-member observer state,” a state deprived of a country to represent.
The Secretariat has received three nominations for the position of President of the General Assembly as of mid-September. In accordance with the established regional rotation, the President of the 81st session will be elected from the Asia-Pacific Group.
The elections will be held on June 2 and so far there are three nominations: Md. Touhid Hossain (Bangladesh), Andreas S. Kakouris (Cyprus) and Riyad Mansour (Palestine).
Depending on the geographical rotation, it will be the turn of the Asia-Pacific Group to nominate a candidate, with the final election by the General Assembly.
The current favorite, according to diplomatic sources, is Palestine. In virtually all UN resolutions relating to Palestine, it has continued to receive an overwhelming majority of votes in the General Assembly.
Political support for Palestine among member states has always remained strong. And the Palestinian election will also challenge a hostile White House.
In November 2012, the General Assembly voted in favor of making Palestine a “non-member observer state” with a majority of 138 votes in favor, 9 against, and 41 abstentions.
- • Votes in favor (138): Supported by the majority of UN member states.
• Votes against (9): Canada, United States, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, Panama and Czech Republic.
• Abstentions (41): Countries that did not vote for or against.
Last December, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a draft resolution reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to an independent State of Palestine.
The draft resolution was approved by a majority of 164 member states (out of 193), with eight countries voting against: Israel, the United States, Micronesia, Argentina, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Palau and Nauru.
Nine countries abstained: Ecuador, Togo, Tonga, Panama, Fiji, Cameroon, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and South Sudan.
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and director of Middle East Studies, told IPS that a broad international consensus in support of establishing a viable independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and naming a Palestinian as the next president of the UN General Assembly, would send a strong message to the Israeli government and its supporters in Washington that the State of Palestine, now recognized by 164 of the 193 UN states, should be treated like any other nation.
He would also underline that Palestine is represented by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, which forcibly seized power in Gaza in 2007, he said.
“If Palestine is elected to the presidency of the General Assembly, the position would likely go to Riyad Mansour, an American-educated diplomat who currently serves as the country’s ambassador to the UN.”
Mansour, he noted, has spent most of his life in the United States, has worked with Youth4Peace and other groups promoting peacebuilding, has no association with terrorism and is generally considered a moderate.
“However, his election will likely provoke an angry reaction from Washington, which opposes any formal role for anyone representing Palestine.”
In 2017, during its first term, the Trump administration prevented the appointment of former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, also a well-respected moderate and reformist, to head the UN political mission in Libya to try to end that country’s civil war simply because he was Palestinian, Dr. Zunes stated.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud, Palestinian-American author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, told IPS.
Two international campaigns are unfolding simultaneously: a US-led effort aimed at legitimizing Israel while still actively attempting to exterminate the Palestinian people, and a path championed by the General Assembly aimed at legitimizing Palestine, Palestinian rights, and the Palestinian struggle.
The push to elect Palestine as the next president of the UN General Assembly – although the State of Palestine remains an observer member and lacks real sovereignty on the ground – is taking place in this harsh context: one campaign that normalizes and protects a genocidal state, the other seeks to affirm the rights and political position of a dispossessed nation, he noted.
“Nothing could be more immoral than Washington’s attempt to diplomatically rehabilitate Israel in the midst of genocide. And nothing could be more just than the effort by Palestine’s allies to anchor Palestinian rights within international legitimacy,” he said.
However, a difficult question remains: As the United States gradually reduces Israel’s isolation, is much of the international community offering the Palestinians little more than symbolic victories?
“For Palestine’s legitimization in the General Assembly to go beyond symbolism, it must translate into concrete recognition of Palestinian territorial rights, sovereignty and freedom. Legitimacy must no longer remain rhetorical; it must become political and material,” Dr. Baroud argued.
“This requires UNGA states that support Palestine in international forums to take that support to the ground, diplomatically isolating Israel, severing ties, imposing sanctions and taking significant accountability measures. While some states have taken such measures, others continue to seek a precarious ‘balance’, appeasing Washington and Tel Aviv while paying lip service to Palestine.”
The Palestinians are winning what Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, has called the legitimacy war. But legitimacy as an intellectual or moral category is not enough. At this historical juncture, it must be transformed into an applicable political reality: into sovereignty, protection and freedom on the ground, said Dr. Baroud.
“We hope that the continued centering of Palestine in the UN and in global institutions will strengthen the growing current of solidarity around the world. More importantly, we hope that symbolic recognition will soon give way to decisive and tangible actions,” he declared.
Samir Sanbar, former UN Under-Secretary-General and head of the Department of Public Information, told IPS that the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, repeatedly confirmed by the General Assembly, would provide an opportunity for the Permanent Observer Mission to offer a candidate for president of the General Assembly.
Ambassador Riyad Mansour has served in the United Nations post longer than many current “Permanent Representatives” and would likely attract broad support, particularly in these difficult times with the tragic humanitarian situation in Gaza, he said.
IPS UN Office Report
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