In response to the US State Department’s decision to deny visas to Palestinian Authority officials ahead of the September UN General Assembly meeting, DAWN issues the following statement:

“The UNGA should hold its September meeting in Geneva to allow Palestine to participate,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director. “Moving the meeting there will send a message to the Trump administration that the international community does not tolerate these breaches of long standing law requiring access to all representatives.”

The UN Headquarters Agreement of 1947 requires the United States to provide unfettered access to UN proceedings for all representatives, regardless of bilateral disputes. Section 11 establishes an “unrestricted right” for officials to enter the US for UN business, while Section 12 states these provisions apply “irrespective of the relations existing between the Governments” and the US.

This is not the first time the US has violated its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement. In 1988, the US denied a visa to Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat to attend the UN General Assembly. The UN responded by adopting a resolution concluding that Washington had violated its obligations under the 1947 Agreement and, as a rebuke, moved its General Assembly meeting from New York to Geneva to allow the Palestinian leader to speak.

“The international community can no longer allow American obstructionism to silence Palestinians and prevent accountability for Israeli war crimes and genocide in Palestine,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director. “Whether the UNGA meets in Geneva or not, it is time for the international community to deploy peacekeeping forces to protect Palestinians from Israel’s genocide.”

DAWN has called on the UNGA to deploy international peacekeeping forces to Gaza under a “Uniting for Peace” resolution. More information is in our petition.

Republished from DAWN, 29 August 2025

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.