Brazil recognizes the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) as the legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people.
The establishment of formal relations between Brazil and Palestine dates from
1975, when the PLO was authorized to establish a representation in Brasilia,
which was headquartered in the office of the League of Arab States. In 1993 the
representation was raised to the category of Special Palestine Delegation, with
diplomatic status, the right to issue passports, and with privileges and
immunities equivalent to those granted to International Organizations accredited
to Brazil.
PLO's status as a legal entity qualifies it to negotiate and conclude agreements
with States or International Organizations on behalf of the Palestinian
National Authority. This, however, does not apply to the field of diplomatic or consular
relations.
The Brazilian government has decided to issue the Head of the Special
Palestinian Delegation to Brazil with a diplomatic identity card and diplomatic
plates for his vehicle. The privileges also apply to the other employees of the
Delegation who may be entitled to them. Rather than implying any significant
changes in the status that the Delegation currently enjoys, this decision
reflects the objective of the Brazilian government to adjust the status of the
Palestine Delegation in Brazil to the new political and geographic reality
established in the Middle East as a result of the Oslo Agreements signed between
Israel and the PLO. The decision is also related to the present atmosphere of
optimism that surrounds implementation of the Wye Memorandum - signed in
Washington, D.C. in October 1998 by the then Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu, and the Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat
- and to the good prospects for negotiations to define the final statute of
Palestinian territories.
It is worth recalling that the establishment of formal relations between Brazil
and Palestine dates from 1975, when the PLO was authorized to set up a
representation in Brasilia, with seat in the then-existing League of Arab
States. In 1993 the representation was raised to the category of "Special
Palestine Delegation", with diplomatic status similar to that of international
organizations accredited to Brazil, according to the terms of an agreement
concluded in November of that year between the Brazilian government and the PLO
through an exchange of notes.
