São Paulo – Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira met on Thursday (18) with representatives from Algeria and Palestine on the sidelines of a United Nations Security Council meeting held this week at the headquarters of the institution in New York. The main topic of these bilateral meetings was the Palestinian bid to be recognized as a full member of the UN, which was later vetoed by the United States at a 15-country meeting. The vote was 12 in favor of the resolution, with two abstentions.
According to information made public by Brazil’s Foreign Ministry on its X profile, Vieira met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad of Algeria, Ahmed Attaf. Algeria had put forward the Palestinian application. The foreign ministers also discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and agreed that hostilities in the region should end. The Brazilian minister also met with Palestinian representative Ziad Abu Amro, with whom he discussed the support for the Palestinian recognition as a UN full member.
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Palestine was admitted as nonmember observer state of UN in 2011. Earlier this month, Palestine asked the UN’s secretary-general, António Guterres, to be recognized as a full member. Guterres then submitted the request to the Security Council. Both in 2011 and now, Palestine was supported by Brazil in its bids.
Veto at UN Security Council
The UNSC consists of 15 members, of which ten are elected for a term of two years, and five are permanent: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the latter responsible for vetoing the Palestinian admission. The UK abstained from voting, and Russia, China and France voted in favor of the admission. Non-permanent members Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and South Korea voted in favor. Switzerland abstained from voting. Therefore, despite the majority of the UNSC voting in favor of Palestine’s admission, the veto power kept it from becoming a UN full member.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
