Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Palestinians cast first-ever vote in U.N. General Assembly

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/11/18/Palestinians-cast-first-ever-vote-in-U-N-General-Assembly.html
 
 
Palestinians cast first-ever vote in U.N. General Assembly
 
By Louis Charbonneau | Reuters
 
Monday, 18 November 2013
 
A routine U.N. General Assembly vote held special significance for the 
Palestinian delegation on Monday as it cast a ballot for the first time, 
an act the Palestinian envoy said brought his nation a step closer to 
full U.N. membership.
 
The chief Palestinian U.N. observer, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, 
participated in the 193-nation assembly’s election of a judge for the 
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Koffi Kumelio Afande 
of Togo was elected to the court.
 
It was the first time the Palestinians cast a vote since their U.N. 
status was upgraded a year ago this month to “non-member state” from 
“entity,” like the Vatican. The vote has been perceived as a de facto 
recognition of Palestinian statehood.
 
“This is a very, very special moment in the history of the struggle of 
the Palestinian people at the United Nations,” Mansour told a small 
group of reporters.
 
“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.”
 
The upgrade of the Palestinians’ status last year came after an attempt 
to secure full U.N. membership failed because of U.S. resistance in the 
Security Council, where Washington made clear it would use its veto 
power to block the Palestinian bid.
 
But no country has veto power in the General Assembly, which is why the 
Palestinians had no trouble securing status as a non-member state. The 
status upgrade allows them to participate in some assembly votes and 
join some international organizations.
 
The Palestinians have threatened to use their new U.N. status to accede 
to a number of international organizations and possibly sign the Rome 
Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court in 
The Hague.
 
The Palestinians have not joined the ICC yet. In 2011, however, they 
joined UNESCO, the U.N. education, science and culture agency, which led 
Washington and Israel to cut off funding to the Paris-based organization 
in protest.
 
Earlier this month, UNESCO suspended the voting rights of the United 
States and Israel.
 
Mansour said he hopes the Palestinians will become full members of the 
United Nations soon, though the United States have not indicated it has 
any plan to drop its opposition to that idea.
 
Last Update: Tuesday, 19 November 2013 KSA 23:16 - GMT 20:16
-- 
Namib
.....
Земля - колыбель человечества, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели
(Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский)

 “entity,” like the Vatican. 
 
or like the Zionist Entity. :D

 United Nations soon, 
 
e tutti lo speriamo. E' ora di fare un po' di pulizia (etnica) in Medio Oriente!

 e tutti lo speriamo. E' ora di fare un po' di pulizia in Medio Oriente!
 
You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs (cit.)