The UNGA votes in favor of expanding Palestine’s rights to become a full membership in the UN. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has unanimously decided to back Palestine’s application for full membership in the UN by recognizing it as eligible to join and urging the UN Security Council to “reconsider the matter favorably.”
The US vetoed a bid for full membership last month, and the UN Security Council is the only body that can decide on memberships.
Although the current resolution acknowledges Palestinians as eligible for membership, it does not grant them full membership. Instead, it grants Palestine increased participation and certain rights in the UNGA.
Below is a summary of each nation’s vote at Friday’s UNGA in New York City:
UNGA votes for (143):
A: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan
B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi
C: Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus
D: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic
E: East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia
F: France
G: Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana
H: Haiti, Honduras
I: Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Ivory Coast
J: Jamaica, Japan, Jordan
K: Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan
L: Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg
M: Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar
N: Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway
O: Oman
P: Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal
Q: Qatar
R: Republic of Korea (South Korea), Russia, Rwanda
S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria
T: Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey
U: Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
V: Vietnam
Y: Yemen
Z: Zambia, Zimbabwe
UNGA votes Against (9)
A: Argentina
C: Czech Republic
H: Hungary
I: Israel
M: Micronesia
N: Nauru
P: Palau, Papua New Guinea
U: United States
UNGA votes Abstained (25):
A: Albania, Austria
B: Bulgaria
C: Canada, Croatia
F: Fiji, Finland
G: Georgia, Germany
I: Italy
L: Latvia, Lithuania
M: Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco
N: Netherlands, North Macedonia
P: Paraguay
R: Republic of Moldova, Romania
S: Sweden, Switzeland
U: Ukraine, United Kingdom
V: Vanuatu
Voting results
In total 143 countries voted Yes to Palestine’s full membership at the UN. 9 countries voted against the resolution and 25 countries remained in abstention.
Palestine Ambassador to the UN
Prior to the UNGA voting, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansoor gave out a speech addressing the UN. In his speech he explained why support of Palestine is so crucial for its future.
Riyad Mansoor’s speech to the UN was as follows:
“We faced and continue to face attempts to push us out of geography and out of history by forceable displacement subjugation or death or to say it in even clearer terms by ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide. Voting ‘Yes’ is the right thing to do, and I can assure you, you and our country for years to come will be proud to have stood for freedom, justice and peace in this darkest hour.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN
In protest over the resolution endorsing Palestinian membership in the UN, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan took out a paper shredder at the General Assembly platform on Friday and destroyed a copy of the UN Charter.
He declared, “Today I will hold up a mirror for you,” just before the general assembly supported Palestinian membership with an overwhelming majority. “This serves as your mirror. so that you can clearly understand the harm this destructive vote is causing to the United Nations Charter.
He responded, “You are shredding the U.N. Charter with your own hands,” and proceeded to tear the document up with his hands.
He responded, “You are shredding the U.N. Charter with your own hands,” and proceeded to tear the document up with his hands.
“Today, I demonstrated to the General Assembly what they are doing to the UN Charter by ignoring it and shredded it on the stage,” he wrote in a statement he subsequently posted to X after thanking the president and storming off. I informed the ambassadors that this day would go down in history and that I wanted the world to know that they violated the UN Charter in order to allow a Nazi state to join the organization.