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'India fully deserves permanent seat at UN Security Council': Palestinian envoy
Palestinian Ambassador to India Abdullah M Abu Shawesh said that any reform of the UN body must include major global powers such as India.
After India reiterated its support for Palestine's bid for full United Nations membership, Palestine has publicly backed New Delhi's long-standing aspiration for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Palestinian Ambassador to India Abdullah M Abu Shawesh said India "deserves to be a permanent member of the Security Council" and argued that any reform of the UN body must include major global powers such as India.
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‘India deserves to be a permanent member’
When asked whether Palestine supports India's candidature as the country seeks a non-permanent seat on the UNSC for the 2028-29 term and the role it sees New Delhi playing in the council, Abu Shawesh said, "India deserves to be a permanent member of the Security Council. Not for just three years."
"Our position is clear in this regard. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of the country is supporting the renovation or the rehabilitation of the Security Council. Part of this rehabilitation or revisiting the charter of the Security Council and the rules that is guiding it is to have some major countries to be a permanent member. I'm pretty sure India is fully deserved to be a permanent member in the Security Council," he added.
The Palestinian envoy also said the principal obstacle to Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations is the United States, alleging that Washington has repeatedly blocked the process at the UN Security Council despite broad international support.
Explaining the process for securing full UN membership, Abu Shawesh said it involves three stages, of which Palestine has already completed the first and expects no difficulty with the third.
"To have full recognition as a member state in the United Nations, you need to go through three steps. The first step is to submit the request to the Secretary-General himself, and we already passed this step," he said.
According to him, the second stage requires the UN Security Council to recommend Palestine's admission to the UN General Assembly, which would then take the final decision.
"The other step is to go through the Security Council, and the Security Council should give a recommendation to the General Assembly, and in the General Assembly, we will be accepted. So the first and the third steps, we have no problem with them at all," Abu Shawesh said.
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However, he alleged that the process has repeatedly stalled at the Security Council because of the United States.
"The second step, unfortunately, due to our experience, has been blocked by the United States of America itself, and the main barrier to this step is the United States of America, which is fully backing the Israeli occupation," he said.
On Monday, India reaffirmed its long-standing support for Palestine's bid for full UN membership while reiterating its commitment to a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Speaking at the UN, India's Permanent Representative P Harish underscored New Delhi's continued support for Palestine's membership of the United Nations and reiterated India's backing for a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders, in accordance with international law.
(With inputs from ANI)
