April 3, 2024 (EIRNS)—Palestine’s Permanent Observer to the UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour, formally requested April 2 that the UN Security Council take up Palestine’s application to be recognized as a member nation of the United Nations during the month of April. In tandem, the Ambassadors of the nations which currently head the Arab League (Saudi Arabia), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Mauritania), and the Non-Aligned Movement (Uganda) sent a letter to the current head of the Security Council supporting Palestine’s request for the Council to take up its membership this month. The three ambassadors attached to their letter a list of the 140 nations which already recognize Palestine as a state, and the dates of their doing so.
To be accepted as a new member state, the UNSC must recommend its acceptance to the UN General Assembly, which then votes on the request. Palestine first filed for membership in September 2011. Nine of the fifteen UNSC members voted against the recommendation at that time; the action did, however, lead to Palestine’s being granted non-member permanent Observer status in 2012.
