Friday, November 1, 2013

Map: Palestine Recognized by Two More Countries (134/193)

(Keep up with changes to Palestine's situation: view all Palestine updates.)

Map of countries that recognize the State of Palestine as an independent country, updated for November 2013 with recent additions Haiti and South Sudan highlighted
Countries recognizing the State of Palestine in green, with most recent additions highlighted. Palestine in magenta (circled). Click to enlarge. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic (source).
By Evan Centanni

List Grows By Two
After being recognized as an Observer State by the U.N. last year to the protest of Israel, the U.S., and other Western countries, the State of Palestine is slowly continuing to receive diplomatic recognition from individual U.N. members. Last May we reported that 132 U.N. member states had officially recognized Palestine, and now the list has grown to 134 (69% of the world body's total membership). Palestine is also recognized by the proclaimed government of disputed Western Sahara, which is not a member of the U.N.

Flag of Palestine Country Name:  
• Palestine (English)
Filasṭīn (Arabic)
Official Name:  
• State of Palestine (English)
• Dawlat Filasṭin (Arabic)
Capital: 
• Jerusalem (claimed)
Ramallah (administrative)
New Recognition
The most recent country to recognize Palestine as independent is the Caribbean nation of Haiti, which did so near the end of this past September. An official ceremony was held for Haiti's recognition at U.N. headquarters in New York, in which both Haiti and Caribbean neighbor Grenada signed agreements to establish diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine. However, Grenada has already been on the list for some time, offering its recognition a full two years ago according to the official website of Palestine's U.N. delegation.

One More Country: Mystery Solved
As discussed in our previous Palestine recognition article, since last year the number of recognitions claimed by Palestine's U.N. mission has been higher by one than the total number actually documented by observers. However, the confusion has now been cleared up by the publication of an official list on the delegation's website.

This list includes one more country than previous third-party lists, recording newly independent country South Sudan as having offered its recognition on July 14, 2011, on the same day that it joined the U.N. In retrospect, this should come as no surprise, since South Sudan firmly supported Palestine's 2011 bid for U.N. membership, and apparently did actually announce that it would grant diplomatic recognition (though that statement occurred later than the date now claimed by Palestine).

Related Articles:
Palestine Recognized as a Country by the U.N.
Is Palestine Really a Country?
Map of Countries Recognizing Kosovo