The UN has begun the process for the recognition of Palestine as a full member state (and not just an observer), which could take several weeks.
The Security Council decided this Monday to refer to the Admission Committee for New Members to re-examine the 2011 application for admission as a member of the United Nations presented by the Observer State of Palestine. Malta’s ambassador to the UN, Vanessa Frazier, who chairs the council, has said deliberations should take place this month.
According to UN regulations, any State wishing to become a member of the United Nations must submit an application to the Secretary General. The admission of new members is decided by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, where the United States, an ally of Israel, could exercise its veto power.
To do this, the Council must create a committee made up of all its members (15) that deals with the admission of new members, studies the case and delivers a return report. If approved, the request reaches the General Assembly, which votes on it – here a two-thirds majority is required.
For Palestine’s request to come to fruition, nine of the 15 members of the Security Council must first support it, and none of the permanent members must veto it.
In the current situation, it seems feasible that the Palestinian petition will gather nine votes: those of Russia and China, plus African and Latin American countries, and even some Europeans that already recognize the Palestinian State, such as Malta and Slovenia (the position remains to be seen). from Japan and Korea).
However, analysts see it as very likely that the United States will at some point use its right of veto, which in the six months of war in Gaza it has already used three times in favor of its ally Israel.
The distances that Joe Biden’s administration has recently marked with Israel do not seem to affect the meaning of their vote, since if they do so, Palestine would achieve a historic diplomatic victory.
The Palestinians want the Security Council to vote on the request at the end of this month – specifically, on the 18th. “We believe that it is time for our state to become a full member of the United Nations,” said Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN in early April. However, the United States has reiterated that Israel and the Palestinians must first negotiate a peace agreement, reports the Associated Press agency.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has said that the possibility of Palestine becoming a member state of the UN (and not a mere observer as it is now) is “a flagrant violation of the charter of the United Nations” and “perpetuates the conflict.”
Along with pressure to end the war in Gaza – which has already claimed more than 33,200 lives according to Palestinian authorities – has increased global pressure to resume efforts to advance the two-state solution.
In 2011, a Security Council committee evaluated the Palestinian request for several weeks, but did not reach a unanimous position and the Council never voted on a resolution to recommend Palestinian membership, Reuters reports. Diplomats then stated that the Palestinians did not have sufficient support for approval and Washington had expressed its opposition to the measure. The Palestinians went to the UN General Assembly to become a non-member observer state, whose recognition was approved in November 2012.
Source: www.eldiario.es
