Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Foreign Minister of France, Jean-Noel Barrot, stated on Saturday that there should be no limitations on access to next month’s UN General Assembly, after America said it would decline visas to members of the Palestinian Authority.
Barrot, at a session of EU foreign ministers in Denmark, said “A UN General Assembly meeting… should not be subject to any restrictions on access.” A series of ministers in Copenhagen echoed France’s plea for the United States to grant access to the Palestinian delegation.
The United States is not granting President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority a visa for next month’s UN General Assembly, prior to the international gathering at which a number of nations are also likely to recognise a Palestinian state. Washington’s extraordinary move occurs as France is spearheading efforts to recognise the Palestinian state at the world leaders’ summit in New York.
The US State Department announced on Friday that it is “denying and revoking visas” for members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). A State Department official confirmed that
“Abbas is impacted by this action, along with about 80 other PA officials.”
What reasons did the US give for visa refusals?
In the statement about the move, the State Department accused the PA and the PLO of actions that significantly contributed to Hamas’s refusal to free its hostages and caused the collapse of Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
“Before we take them seriously as partners in peace, the PA and PLO must completely reject terrorism and stop counterproductively pursuing the unilateral recognition of a hypothetical state,”
State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
How did the Palestinian Authority respond to the US move?
In a statement, the Palestinian presidency voiced
“deep regret and astonishment at the US State Department’s decision not to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation participating in the UN General Assembly meetings next September.”
The statement called on the US to
“reconsider and reverse its decision.”
Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said,
“We will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
Could Washington’s decision violate international obligations to the UN?
According to experts, refusing Abbas a visa would disregard that agreement, as the United Nations recognises Palestine as a non-member observer state. Under the 1947 U.N. Headquarters Agreement between the US and the U.N., the US, as the host country, is bound to permit representatives of UN member states and observers to enter the country in order to carry out their official duties at the UN headquarters in New York.
This agreement generally prohibits the U.S. from denying visas to diplomats and officials travelling to the U.N. for official business.
