Scoop: Cyprus takes on Palestine in bid for UN General Assembly presidency

The island nation of Cyprus is challenging Palestine in the race for the presidency of the U.N. General Assembly in 2026-2027, setting the stage for a competition that risks roiling U.S. relations with the United Nations. The annual presidential election of the U.N.’s 193-member state body is typically a low-key affair, elevating a former head of state or foreign minister to an often ceremonial job with little real power. But the decision of the U.N.’s Arab Group, which represents 22 Arab countries, to nominate the Palestinian U.N. representative, Riyad Mansour, is likely to trigger a political battle with the Trump administration and Congress. Democratic and Republican administrations have for decades opposed efforts by the Palestinians to gain recognition as a full-fledged U.N. member state, contending that it can only gain statehood through negotiations with Israel. In the 1990s, Congress passed legislation threatening to withhold funding for U.N. entities that recognized Palestine in an official capacity. “The United States opposes the Palestinian observer’s candidacy for UN General Assembly president,” a State Department spokesperson told Devex via email. “We do not support the Arab Group’s decision to nominate Riyad Mansour, nor think this bid is a realistic option to advance the cause of peace.” “We urge the United Nations to return to its core principles and purpose; performative nominations are not an end to that effort,” the spokesperson added. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was granted the status of “non-member observer entity” in 1974 and was upgraded to a “non-member observer state” in 2012. In April 2024, the Biden administration vetoed a resolution that would have recognized Palestine as a full-fledged U.N. member state. The following month, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly — 143-9 with 25 abstentions — to expand the Palestinians' rights, permitting them to offer amendments to resolutions and speak in sessions. The resolution does not extend the Palestinians the right to vote in the assembly or to “put forward its candidature to United Nations organs.” But it does permit Palestinians to “be elected as officers in the plenary and the Main Committees of the General Assembly.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in July 2024, concluded that “a member of the delegation of the State of Palestine may be elected as President of the General Assembly.” In a letter to U.N. member states, Cyprus said it was nominating Andreas Kakouris, former ambassador to the United States, who serves as the permanent secretary in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But Kakouris faces some steep political hurdles. Israel’s sharp escalation of its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas — which many fear is aimed at making Gaza uninhabitable — has increased sympathy for the Palestinian cause at the U.N. Also, General Assembly presidents are historically selected on the basis of regional rotation, and Germany is likely to serve as the U.N. General Assembly president for the 2025-2026 session. Like Germany, Cyprus is a member of the European Union, raising the prospect of Europeans serving two terms in a row. But unlike Germany, which is a member of the Western and Others Group, or WEOG, Cyprus is a member of the Asia-Pacific Group, making it eligible to compete. Update, April 16, 2025: This article has been updated with comments from a U.S. State Department spokesperson.