UN Secretary-General regrets US visa denials for Palestinian officials

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has expressed regret over the decision by the United States to refuse visas for Palestinian officials.

The denial will prevent Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending this year’s UN General Assembly high-level week in person, a UN spokesperson stated on Friday (18/9).

“The Secretary-General deeply regrets the US announcement expanding sanctions that will deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Palestinian Authority officials to attend UN meetings,” said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’s principal spokesperson.

Guterres urged the host nation, the US, to ensure that visas are granted to all delegations in accordance with its obligations under the 1947 UN-US Headquarters Agreement. Guterres will continue to communicate with US authorities for this purpose, the spokesperson added.

On Thursday (17/9), the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution allowing Abbas to participate virtually in this year’s General Debate, one day after the US Department of State announced it would continue to deny visas to Palestinian officials, including Abbas, preventing the Palestinian president from attending the General Assembly high-level week in person for two consecutive years.