The World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland voted Monday to allow the Palestinian Authority flag to be flown alongside those of the WHO’s member states.
The Palestinian Authority has official “observer state” status at the WHO.
The motion was approved in a vote of 95-4 and 27 abstentions, Reuters reported. The United States — which is in the process of leaving the WHO and has pulled its donations from the global body – as well as the United Kingdom were among those who abstained.
France and Japan were among those who voted in favor.
Israel, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany were the only countries to oppose the decision.
“The flags of non-Member Observer States at the United Nations shall be raised at the World Health Organization headquarters and WHO offices following the flags of the Member States of the World Health Organization in alphabetical order, without prejudice to their participation as an Observer State, and does not constitute Member State status in the World Health Organization,” the motion specified.
The draft resolution for the motion was proposed by a raft of Arab nations and their supporters – including three with ties to Israel.
Those who proposed the resolution included: Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia and Turkey.
The decision to allow the flags of non-member observer states at the United Nations to be raised at the organization’s headquarters and offices brings the Palestinian Authority one step closer to acceptance in the world organization as a sovereign nation.
The United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to grant “Palestine” non-member observer status.
