ALBAWABA - Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting renewed consideration of its membership application.
"In reference to the application of the state of Palestine for membership in the United Nations in contained document S/2011/592 dated 23 September 2011 and upon the instructions of Palestinian membership, I have the honor to request that renewed consideration be given to this application by the Security Council during April 2024," the letter reads.
The State of Palestine was accepted as an observer state of the UN General Assembly in 2012, allowing its envoy to participate in debates and UN organizations but without a vote.
The supporters' letter to the council president listed 140 countries that have recognized Palestine as a state, including members of the United Nations' 22-nation Arab Group, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement.
On September 23, 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas handed the Palestinian Authority's application to become the 194th member of the United Nations to then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, before to addressing world leaders at the General Assembly.
That attempt failed because the Palestinians failed to secure the necessary support from nine of the Security Council's 15 members. Even if they did, Israel's strongest ally, the United States, had sworn to reject any council resolution that supported Palestinian participation.
Malta's UN Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, the current Security Council president, told reporters on Monday that the council's standing committee for new members, which comprises all 15 council nations, will convene behind closed doors to evaluate the application. The committee would then choose whether to recommend membership to the General Assembly.
