Palestine to Lead G77 UN Largest Group of Developing Nations

[Stalketeer]

Palestine to Lead G77, UN’s Largest Group of Developing Nations

United Nation: The Group of 77 (G77) – the largest single coalition of developing countries at the UN – is to be chaired by Palestine, come January.
“It’s a historical first, both for Palestine and the G77,” an Asian diplomat told IPS, pointing out that Palestine will be politically empowered to collectively represent 134 UN member states, including China.

The chairmanship is a tremendous political boost for Palestine at a time when it is being increasingly blacklisted by the Trump administration, which is kowtowing to the Israelis.

Nadia Hijab, president, Al-Shabaka Board of Directors, told IPS: “At a time when Israel is moving on all fronts to wipe Palestine definitively off the map through relentless colonisation – and to muscle in on UN committees despite its flagrant violations of international law — it is a source of solace to see Palestine slated for a very visible role at the UN.”

Last week, the Trump administration refused to grant visas to a six-member Palestinian delegation that was expected to participate at the UN’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development which took place July 16-18. This was clearly in violation of the 1947 US-UN Headquarters Agreement which calls on the US, among other obligations, to facilitate delegates participating at UN meetings.

Last year when secretary-general Antonio Guterres proposed the appointment of former Palestinian authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as UN’s Special Representative in Libya, the proposal was shot down by US Ambassador Nikki Haley, purely because he was a Palestinian.

Suddenly, the Palestinians, for the first time, seem blacklisted – and declared political outcasts – in a world body where some of them held key posts in a bygone era.