The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday that will enable the Palestinian Authority to chair a major group of developing countries at the United Nations in 2019, ignoring objections from the United States and Israel.
The Palestinians will chair the Group of 77, a coalition of developing nations that works to promote members' economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations.
Only the United States, Israel and Australia voted against the move, while 146 nations voted in favor. Fifteen countries abstained and 29 did not vote.
During last month's meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, members of the G77 formalized their decision to give the Palestinians the chairmanship, in a boost to PA President Mahmoud Abbas' push for statehood and full U.N. membership.
"We cannot support efforts by the Palestinians to enhance their status outside of direct negotiations. The United States does not recognize that there is a Palestinian state," U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the General Assembly.
"We strongly oppose the Palestinians' election as chair of the G77 as well as this so-called enabling resolution. Only U.N. member states should be entitled to speak and act on behalf of major groups of states at the United Nations," Cohen said.
And Australian Ambassador to the U.N. Gillian Bird said, "Australia's decision to vote no on this resolution reflects our longstanding position that Palestinian attempts to seek recognition as a state in international fora are deeply unhelpful to efforts towards a two-state solution."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, said after the vote that the Palestinians "will spare no effort to prove worthy of this trust" and defend G77 interests while also engaging "with all partners – I repeat with all partners – in order to advance cooperation and mutually beneficial agreements for the common good of humanity."
In 2012, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a state of Palestine when it upgraded the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state," like the Vatican.
The status upgrade has allowed the Palestinians to participate in some General Assembly votes and join some international bodies. However, as a non-member state, the Palestinians cannot speak in meetings until after member states, diplomats said.
