Palestine’s delegation to the United Nations has cast a ballot for the first time in a routine General Assembly vote, an act the envoy said brought his nation a step closer to full UN membership.
The chief Palestinian UN observer, Riyad Mansour, participated in the 193-nation assembly’s election of a judge for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on Monday in which Koffi Kumelio Afande of Togo was elected to the court.
“This is a very, very special moment in the history of the struggle of the Palestinian people at the United Nations,” said Mansour.
It was the first time the Palestinians cast a vote since their UN status was upgraded last November to “non-member state” from an “entity,” like the Vatican. The vote has been perceived as a de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood.
“It’s a symbolic (step),” he said. “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.”
