DETROIT – The topic of Palestine’s quest for UN statehood and how it relates to international law was the focus of a Thursday, Sept. 22 event at Wayne State University.

International law experts Steve Ratner, left, and Brad Roth say that Palestine’s statehood bid won’t change much immediately but could provide more options and political capital. PHOTO: Nick Meyer/TAAN

Gregory Fox, the director of the Program for International Legal Studies at WSU, welcomed the crowd and said that the timing of the event could not be better considering the statehood votes likely pending the following days in the UN. 

Fox introduced speakers Brad Roth, a law and political science professor at WSU and author who owns a JD from Harvard along with a PhD in International Jurisprudence from Cal-Berkeley, and Steven Ratner, who has a law degree from Michigan-Ann Arbor, a JD from Yale and is one of three members of the UN’s three-person Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka.

Roth, the author of the book “Governmental Illegitimacy in International Law,” who has advised the government of Taiwan on issues of sovereignty and independence from China under international law, gave the audience a background on the four main criteria for a state to be internationally recognized.

The criteria includes having a permanent population, defined territory, government that is recognized by the people and has authority, and also being an entity that has the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

“The state of Michigan for example doesn’t have the constitutional ability to engage in relations with other states, so it doesn’t fit all of the criteria,” he said, noting the difference between a U.S. state and an international state. 

The criteria was defined at he 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, a treaty signed in Uruguay during the Seventh International Conference of American States.

“There is no surprise that there is a fair amount of controversy over what counts as a state…and that is something that is constantly debated,” Roth said.

However, Roth said that Palestine has a very strong case.

“It is generally understood that there is a Palestinian entitlement to statehood, and a right of self-determination, that has been reiterated over and over again by UN bodies,” Roth said.

Roth noted that there is a strong likelihood that a U.S. veto in the UN Security Council as expected would block Palestine from becoming an official state, however.

If that were to happen, Palestine could win a vote in the UN General Assembly, however, and become an “observer state.” That could bring some new options to the table for Palestine in its quest to become gain more international privileges and recognition.

He said that Palestine could then begin engaging in a series of treaties with other states while enhancing its perception of legitimacy even further among the international community. Roth said he sees this path as the most likely for Palestine should events fall the way many analysts expected, although he acknowledged that it was an “hour to hour” situation and that keeping up has been difficult for many observers.

Ratner spoke about a wide variety of other topics as well, noting the complexity of the issues.

He also spoke about treaties, saying that Palestine would likely try to accede to as many treaties as possible, which would positively affect the perceptions of many and allow more recognitions as a legitimate state in time. Eventually the options would “snowball” for Palestine and they could begin participating in more international forums, organizations and more which would create a variety of interesting political situations for those organizations. Money is always an obstacle for Palestine, however, due to its isolation from the rest of the world as occupied territories. 

Ratner said that the likelihood of Palestine becoming a state legally is very small but that such recognitions are not always necessary.

“At a certain point, that doesn’t matter,” he said. “Taiwan meets all the requirements for example but it is not a member of the UN…while Somalia does not but it is a UN member.”

Perception and politics are what will matter most inevitably in the conflict, which is already an international issue, Ratner said, and not much is likely to change immediately, especially from an international law standpoint.

“Post-2011, these will still be considered occupied terrtories for international humanitarian law,” Ratner said. “Negotiations need to be resumed…but I doubt Israel will treat Palestine better.

Israel has had an onslaught of government opinion against it for the expansion of (illegal) settlements and it needs to move toward negotiations with ex-allies or at the very least wavering allies in Turkey and Egypt. This could (eventually) be a wake-up call to resume negotiations without their pre-existing conditions.”