Palestinians Vote at the UN

On November 18, Palestine’s UN delegation cast a vote for the first time as a non-member observer state, after the General Assembly had voted to upgrade the Palestinians’ “entity” status a year ago.

Chief Palestinian UN observer Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters it was a symbolic step, “but it is an important one because it reflects that the international community, particularly the General Assembly, is hungry and waiting for the state of Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations.”

The vote was to appoint a judge to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, not so important on its own merit, but a huge, symbolic tsunami for the Palestinians, who plan to continue casting their votes in the General Assembly and in other UN bodies.

Palestine is not allowed to vote on UN resolutions, but it can participate in some Assembly votes, including for judges on international courts.