143 votes in the favour of the resolution, including one from India, 9 against, and 25 abstentions. After the vote, the UNGA hall broke into loud cheers.
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India voted in favour of a draft resolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, which stated that Palestine is eligible to join the UN as a full member and suggested that the Security Council “reconsider” the issue “favourably”.
Presenting the Arab Group resolution ‘Admission of new Members to the United Nations’ in favour of the State of Palestine’s full membership in the UN, the United Arab Emirates, in its capacity as the Arab Group Chair, called an emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly for the morning.
Is the US still not in support?
There were 143 votes in favour of the resolution—including one from India—9 against, and 25 abstentions. After the vote, there was a loud ovation in the UNGA hall.
With 143 votes in favour, including one from India, the resolution was unanimously passed on Friday. Nine countries voted against the text, including the US and Israel, while 25 countries abstained.
Czechia, Nauru, Hungary, Argentina, Micronesia, , Palau, and Papua New Guinea were among the other countries who voted against the resolution.
Nevertheless, the US opposed it because it did not think it would be useful to back Israel.
In accordance with Article 4 of the UN Charter, the resolution said that Palestine satisfies the requirements for UN membership and asked the Security Council to give Palestine’s bid for membership another look.
India’s outlook on Palestine.
Being the first non-Arab state to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974 and among the first to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988, India has a long history of endorsing Palestinian sovereignty. In 1996, India established a representative office for the Palestine Authority in Gaza; in 2003, it moved to Ramallah.
Even though Palestine’s application was previously rejected by the Security Council because of a permanent member’s veto, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, expressed optimism that Palestine’s ambition to join the UN would finally be approved.
The resolution further specifies that Palestine would be granted expanded participation rights, including the opportunity to be seated among member states and the ability to be chosen as officials in General Assembly committees, beginning with the 79th General Assembly session in September.
The current status of Palestine.
The General Assembly of the United Nations designated Palestine as a “non-member observer state” in 2012. Palestine can attend international meetings and vote on resolutions thanks to its status, but it is unable to cast a vote on them.
A resolution in the Security Council about the Palestinian bid for full membership in the UN was rejected by the US last month. A draft resolution that would have proposed to the 193-member UN General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations” was put to a vote by the 15-nation Council.
With the US exercising its veto and Switzerland and the UK abstaining, the motion received 12 votes in favor. The proposed resolution needed to be approved by the Council with the support of at least nine members and without a veto from any of the five permanent members, who are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Results to this resolution.
The State of Palestine will be granted extra rights and privileges of participation as of the 79th session of the General Assembly, which is scheduled to start in September of this year, according to an appendix to the resolution.
The rights of members of the State of Palestine delegation to be elected as officers in the plenary and main committees of the General Assembly, the right to speak on behalf of a group, including representatives of major groups, the right to be seated among member states in alphabetical order, and the right to fully and actively participate in UN conferences and international conferences and meetings held under the General Assembly’s auspices are among them.
