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In addition to the current 192 member states, 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.

Observer status is granted by a United Nations General Assembly resolution at some point in time. Refer also to Category:United Nations General Assembly observers

Non-member states

Non-member observer states are recognized as sovereign entities, and are free to submit a petition to join as a full member at their discretion. For example, Switzerland was also a permanent observer state from 1948 to 2002, until becoming a full member on 10 September 2002. Currently, the only such state, the Holy See, is described ¹ as a "Non-member State having received a standing invitation to participate as observer in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer mission at Headquarters".

Non-member state	Date observer status was granted
Holy See (sovereignty over the territory of  Vatican City)	6 April 1964: became a permanent observer state 1 July 2004 (A/RES/58/314): gained all the rights of full membership except voting

Notes

• The Republic of China, or Taiwan, in addition to applying for full membership, has also applied variously for non-member or observer status in the UN since 1991. Such requests have been consistently denied due to the UN's recognition of the People's Republic of China as the successor to the Republic of China, with sovereignty over all of China, including Taiwan; this resulted in the 1971 replacement of the Republic of China with the People's Republic as the official representative of China.

• Palestine and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are currently not recognized by the United Nations as non-member states, but only as entities (see next section).

International organizations and entities

Many international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and entities whose statehood or sovereignty are not precisely defined, are invited to become observers at the General Assembly. Some of them maintain a permanent office in the United Nations headquarters in New York City, while others do not; however, this is the choice of the organization and do not imply differences in their status.

Organization or entity	Date observer status was granted
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States	15 October 1981 (A/RES/36/4)
African Development Bank	28 October 1987 (A/RES/42/10)
African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity)	11 October 1965 (A/RES/2011(XX)) 15 August 2002 (General Assembly decision 56/475)
Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean	17 October 1988 (A/RES/43/6)
Andean Community of Nations	22 October 1997 (A/RES/52/6)
Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (formerly the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee)	13 October 1980 ( A/RES/35/2)
Asian Development Bank	19 November 2002 (A/RES/57/30)
Association of Caribbean States	15 October 19982
Association of Southeast Asian Nations	4 December 2006 (A/RES/61/44)
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization	8 October 1999 (A/RES/54/5)
Caribbean Community	17 October 1991 (A/RES/46/8)
Central American Integration System	19 October 1995 (A/RES/50/2)
Collective Security Treaty Organization	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/50)
Common Fund for Commodities	23 November 2005 (A/RES/60/26)
Commonwealth of Independent States	24 March 1994 (A/RES/48/237)
Commonwealth Secretariat	18 October 1976 (A/RES/31/3)
Community of Portuguese Language Countries	26 October 1999 (A/RES/54/10)
Community of Sahelo-Saharan States	12 December 2001 (A/RES/56/92)
Council of Europe	17 October 1989 (A/RES/44/6)
East African Community	9 December 2003 (A/RES/58/86)
Economic Community of Central African States	12 December 2000 (A/RES/55/161)
Economic Community of West African States	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/51)
Economic Cooperation Organization	13 October 1993 (A/RES/48/2)
Eurasian Economic Community	9 December 2003 (A/RES/58/84)
European Union	11 October 1974 (A/RES/3208 (XXIX))
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development	9 December 2003 (A/RES/58/85)
Hague Conference on Private International Law	23 November 2005 (A/RES/60/27)
Ibero-American Conference	23 November 2005 (A/RES/60/28)
Indian Ocean Commission	4 December 2006 (A/RES/61/43)
Inter-American Development Bank	12 December 2000 (A/RES/55/160)
Inter-Parliamentary Union	19 November 20023
International Centre for Migration Policy Development	19 November 2002 (A/RES/57/31)
International Committee of the Red Cross	16 October 1990 (A/RES/45/6)
International Criminal Court	1 July 2002
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)	15 October 1996 (A/RES/51/1)
International Development Law Institute	12 December 2001 (A/RES/56/90)
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies	19 October 1994 (A/RES/49/2)
International Hydrographic Organization	12 December 2001 (A/RES/56/91)
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance	9 December 2003 (A/RES/58/83)
International Organization for Migration	16 October 1992 (A/RES/47/4)
International Organization of la Francophonie	10 November 1978 (A/RES/33/18) 18 December 1998 (General Assembly decision 53/453)
International Seabed Authority	24 October 1996 (A/RES/51/6)
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea	17 December 1996 (A/RES/51/204)
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (or the World Conservation Union)	17 December 1999 (A/RES/54/195)
Islamic Development Bank Group	28 March 2007 (A/RES/61/259)
Latin American Economic System (SELA)	13 October 1980 (A/RES/35/3)
Latin American Integration Association	23 November 2005 (A/RES/60/25)
Latin American Parliament	13 October 1993 (A/RES/48/4)
League of Arab States	1 November 1950 (A/RES/477 (V))
OPEC Fund for International Development	4 December 2006 (A/RES/61/42)
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development	15 October 1998 (A/RES/53/6)
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/52)
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe	13 October 1993 (A/RES/48/5)
Organization of American States	16 October 1948 (A/RES/253 (III))
Organization of the Islamic Conference	10 October 1975 (A/RES/3369 (XXX))
Pacific Islands Forum	17 October 1994 (A/RES/49/1)
Palestine Liberation Organization	November 22, 1974 (A/RES/3237 (XXIX)): observer status December 9, 1988 (A/RES/43/160): designation "Palestine" December 15, 1988 (A/RES/43/177): right to circulate communications without intermediary July 7, 1998 (A/RES/52/250): right to participate in general debate and additional rights
Partners in Population and Development	19 November 2002 (A/RES/57/29)
Permanent Court of Arbitration	13 October 1993 (A/RES/48/3)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/48)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/53)
Southern African Development Community	2 December 2004 (A/RES/59/49)
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta	24 August 19944
World Customs Organization (formerly the Customs Cooperation Council)	23 March 1999 (A/RES/53/216)

References

1. ^ UN site on Permanent Missions
2. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 5 session 53 Observer status for the Association of Caribbean States in the General Assembly
3. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 32 session 57 Observer status for the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the General Assembly
4. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 265 session 48 Observer status for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the General Assembly

• List of Permanent observers:
  • Non-member State having received a standing invitation to participate as observer in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer mission at Headquarters
  • Entity having received a standing invitation to participate as observer in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer mission at Headquarters
  • Intergovernmental organizations having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent offices at Headquarters
  • Intergovernmental organizations having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly, but not maintaining permanent offices at Headquarters
  • Other entities having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent offices at Headquarters
• Organizations granted observer status in the General Assembly
• Blue Book “Permanent Missions to the United Nations No. 298” dated March 2008 (updated as of 14 October 2008)

External links

• United Nations General Assembly
• United Nations missions in New York City

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• This page was last modified on 7 November 2008, at 08:21.

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