Explainer: Can the Palestinians become a full United Nations member?

When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas travels to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations this month, he will be seated on the floor of the General Assembly among other U.N. member states for the first time.

But the Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the U.N. where the delegation is known as the State of Palestine, is not a full member and does not have a vote in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.

What is the current status of Palestinians at the UN?

The Palestinians are a non-member observer state in the United Nations, with the same status as the Holy See.

The General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity." There were 138 votes in favour, nine against and 41 abstentions.

What happened this year?

In May, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full U.N. member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the U.N. Security Council "reconsider the matter favourably."

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on March 25, 2024. (Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP)

That resolution also granted the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 - like a seat among the U.N. members in the assembly hall.

The May vote by the General Assembly was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States vetoed it in the U.N. Security Council in April.

The Palestinians remain a non-member observer state as the 15-member Security Council has not acted on the General Assembly recommendation.

How does the UN admit new member states?

Countries seeking to join the U.N. usually present an application to the U.N. secretary-general, who sends it to the Security Council for an assessment and vote.

A council committee of the 15 members first assesses an application to see if it satisfies the requirements for U.N. membership. The application can then either be shelved or put forward for a formal vote in the Security Council. Approval requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the U.S., Russia, France, China or Britain.

If the council approves the membership request, it then moves to the General Assembly for approval. A membership request needs a two-thirds majority to be approved by the assembly. A country cannot join the United Nations unless both the Security Council and General Assembly approve.

What happened to the Palestinian application in 2011?

A U.N. Security Council committee assessed the Palestinian application for several weeks to see if it satisfied the requirements for U.N. membership. But the committee was unable to reach a unanimous position and the Security Council never formally voted on a resolution on Palestinian membership.

Diplomats said the Palestinians lacked the minimum nine votes needed to adopt a resolution. Even if they had won enough support, the United States had said it would veto the move.