Saw the decision: Must let the Palestinians in

Jan Eliasson: The US must let Palestine in

Wayne Seretis

Published 23.05

 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House are banning all Palestinians from the UN General Assembly. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP

Palestinians are dying in the bloody war in Gaza.

But they are not allowed to tell about their suffering at the UN.

The US Secretary of State is banning all Palestinians from traveling to the UN headquarters in New York.

– It is a wrong decision, says Jan Eliasson, former president of the UN General Assembly.

On Friday, the White House announced its latest controversial decision.

Despite the desperate situation of the Palestinians, they are not allowed to participate in the heart of the peace talks – the UN General Assembly.

No Palestinian delegates will be granted visas to travel to New York when the General Assembly opens in September.

The US Secretary of State refers, among other things, to national security interests.

The decision goes against the UN Charter that the US has approved.

– It is a wrong decision. The US is the host country of the UN, so it must live up to the principle of universality, meaning that all UN members and observers must be given access to New York and the UN, says Sweden's former Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson, who was also president of the UN General Assembly.

 

“Countries such as North Korea have never been denied visas,” notes Jan Eliasson. Photo: Karl Melander

According to Eliasson, the US decision goes against a long-standing tradition of everyone being allowed to make their voices heard in the General Assembly.

– I cannot remember that this obligation has been waived before. The US has traditionally always given visas to sometimes controversial countries. It started when

were supposed to come. Countries such as North Korea have never been denied visas, he says.

Palestine has not only been a permanent observer in the UN General Assembly since 2012, the country is also recognized by three-quarters of the UN member states.

– There will certainly be more during the General Assembly. The crisis in the Middle East is high on the UN agenda, and Palestine's voice obviously also needs to be heard in the General Assembly, says Eliasson.

 

According to Eliasson, the decision primarily affects trust in the US. Photo: John Minchillo / AP

How do you think this affects the role of the UN?

– Above all, it affects trust in the US. The UN has rules, but in this case they are not being followed by the US.

Will the US be forced to change its decision?

– I think that in the end they will probably have to accept a change in their decision.

The Trump administration has increasingly distanced itself from UN, what does this mean for the future of the organization?

– The UN has been weakened by the US leaving several important bodies in the UN, both the WHO and the Human Rights Council, and UNESCO. They have also reduced contributions to the UN extremely sharply, with drastic effects on the ground.

Will the UN survive these tensions? 

– Yes, I think so. There are few documents that are as strong as the UN Charter. We are currently living in a time where the situation is very bleak, and we small and medium-sized states must stand up for international law. I used to tell my colleagues who were discouraged that we must understand the world as it is, but we must never forget the world as it should be. Right now there is a great distance between the two.

Trump wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, how does that fit with his UN-policy?

– I think it is a mistake not to include the body that is responsible for international peace and security. He has a chance to show that if he wants to be a president of peace, to act in both the Ukraine and Gaza issues in such a way that we get peace.

– I hope that the US realizes that good international solutions are in their national interest, that's how we