Nigeria joined 144 other members of the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution allowing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the high-level debate by pre-recorded video.
Nigeria, 144 others back Palestinian Abbas video address after U.S. visa refusal
The decision followed the United States refusal to issue visas for the Palestine’s delegation.
The resolution passed with 145 in favour, five against (Israel, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, and the United States) and six abstentions (Albania, Fiji, Hungary, North Macedonia, Panama and Papua New Guinea).
It sets out procedures for the delivery of pre-recorded statements, authorising Abbas to submit his address via video in the General Assembly Hall, introduced by one of Palestine’s New York-based representatives.
The measure also allows for statements via a live link or pre-recorded video to the high-level conference taking place on the two-State solution, and other high-level meetings.
The arrangements apply only to the current 80th session.
In another action, the 193-member Assembly adopted without a vote a Saudi Arabian-proposed decision allowing the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, to deliver a statement by video or pre-recorded message at the high-level conference on September 22.
The U.S. Department of State announced on August 29 that it was denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority on national security grounds.
The U.S. authorities stated that they had failed to comply with past commitments, and “for undermining the prospects for peace.”
