United Nations
The United Nations General Assembly may grant entities observer status. The United Nations welcomes many international agencies, entities, and one non-member state as observers. Observers have the right to speak at United Nations General Assembly meetings, but not to vote on resolutions.
Non-member observer states are recognized as sovereign states, and are free to submit a petition to join as a full member at their discretion. At present, the Holy See and Palestine are the only observer state at the United Nations, although Switzerland also maintained such status until it became a member state. Among others the Sovereign Military Order of Malta also have observer status, although not as a state but as an entity.
Observer status is granted by a United Nations General Assembly resolution at some point in time. Other international organizations (including other UN agencies) may also grant observer status.
Read more about this topic: Observer Status
Famous quotes containing the words united and/or nations:
“The United States never lost a war or won a conference.”
—Will Rogers (1879–1935)
“The peace loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality.... When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)