The 66TH Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which officially gets under way next Tuesday will be a quite challenging one for the Palestinian people and, relatedly, a crucial decision period for the 14 independent member-countries of the Caribbean Community.
Since the close of the 65th session last December, the Palestinian Authority, which is generally recognised as the government of what exists as the State of Palestine, has been intensifying efforts to ensure maximum support for its commendable historical struggle to be seated as a voting member-country of the United Nations.
To attain this laudable objective in the age-old Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian Authority, which currently has observer status with the UN, would need to acquire two-thirds of the votes from among the current 192 member-countries of the world body. That’s where the collective support of CARICOM’s bloc of 14 votes becomes relevant.
As of last week, only three CARICOM governments had officially declared readiness to recognize Palestine as an independent state with the right of a voting member of the UN. The trio are: Guyana, Suriname and St.Vincent and the Grenadines. However, the unofficial signal as of late last week was of an “emerging consensus” on endorsement by CARICOM. The CARICOM group of ambassadors at the UN has already unanimously provided advice on such a course.
The African Union and blocs of countries in Latin America and Asia have already telegraphed positive messages to the Palestinian Authority and latest indication is that fewer than six more votes may now be needed to achieve the required two-thirds of 128 votes to seat Palestine as a member of the UN with all relevant rights as an independent state.
Like other blocs of independent states, CARICOM is aware that while the USA and its European allies openly speak in favour of a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Washington, for one, has been engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomatic interventions with some Caribbean Community governments to delay their votes on the seating of Palestine as a voting UN member.
Coordination of foreign policy has been and remains a vital element in the policies and programmes of CARICOM. It would, therefore, be most surprising should there be anything other than a unanimous endorsement by the Community for the seating of Palestine as a voting UN member country – an issue of intense historical interest across the world.
We shall soon learn, following an expected caucus of CARICOM leaders on the margins of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, how the Community, as a bloc of independent states, contributed to making a reality this long-sought momentous goal of the Palestinian people.