United Nations General Assembly observers

United Nations General Assembly Observers

The United Nations General Assembly has special guests called observers. These observers can join the Assembly's work, but they have some limits on what they can do. The Assembly decides what each observer can and cannot do.

In 2011, the European Union got extra rights. It can talk in discussions and share ideas, which most observers cannot do. The EU is almost like a full member, but it cannot vote.

Observer status is given by a decision of the United Nations General Assembly resolution. There are two kinds of observers: states and non-states. Non-member states are part of one or more specialized agencies and can ask to become permanent observer states. Non-state observers include international organizations and other groups.

Non-member Observers

The United Nations General Assembly can invite places that are not members to join its work. These places are called observers. Some of these are non-member states. Many of these places wanted to join the United Nations but could not because some important members did not agree.

Sometimes, a country chooses to be an observer instead of a full member. For example, Switzerland was an observer from 1948 until it joined in 2002 to keep its neutrality.

As of November 2025, there are two permanent non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine. The Holy See became an observer in 1964 because it did not want to join the United Nations as a member. Palestine became a non-member observer state in 2012 after applying for full membership in 2011.

Non-member observer states sit right after UN member states in the General Assembly Hall. In 2015, the General Assembly decided that the flags of non-member observer states could be raised alongside those of UN member states.