UN General Assembly resolution rejects change in U.S. stance on Jerusalem

UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Pakistan and India were among countries that backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution Thursday, rejecting the recent U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital. 

The resolution received 128 votes to nine against, with 35 abstentions in the 193-member Assembly.

The General Assembly “demanded” that all countries comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem, following an earlier decision by the United States to recognize the city as the capital of Israel.

The Assembly underlined that the Holy City “is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant UN resolutions.”

Convened by Yemen on behalf of the Arab Group and Turkey on behalf of OIC, the emergency UN General Assembly session followed United States’ veto of a motion at the Security Council this week where all other 14 council members opposed the move on Jerusalem.

President Donald Trump had warned countries of opposing his decision ahead of the vote, saying Washington could cut aid to members that go against his decision.

Jerusalem, Photo: Bienchido/Wikimedia Commons

The Assembly’s vote  “affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.”

Thursday’s vote mirrors the vetoed measure, reaffirming that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.

The resolution calls upon all countries to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.  

The UNGA renewed its call for the reversal of the negative trends that endanger the two-State solution, stressing greater international and regional efforts and support aimed at achieving, without delay, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Speaking at a meeting of OIC group of Ambassadors on Tuesday, Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi to the UN reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to the Palestinian cause  and announced Pakistan’s co-sponsorship of the resolution.

“Our support to the Palestinian cause and to the defense of al-Quds al Sharif is and has always been a core principle of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” Ambassador Lodhi said in a speech to the 57-member group’s coordination meeting held to  strategize its position for the Assembly’s special session.

“Our support remains unwavering,” she added.

But Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations lashed at the world body, and appreciated the countries, who refused to oppose the United States. Washington, she said, will remember the day.

The nine countries that opposed the resolution included Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and the Marshall Islands in addition to Israel and the United States.

The 35 countries that decided to abstain from the vote included U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico and Argentina, Australia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and Rwanda.