Editing Palestine Liberation Organization (section)

===Status at the United Nations===
{{further|State of Palestine|International recognition of Palestine|List of current permanent representatives to the United Nations#United Nations General Assembly observers|Category:Permanent observers of Palestine to the United Nations}}

====Observer status====
The United Nations General Assembly recognized the PLO as the "representative of the Palestinian people" in Resolution 3210 and Resolution 3236, and granted the PLO observer status on 22 November 1974 in Resolution 3237. On 12 January 1976, the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] voted 11–1 with 3 abstentions to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate without voting rights, a privilege usually restricted to UN member states. It was admitted as a full member of the [[United Nations Regional Groups|Asia group]] on 2 April 1986.<ref>{{cite web|author=Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations|title=Status of Palestine at the United Nations|url=http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/cache/offonce/pid/11550;jsessionid=DB37131DB27A165B6398469FFE4DB1FC|publisher=United Nations|access-date=9 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606092743/http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/cache/offonce/pid/11550%3Bjsessionid%3DDB37131DB27A165B6398469FFE4DB1FC|archive-date=6 June 2011}}: "On 2 April 1986, the Asian Group of the U.N. decided to accept the PLO as a full member."</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|title=Government structures|url=http://www.unctad.org/templates/Page.asp?intItemID=4966&lang=1|publisher=United Nations|year=2002|access-date=5 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613180649/http://unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=4966&lang=1|archive-date=13 June 2010}}: "At present, the PLO is a full member of the Asian Group of the United Nations".</ref><ref>United Nations General Assembly [http://www.undemocracy.com/A-RES-52-250.pdf Resolution 52/250: Participation of Palestine in the work of the United Nations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522214702/http://www.undemocracy.com/A-RES-52-250.pdf|date=22 May 2011}} (1998): "Palestine enjoys full membership in the Group of Asian States".</ref>

After the [[Palestinian Declaration of Independence]] the PLO's representation was renamed Palestine.<ref name="Unispal.un.org">{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/146E6838D505833F852560D600471E25|author=[[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]]|title=United Nations General Assembly Resolution 43/177|publisher=[[United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine|UN Information System on the Question of Palestine]]|date=9 December 1988|access-date=29 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101093630/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/146E6838D505833F852560D600471E25|archive-date=1 November 2011}}</ref> On 7 July 1998, this status was extended to allow participation in General Assembly debates, though not in voting.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0DpqrRjbMC&q=%22July+7%2C+1998%22+palestine&pg=PA26|title=The Law and Practice of the United Nations|isbn=978-90-04-14308-1|last1=Conforti|first1=Benedetto|year=2005|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers}}</ref>

====2011 application for UN state membership====
When President Mahmoud Abbas [[Palestine 194|submitted an application for UN state membership]], in September 2011, Palestinian lawyers, jurists and legal scholars expressed their concern that the change of Palestine's status in the UN (since 1988 designated as "Palestine" in place of "Palestine Liberation Organization") could have negative implications on the legal position of the Palestinian people. They warned for the risk of fragmentation, where the State of Palestine would represent the people within the UN and the PLO represent the people outside the UN, the latter including the Palestinians in exile, where refugees constitute more than half of the Palestinian people. They were also afraid of the loss of representation of the refugees in the UN.<ref name=maan-2011>[http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=425080 Palestinian lawyers affirm essential role of PLO at UN]. Ma'an News Agency, 13 October 2011</ref> In Resolution 67/19 November 2012, Palestine was at last awarded non-member observer State status, but the General Assembly maintained the status of the PLO.

===="Non-member observer state" status====
By September 2012, with their application for full membership stalled due to the inability of Security Council members to '"make a unanimous recommendation", the PLO had decided to pursue an upgrade in status from observer entity to  [[United Nations General Assembly observers#Non-member observers|non-member observer state]]. On 29 November 2012, [[United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19|Resolution 67/19]] passed, upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations.<ref>[https://www.un.org/press/en/2012/ga11317.doc.htm ''General Assembly Votes Overwhelmingly to Accord Palestine 'Non-Member Observer State' Status in United Nations'']. UN press release, 29 November 2012</ref><ref name="unispal1">{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0080ef30efce525585256c38006eacae/181c72112f4d0e0685257ac500515c6c?OpenDocument|title=A/67/L.28 of 26 November 2012 and A/RES/67/19 of 29 November 2012|publisher=Unispal.un.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210160010/http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0080ef30efce525585256c38006eacae/181c72112f4d0e0685257ac500515c6c?OpenDocument|archive-date=10 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera.com">[http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/01/2013186722389860.html Palestine: What is in a name (change)? – Inside Story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321061622/http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/01/2013186722389860.html|date=21 March 2020}}. Al Jazeera</ref>