The UN decided to move the General Assembly session from New York to its offices in Geneva, Switzerland, to enable former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to address it
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted overwhelmingly to move its September session from New York City to Geneva after the US government refused entry visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and dozens of other senior Palestinian officials – a rare show of defiance to the US regime and its relentless support for genocidal Israel. The US State Department had claimed it had denied the visas for “national security,” and that the Palestinian Authority was “undermining peace efforts” because it had dared to appeal to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice at the Hague against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The US ban is a clear violation of the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement, which requires the host country to provide access for all accredited delegations.
Former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat delivers a speech to a specially-called session of the United Nations, 14 December 1988, in Geneva, at UN European headquarters in Palace of Nations. The UN decided to move the General Assembly session to its offices in Geneva, Switzerland, to enable Arafat to address it.( Photo by DERRICK CEYRAC / AFP)
The vote carries echoes of the UN’s 1988 decision to move its session to Geneva when the US denied entry to then-Palestine Liberation Organisation head Yasser Arafat. The new move will help a segment dedicated to Palestinian rights, scheduled for 22 September, to proceed without interference and with the relevant representatives present. Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez described the US visa denial as “unjust”.