The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), the only one in which all member nations have equal representation, and the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the UN, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General of the United Nations, receive reports from other parts of the UN, and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also established numerous subsidiary organs.
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".
The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Unlike the G7, where the common denominator is the economy and long-term political motives, the G4's primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council. Each of these four countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN's establishment. Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members (P5). However, the G4's bids are often opposed by the Uniting for Consensus movement, and particularly their economic competitors or political rivals.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) encompasses five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and the Security Council-General Assembly relationship. Member States, regional groups and other Member State interest groupings developed different positions and proposals on how to move forward on this contested issue.
The Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee was established on 15 October 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267. Initially dealing with both al-Qaeda and the Taliban, hence previously known as the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, it was split on 17 June 2011, creating the new Taliban Sanctions Committee to separately deal with the Taliban.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 282, adopted on July 23, 1970, concerned by violations of the arms embargo passed against South Africa in Resolution 191, the Council reiterated its total opposition to the policies of apartheid and reaffirmed its previous resolutions on the topic. The Council called upon states to strengthen the arms embargo by ceasing the provision of military training to members of the South African armed forces and by taking appropriate action to give effective to the resolution's measures.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 404, adopted on February 8, 1977, after hearing from a representative of Benin, the Council reaffirmed that States must refrain from threats and use of force in their international relations and decided to establish a Special Mission composed of three members of the Council to investigate the events of January 16, 1977 against the country. The findings of the report by the Special Mission were examined in Resolution 405.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 528, adopted on December 21, 1982, after the General Assembly passed Resolution 3190 extolling the virtues of expanded working languages, the Council decided to include Arabic among the working languages of the Security Council.
The Eastern European Group (EEG), also known as Countries with Economies in Transition (CEIT), is one of the five unofficial Regional Groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums. Regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from regional groups. The group consists of countries in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Baltics, Central Europe, and the Caucasus, which form the area of the former Eastern Bloc. Europe is divided between the EEG and the Western European and Others Group. The group currently has 23 members.
United Nations Security Council resolution 785, adopted unanimously on 30 October 1992, after recalling resolutions 696 (1991) and 747 (1992), and expressing its concern at the deteriorating political situation and the resumption of hostilities by UNITA in Angola, the Council approved a recommendation by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to extend the mandate of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission II until 30 November 1992.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1275, adopted unanimously on 19 November 1999, after recalling resolutions 1242 (1999) and 1266 (1999) concerning the Oil-for-Food Programme, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, extended provisions relating to the export of Iraqi petroleum or petroleum products in return for humanitarian aid for two weeks until 4 December 1999.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1776 was adopted on 19 September 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1862 was unanimously adopted on 14 January 2009.
The political status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region remains unresolved. Since 1991, it has been largely controlled by the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, a de facto independent entity. The region, however, is internationally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan, although it has not exercised power over most of the region since 1991. Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, representatives of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group on the region's disputed status.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2085, adopted unanimously on 20 December 2012, authorized the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA). The resolution recalled previous resolutions regarding the Northern Mali conflict, including resolutions 2056 and 2071 in authorizing action. According to Ban Ki Moon, the resolution "aimed at the full restoration of Mali’s constitutional order and territorial integrity."
The Seventieth Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 15 September 2015. The President of the United Nations General Assembly is from the Western European and Others Group.
The Presidential Council of Libya is a body formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement which was signed on 17 December 2015. The Council carries out the functions of head of state of Libya and is to take command of the Libyan National Army. The agreement has been unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council which welcomed the formation of the Presidency Council and recognized that the Government of National Accord is the sole legitimate executive government of Libya. The Presidential Council presides over the Government of National Accord.
