As the United Nations General Assembly prepares to convene in New York City next week, the war in Gaza and the critical issue of Palestinian statehood are expected to dominate much of the debate. However, Palestinian leaders themselves will be notably absent from these crucial discussions.
The Trump administration has taken the step of denying visas to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and his accompanying delegation. As the host nation for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the United States is responsible for issuing visas to attending leaders and diplomats.
According to the State Department, the decision to deny Mr. Abbas’s visa was based on national security concerns.
This development occurs as France, Britain, Canada, and Australia are anticipated to formally recognize the state of Palestine on September 22nd. This recognition is slated to take place at a conference involving over 100 other nations, dedicated to exploring a two-state solution, just one day before the General Assembly officially opens. The United States has publicly opposed this conference, asserting that Palestinian statehood should be the result of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Here’s what you need to know about this significant diplomatic standoff.
What’s in the agreement between the U.S. and U.N.?
In 1947, the United States and the United Nations entered into a 16-page document known as the Headquarters Agreement. This agreement, which received approval from the U.S. president and Congress through a joint resolution, holds the force of federal law.
Section 11 of this agreement explicitly states that “the federal, state or local authorities of the United States shall not impose any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district.” This provision extends access to representatives of member states and any individual officially invited to the headquarters by the U.N. or its associated agencies.
The agreement further clarifies that these visa provisions are to be applied “irrespective of the relations existing between the Governments of the persons referred to in that section and the Government of the United States.”
Any disputes arising between the United Nations and the United States concerning host-country issues are typically handled by a 19-member committee composed of various member states. If an issue remains unresolved, it can be escalated to arbitration.
“We have raised this issue with the United States based on the obligations under the Headquarters Agreement and sought clarification,” stated Stéphane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesman. “We are concerned about the possible consequences of the decision.”
Can the U.S. refuse entry to leaders and U.N. diplomats?
This particular issue has been a continuous point of contention for many years.
While U.S. lawmakers approved the Headquarters Agreement, they simultaneously passed separate legislation asserting that the agreement cannot undermine the U.S.’s right to safeguard its national security interests. This legislation declares:
“Nothing in the agreement shall be construed as in any way diminishing, abridging, or weakening the right of the United States to safeguard its own security and completely to control the entrance of aliens into any territory of the United States other than the headquarters district and its immediate vicinity.”
However, both the U.N. and numerous legal experts contend that the United States is in violation of this agreement, asserting that it is legally obligated to issue visas and grant unrestricted access to the U.N. They argue that the host-country agreement contains no loopholes and its language is unequivocally clear.
“There is an underlying dispute between the U.N. and U.S. that has existed since 1947,” noted Larry Johnson, a former assistant secretary general for legal affairs at the U.N.
Has the U.S. barred entry to diplomats in the past?
Historically, the United States has only once before denied entry to a head of government intending to attend the General Assembly. This occurred in 1988, when a visa was blocked for the then-Palestinian Authority leader, Yasir Arafat. Interestingly, Mr. Arafat did attend subsequent U.N. gatherings in later years.
Robert A. Wood, who served as a deputy ambassador to the U.N. during the Biden administration, mentioned that visa restrictions and processing delays occasionally affect delegations from countries like Russia, Iran, China, and Venezuela, typically due to intelligence or security concerns. Nevertheless, an outright rejection or a direct threat to deny access to a head of government is exceptionally rare.
“This is a very controversial issue, and whenever we have had this issue brought up about denying visas it’s always the question of whether we have the legal right to do it,” Mr. Wood emphasized.
Russian and Venezuelan diplomats frequently voice complaints that the United States prolongs the visa process to such an extent that by the time visas are finally issued, the intended event has already passed, effectively barring their access. This year, delegates from Brazil, a nation that has previously defied U.S. pressure regarding the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, experienced significant delays, receiving some of their visas only days before the General Assembly was set to begin.
In 2014, the U.S. denied a visa to Iran’s chosen ambassador due to his involvement in the 1979 American diplomat hostage crisis.
Iranian diplomats are typically subjected to strict movement restrictions, confining them to a 25-mile radius around the U.N. building. On occasion, these limitations have been even more severe. For example, in 2019, Iran’s then-foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was prohibited from traveling approximately 20 blocks north of the U.N. to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to visit his ambassador, who was undergoing treatment there.