UN confirms receiving Palestinians' requests to join international treaties

Move angers Israel and prompts US Secretary of State John Kerry to cancel a trip to Ramallah on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN's special envoy on Mideast peace, Robert Serry, has received requests from Palestinians to join 13 international conventions and treaties, the UN confirmed Wednesday.

The treaties include the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, the convention on the rights of the child, the convention against torture, and the one against corruption.

Once these applications have been officially received at the UN headquarters, "we will be reviewing them to consider the appropriate next steps," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary general.

The Palestinian Authority has also asked Switzerland if it can join the Fourth Geneva Convention from August 1949 and the first additional protocol. And it has asked the Netherlands if it can join the Hague Convention of 1907 on laws and customs governing war.

Palestinians in November 2012 had obtained the status of an observer state in the United Nations, which allows them access to a number of conventions and international organizations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday he had begun steps to join several UN agencies and ratify international treaties, angering Israel and prompting US Secretary of State John Kerry to cancel a trip to Ramallah on Wednesday.

The announcement was a blow to Kerry's frenetic efforts to resolve a dispute over Palestinian prisoners and find a way to extend the fragile peace talks beyond a looming April 29 deadline.