New York: The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution on the participation of the State of Palestine in the high-level meetings of the Assembly next week.
The resolution authorizes the State of Palestine to submit a pre-recorded statement to its President, which will be broadcast in the Assembly Hall during the general debate, after introduction by its representative present in the Hall.
The resolution, which was adopted with 145 votes in favor, 5 against, and 6 abstentions, also authorizes the State of Palestine to deliver statements via videoconference or to deliver a pre-recorded statement at the sessions of the High-Level Conference on the Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Two-State Solution.
Palestine is also permitted to submit pre-recorded statements by its President or another high-level representative at any high-level meeting, United Nations conference, or international meetings held under the auspices of the General Assembly, or as appropriate if representatives of the State of Palestine are prevented from participating in United Nations meetings.
The resolution clarified that these measures are only in effect during the 80th session of the General Assembly, stressing the need to enable representatives of the State of Palestine to participate in person at relevant meetings at the United Nations in New York.
The resolution expressed concern over instances in which representatives are prevented from participating in General Assembly meetings and regretted the decision of the US to deny visas to representatives of the State of Palestine and to revoke visas granted to them prior to the 80th session of the General Assembly, thus preventing them from participating in person at UN meetings.
It called for an immediate reversal of this decision.
In late August, the US announced that it had denied entry visas to senior Palestinian Authority officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, and had revoked existing visas, preventing them from attending the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
