General Assembly: 4th plenary meeting, 81st session

We shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/81/L.2. For your information, the draft resolution has closed for e-sponsorship. I now give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

Mr. President. I should like to announce that since the submission of the draft resolution, and in addition to the delegation listed on the L document, the following countries have also become co-sponsors of A/81/L.2: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tatarstan, Uganda, Uruguay, and Yemen. If any other countries wish to co-sponsor A/81/L.2, Please signify by pressing the microphone button now. I see Comoros. Somalia. Chad. Senegal. Angola. Gabon. That concludes the additional co-sponsors. Thank you, Mr. President.

Before giving the floor for explanations of vote before the vote, I propose that the time limits for statements in explanation of vote under this item be five minutes, five minutes. Is there any objection to this proposal? I hear none. It is so decided. Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 72 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, when a representative exceeds her or his allotted time, the President shall call the speaker to order without delay, which will be done by means of automatic microphone cut-off. To assist delegations in managing their time, a countdown clock will be displayed on the screens. Members are also reminded that explanations of vote should be made by delegations from their seats. I now recognize the representative of the United States.

It takes seriously its obligations as host country of the UN and has been hard at work assisting member states as we all prepare for high-level week. Colleagues, the United States will vote against this resolution. Our opposition should come as no surprise, and we encourage others, of course, to vote with us. The United States, under President Trump, has been clear. The Palestinian Authority and the PLO are not complying with their commitments under the Oslo Accords. We will not relent on our insistence that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO completely and unequivocally renounce terrorism. They have not yet done so. The Palestinian Authority made a basic commitment to renounce terrorism and violence as a means to political ends, in particular by ending the practice of financially rewarding terrorists and their families, ending indoctrination of children in education through the glorification of terrorism, and ending the release of public statements that do the same. The PA continues to refuse to directly condemn terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Despite repeated claims to the contrary, the PA continues to reward and incentivize terror by continuing payments to terrorists, living and dead, and to their families through new mechanisms under different names. The United States will not be fooled by creative accounting and does not accept the claim that these are welfare payments. We also draw attention to the PA's attempts to bypass negotiations through diplomatic and legal campaigns. These campaigns are a strategy to isolate Israel and internationalize the conflict, while avoiding the hard work of governance, diplomacy, and leadership. These steps do nothing to improve Palestinian lives. They contribute to economic instability and violence, and they make the conflict harder to resolve. They also give cover to Hamas and other rejectionists who think time is on their side and that terror can be a substitute for serious leadership. The United States calls on the Palestinian Authority to halt payments to terrorists and their families and end the glorification of violence. Promises of reform are not reform. If the PA wants to be treated as a partner, it must stop subsidizing terror and stop using diplomatic theater as a substitute for serious governance. Thank you, sir.

I thank the representative of the United States. We have heard the last speaker in explanation of vote before the vote. The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/81/L.2, entitled "Participation by the State of Palestine during the Eighty-First Session". A recorded vote has been requested. We shall now begin the voting process. Those In favour of draft resolution A/81/L.2, please signify. Those against, abstentions?

The Assembly is now voting on draft resolution A/81/L.2, entitled "Participation by the State of Palestine during the Eighty-first Session". Will all delegations confirm that votes are accurately reflected on the screen? The voting has been completed. Please lock the machine.

Before giving the floor for explanation of vote after the vote, may I remind May I repeat the results of the voting? The results are as follows: in favour 152, against 3, abstentions 4. Draft resolution A/81/L.2 is adopted. Before giving the floor for explanation of vote after the vote, may I remind delegations that explanations of vote are limited to five minutes and should be made by delegations from their seat. I recognize the representative of Russian Federation. You have the floor.

For two years in a row, the delegation of Palestine has been forced to encounter an egregious situation, a situation where the head of state has refused a visa to participate in high-level week. This is a systematic and discriminatory approach, and it's coming from the country hosting UN headquarters. This approach directly contravenes the UN headquarters agreement. Thus, we supported the draft resolution of the UNGA on the modalities for participation of the delegation of Palestine in the general discussion and also in high-level events in the context of the 81st session of the UNGA. Nonetheless, Russia's vote in favor should not be interpreted as support for remote or hybrid formats of work at the United Nations. As everyone knows, we consistently advocate only for in-person formats of work. However, creating artificial barriers to such work, including the non-issuance of visas, is unacceptable and is a glaring violation of the commitments of the UN host country. The position of the UN and the Secretary-General on the visa issue was laid out a long time ago, and it is well known. That position is that the UN is obligated to ensure untrammeled access to UN headquarters for absolutely all official representatives and is obligated to issue them visas free of charge and as quickly as possible. However, the issuance of visas is not a matter of discretion or international politeness. We're talking about a direct and unconditional international legal obligation that the U.S. has as the United Nations host country. The U.N. host country agreement does not stipulate any exemptions from that obligations. Mr. President, in closing, I want to underscore once more that the exceptional measures to ensure the participation of the delegation of Palestine at the 81st session of the UNGA in no way releases the United States from its direct international legal obligations under the aforementioned agreement. In this regard, we trust that the Palestinian delegation at the 81st UNGA session, including the high-level week, will receive a visa. Thank you.

I thank the representative of the Russian Federation. I now recognize the representative of China.

