The meeting considered the issue of admitting Palestine as a new Member of the United Nations and adopted a resolution granting more rights to Palestine. By 143 votes in favour, 9 against and 25 abstentions, the resolution was adopted.
On the morning of May 10, local time, Beijing time tonight, at the request of many countries, the 10th emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly resumed. The meeting considered the issue of admitting Palestine as a new Member of the United Nations and adopted a resolution granting more rights to Palestine. By 143 votes in favour, 9 against and 25 abstentions, the resolution was adopted. The United States, Israel, etc. voted against.
Screenshot of @CCTV International News video
In addition to reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to establish an independent Palestinian State, and the two-state solution, the resolution also affirmed Palestine's membership under the Charter of the United Nations and recommended that the Security Council reconsider the Palestinian application for "accession" to the United Nations — that is, the issue of Palestinian "accession" was "brought back" to the Security Council for reconsideration.
In addition, the resolution decided to grant Palestine additional rights to the United Nations, including the right to sit in alphabetical order among Member States, the right to represent and present proposals on behalf of the Group, and to participate in the Bureau of the General Assembly and its Committee. However, the resolution makes it clear that Palestine does not have the right to vote and cannot be a candidate for a seat in a United Nations body.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding on Member States, but rather an expression of international will, but are implemented by United Nations bodies.
On 18 April, the United States vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council on Palestine's candidacy for full membership in the United Nations. Palestine is currently an observer State of the United Nations. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the admission of new Members to the United Nations is subject to the recommendation of the Security Council and then a decision by the General Assembly. Since the admission of new Members is a substantive issue, the Council's decisions require the concurrence of at least nine Council members and the non-objection of none of the five permanent members before they can be adopted. In September 2011, Palestine submitted a formal application for "membership in the United Nations", but it was not approved by the Security Council. On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution granting Palestine the status of observer state to the United Nations.
Robert Wood (front left), deputy permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, votes against the Security Council during a vote on a draft resolution on Palestine's accession to the United Nations on April 18 at the United Nations headquarters in New York Source: United Nations website