US
Breaches Agreement
by Banning Palestine
from Attending
(Washington
D.C., August 29,
2025) – In
response to the U.S.
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 U.S.
for UN business,
while Section 12 states
these provisions
apply "irrespective
of the relations
existing between the
Governments" and the
U.S.
This
is not the first
time the United
States has violated
its obligations
under the UN
Headquarters
Agreement. In 1988,
the U.S. 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 at www.bit.ly/peaceforcenow
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