U.N.: Eligible delegations must be allowed to attend General Assembly meetings

UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday evening that all eligible delegations must be allowed to attend next month’s General Assembly meetings in New York, and that the matter will be discussed with the U.S. State Department.

Commenting on Washington’s decision to withhold visas from the Palestinian delegation, Dujarric told a press conference that “the United Nations learned of the American step through press reports, and will follow up with the State Department.”

Dujarric said: “We will discuss these matters with the State Department, in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States.”

It was not yet clear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would be able to attend and deliver his customary speech at the annual meeting.

When pressed on the issue, Dujarric told reporters it was necessary to enable all diplomats and delegations eligible to attend UN meetings to travel freely.

He added: “We of course hope this will be resolved, and it is important that all member states and permanent observers be represented — especially, I believe, in this case, as we know at the upcoming two-state meeting to be hosted by France and Saudi Arabia at the start of the General Assembly.”

On the matter, Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour said at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York that they “will respond appropriately” to the U.S. State Department’s decision once they have the full details.

Mansour said: “I was informed of the decision about half an hour ago, and we will see exactly what it means, how it applies and to which members of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”

Earlier on Friday, the United States announced it had cancelled visas for a number of Palestinian officials and barred them from participating in next month’s UN General Assembly meetings in New York, a move that comes as several Western countries prepare to recognise the state of Palestine.

The State Department said in a statement: “Pursuant to U.S. law, Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuses and revokes visas of members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the UN General Assembly,” without naming individuals.

The move comes as momentum to recognise the state of Palestine grows: in late July, 15 Western countries including France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal issued a joint call to recognise Palestine and to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

More recently, several countries including Britain, France and Australia announced their intention to recognise the state of Palestine during the UN General Assembly meetings in September.

Of the UN’s 193 member states, at least 149 currently recognise the state of Palestine declared by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed strong surprise at the U.S. decision to cancel visas of Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, calling it a move that violates the 1947 “UN Headquarters Agreement.”

Ahmed al-Deek, political aide to the Palestinian foreign minister, told Anadolu on Friday: “We express our strong surprise at this decision and consider it a clear violation of the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, which guarantees the entry and protection of representatives of UN member states.”

The 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement signed between the United Nations and the United States is the pact governing the presence of the UN’s headquarters in New York.

The agreement stipulates that the United States is obliged to facilitate the entry of representatives of member states, UN staff and experts into its territory, and to grant them the necessary visas regardless of political relations between Washington and their countries.

On July 31, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on officials in the Palestinian Authority and members of the PLO, alleging “they violated peace commitments by seeking to internationalise the conflict with Israel.”

Meanwhile, Washington recently lifted sanctions imposed on violent Israeli settlers accused of carrying out attacks against Palestinians.

For decades Israel has occupied Palestine and refuses to withdraw and allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the pre-1967 borders.

At the same time, Israel, with U.S. support, has been committing what is described as genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving 63,025 dead and 159,490 injured among Palestinians, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 322 Palestinians, including 121 children.

Alongside the Gaza campaign, Israel is carrying out a military offensive in the West Bank that has killed at least 1,016 Palestinians and wounded about 7,000 others, in addition to arresting more than 18,500, according to Palestinian figures.