President, China voted in favor of the draft resolution. Last September, the United States denied visas to and revoked visas for Palestinian officials. preventing the Palestinian delegation from traveling to New York to participate in the General Debate of the UN General Assembly. This year, on the eve of the General Debate of the current GA session, the United States once again denied visa applications submitted by Palestinian officials. We are deeply concerned about this matter. The United Nations Headquarters Agreement clearly provides that the issuance of visas to representatives of states participating in UN meetings constitutes an international obligation of the host country. At a time when the Palestinian people are suffering oppression and the foundations of the two-state solution are being undermined, depriving Palestine of the right to present its case before the UN, make its appeals, and call for international assistance is without legal basis, unacceptable in conscience, and indefensible in reason. The resolution adopted today provides for special arrangements for Palestine's participation in the General Debate and other activities of the 81st session of the General Assembly. These arrangements represent a temporary remedy adopted out of necessity to address the unjust treatment endured by Palestine. The resolution clearly stipulates that these arrangements shall not constitute a precedent. This neither absolves the host country of its obligation to issue visas, nor implies that the absence of the Palestinian delegation from the general debate of the General Assembly should become the norm. It should be reiterated that the resolution adopted by the 2024 emergency special session of the General Assembly expressly stipulates that Palestine, as a UN observer state, is entitled to the right to full and effective participation in major UN conferences and international conferences convened under the auspices of the General Assembly. President, the high-level week of the 81st session of UNGA is fast approaching, and high-level delegations from member states will gather in New York. China urges the host country to strictly abide by the relevant international legal instruments, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the UN Headquarters Agreement, and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, effectively discharge its obligations as the host country, equally treat all sovereign states, abandon discriminatory practices, and ensure the smooth running of all activities during the high-level week of the 81st session of UNGA. Thank you, President.

Thank you, representative of China. I now give the floor to the representative of Islamic Republic of Iran. You have the floor.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Mr. President, we voted in favor of this resolution. We express our serious concern that the host country has once again deprived the high-level delegation of Palestine of the right to participate in the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week. It has been officially stated that the delegation of Palestine has been denied a visa due to Palestine's engagement, including in relation to the ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice. Such measures against the delegation of Palestine are thus not only obstruction of exercise of functions in connection with the United Nations, but effectively constitutes an obstruction of justice. We would like to highlight the relevant obligations enshrined in the agreement between the United Nations and the United States regarding the UN headquarters of 1947, including provisions of sections 11, 12, and 13A thereof, which underlines, inter alia, obligations on prompt issuance of visas irrespective of bilateral considerations and the duty not to impede transit to and from, among others, the UN headquarters. The obligations to issue visas in a timely manner and visit the UN headquarters agreement is an obligation owed to the United Nations from which no derogation could be deemed permissible. It is essential that visas for all delegations be issued promptly and in a timely manner. To conclude, as highlighted in the resolution, the decision of the General Assembly made today and the arrangements for pre-recorded statement should not set a precedent for future. In this respect, we wish to reaffirm that the present resolution shall not and cannot in any manner absolve the host country of the United Nations Headquarters from its obligations to promptly issue visas for the delegation of the State of Palestine. Our vote in favor of the present resolution doesn't prejudice our longstanding principled position on a viable solution to the question of Palestine. I thank you.

I thank you, the representative of Islamic Republic of Iran. We have our last speaker. in explanation of vote after the vote. The exercise of the right of reply has been requested. I propose that the time limits for statements in the exercise of the right of reply under this item be limited to five minutes for the first intervention and to three minutes for the second intervention. Is there any objection to this proposal? I see none. It is so decided. Accordingly, pursuant to rule 72 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, when a representative exceeds her or his allotted time, the President shall call the speaker to order without delay, which will be done by means of automatic microphone cut-off. To assist delegations in managing their time, a countdown clock will be displayed on the screens. Members are also reminded that statements in the exercise of the right of reply should be made by delegations from their seats. I now invite the observer of the observer state of Palestine.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for convening this meeting. And also, I want to thank the Secretariat for facilitating everything that was possible for allowing the will of the General Assembly to be reflected in adopting this resolution entitled the participation by the State of Palestine during the 81st session of the General Assembly. And I also want to thank the 152 countries who voted in favor, 152 versus 3. It's almost unanimous vote, and I think the position of the General Assembly, the international community, is crystal clear in this connection. The leadership of the State of Palestine rejects and condemns the action of denying the Palestinian delegation headed by His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas to exercise their lawful right to participate in the works of the United Nations and the high-level week of the UNGA week. We believe that this violation of of the obligation of the host country. Under the provisions of the host country, UN agreement is crystal clear. And also that this agreement is part of the national law of the United States since it has been not only signed by the administration at that time, but ratified by the Congress itself, Not under any circumstance, they should not deny issuing visas for the delegation of the State of Palestine. This has happened for the second year in a row, and we sincerely hope that that will be the last time that this illegal behavior to exhibit itself and to deny us our rightful right to be with all delegations, with all of heads of delegations, to exercise our duty in conveying our position to the entire international community. The fact that we were denied visas does not mean that the big elephant in the United Nations, the Palestinian people and their leadership, are not present. They are present front and center, and they will be until we put an end to this illegal occupation and allow the global consensus of the international community to have a two-state solution, the state of Palestine, free and independent and sovereign on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem, next to the state of Israel to live in peace and security. We thank you for your effort in this regard. and we have to accomplish this global consensus as soon as possible to put an end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people. We should not go back to the situation before October 2023. We need to move forward by ending this illegal occupation and allowing Palestine to be free and the Palestinian people to live in freedom and dignity in their homeland. We will work with all of you to convey our position in all of the details as it relates to the question of Palestine. And we extend both of our hands to all those who want to work for peace based on justice, international law, and UN relevant resolutions so that we can accomplish this objective. Thank you very much, Mr. President, and I thank the General Assembly for standing with us at this critical moment. Thank you.

Has concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 7. The meeting is adjourned.