Seventy-second session of the United Nations General Assembly

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Seventy-second session of the United Nations General Assembly
  71st 12 September 2017 – 18 September 2018 73rd  
Miroslav Lajcak 2014 (11981540724).jpg
President of the 72nd General Assembly
Miroslav Lajcak
Host countryFlag of the United Nations.svg United Nations
Cities New York City
Venues General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters
Participants Member States of the United Nations
Website www.un.org/en/ga/

The seventy-second session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 12 September 2017. The president of the United Nations General Assembly was from the Eastern European Group.

Contents

Organisation for the session

President

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak was elected as President of the General Assembly on 31 May 2017. [1] [2]

Vice-presidents

There were twenty-one Vice-Presidents for the 72nd Session. They were: [2]

The five permanent members of the Security Council:

As well as the following nations:

Committee bureaus

The following were elected as Chairs and officers of the General Assembly committees for the 73rd Session:

First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) [3]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Mohammad Hussein Ali Bahr AluloomFlag of Iraq.svg Iraq Chairperson
Mr. Georg SparberFlag of Liechtenstein.svg Liechtenstein Vice-Chair
Ms. Terje RaadikFlag of Estonia.svg Estonia Vice-Chair
Mr. Alfredo Toro CarnevalliFlag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Vice-Chair
Ms. Martin NgundzeFlag of South Africa.svg South Africa Rapporteur

Second Committee (Economic and Financial) [4]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Sven JürgensonFlag of Estonia.svg Estonia Chairperson
Mr. Menelaos MenelaouFlag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus Vice-Chair
Ms. Kimberly LouisFlag of Saint Lucia.svg Saint Lucia Vice-Chair
Ms. Cristiana MeleFlag of Italy.svg Italy Vice-Chair
Ms. Theresah Chipulu Luswili ChandaFlag of Zambia.svg Zambia Rapporteur

Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) [5]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Einar GunnarssonFlag of Iceland.svg Iceland Chairperson
Mr. Nebil IdrisFlag of Eritrea.svg Eritrea Vice-Chair
Ms. Alanoud Qassim M. A. Al-TemimiFlag of Qatar.svg Qatar Vice-Chair
Ms. Dóra KaszásFlag of Hungary.svg Hungary Vice-Chair
Mr. Edgar Andrés Molina LinaresFlag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala Rapporteur

Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) [6]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Rafael Darió Ramírez CarreñoFlag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Chairperson
Mr. Yasser HalfouniFlag of Morocco.svg Morocco Vice-Chair
Ms. Ceren Hande ŐzgürFlag of Turkey.svg Turkey Vice-Chair
Mr. Ahmed Abdelrahman Ahmed AlmahmoudFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates Vice-Chair
Mr. Angel AngelovFlag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria Rapporteur

Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) [7]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Tommo MontheFlag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon Chairperson
Mr. Abbas Yazdani (Sep 2017 - 22 Mar 2018)Flag of Iran.svg Iran (Islamic Republic of) Vice-Chair
Mr. Haseeb Zohar (7 May 2018 - 18 September 2018)Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Vice-Chair
Ms. Julie O'BrienFlag of Ireland.svg Ireland Vice-Chair
Ms. Anda GrinbergaFlag of Latvia.svg Latvia Vice-Chair
Mr. Felipe Garcia LandaFlag of Mexico.svg Mexico Rapporteur

Sixth Committee (Legal) [8]

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Burhan GafoorFlag of Singapore.svg Singapore Chairperson
Mr. Duncan Laki MuhumuzaFlag of Uganda.svg Uganda Vice-Chair
Mr. Angel HornaFlag of Peru.svg Peru Vice-Chair
Ms. Carrie McDougallFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Vice-Chair
Mr. Peter NagyFlag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia Rapporteur

Seat allocation

As is tradition before each session of the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres drew lots to see which Member State would occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall for the session, with the other Member States following according to the English translation of their name. The same order is followed in the six main committees. [9] For this session the Czech Republic was chosen to take the first seat of the General Assembly Chamber. [1]

General debate

Most states had a representative speak about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year regarding the actions of the General Assembly. The general debate serves as an opportunity for Member States to declare which international issues are most pressing to them. The General Debate occurred from 19–25 September 2017, with the exception of the intervening Sunday. [10]

The theme for the session's debate was chosen by President Miroslav Lajcak as "Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet." [10]

The speaking order for the general debate was as follows: [11]

A voluntary 15-minute time limit for statements is to be observed in the general debate. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in one of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators.

Resolutions

Resolutions came before the UNGA between October 2017 and summer 2018.

The tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in continuation during the tenure of this session on 21 December 2017 in regards to the status of Jerusalem. [12] United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-10/L.22 passed by 128 votes to nine against with 21 absentees and 35 abstentions.

Elections

The election of non-permanent members to the Security Council for 2019–2020 was held on 8 June 2018, in which South Africa, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Germany and Belgium were elected. [13]

An election to choose 18 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term took place.[ when? ]

References

  1. 1 2 United Nations (31 May 2017). "General Assembly Elects Slovakia Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák President of Seventy-Second Session, while Selecting Bureaux for Main Committees". United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand (2018). "United Nations Handbook 2018–19" (PDF). United Nations Handbook:: An Annual Guide for Those Working within the United Nations (56th ed.). Wellington: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand: 22. ISSN   0110-1951.
  3. United Nations General Assembly C.1 (n.d.). "Bureau of the 72nd Session". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. United Nations General Assembly C.2 (n.d.). "Bureau of the 72nd Session". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. United Nations General Assembly C.3 (n.d.). "Bureau of the 72nd Session". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. United Nations General Assembly C.4 (n.d.). "Bureau of the 72nd Session". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. United Nations General Assembly C.5 (n.d.). "Bureau of the Fifth Committee of the 72nd session". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. United Nations General Assembly C.6 (n.d.). "Bureau". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. Dag Hammarskjöld Library (26 September 2018). "How are member states seated in the General Assembly?". Dag Hammarskjöld Library. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. 1 2 International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). "72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 72)". International Institute for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  11. United Nations General Assembly (n.d.). "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  12. "UN General Assembly rejects Trump's Jerusalem move".
  13. "Security Council Monthly" (PDF). www.reliefweb.int. June 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.