DURBAN: An effort to get membership forPalestine in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change got postponed with theG77+China group of 133 countries unable to come to a conclusion on the issue at Durban though India supported the initiative.
Earlier Palestine's recognition as member country by UNESCO had led to US pulling out funds from the UN agency.
The Arab group led by Egypt made a presentation for inclusion of Palestine in the UN convention as a member country. It found support of many including India. But Singapore opposed the proposal claiming this was not the forum to discuss the issues.
The proposal had been supported by countries like Nicaragua and Nigeria too. But Singapore which has also aligned with US interests in opposing India's climate agenda on equity, warned within the G77 group that Palestine's inclusion as a full member of the UN convention could lead to a similar situation like that in UNESCO.
The small island states or AOSIS also raised an alarm about the proposing the inclusion of Palestine which led to a war of words with the Arab nations. Last heard the G77 wrangling was still on about it and would not possibly be resolved at the Durban climate meet.
