Seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly

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Seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly
  75th 14 September 2021 – 13 September 2022 77th  
Abdulla Shahid April 2021.png
President of the 76th General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid
Host countryFlag of the United Nations.svg United Nations
Cities New York City, United States
Venues General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters
Participants United Nations Member States
President Abdulla Shahid
Website www.un.org/eng/ga

The Seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly was the session of the United Nations General Assembly which ran from 14 September 2021 to 13 September 2022. The President of the UN General Assembly is from Asia-Pacific Group.

Contents

Organisation for the session

President

On 7 June 2021, Maldivian politician and diplomat, and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid was elected to the position of President of the General Assembly. [1]

In his vision statement, Shahid laid out some of his priorities for the session. Specifically, a stronger and more effective United Nations to inspire unity and solidarity, and above all hope. His "Five Rays of Hope” include recovering from COVID-19, rebuilding sustainably, responding to the needs of the planet, respecting the rights of all and revitalising the united nations. He also pledged that his team would be gender balanced, multi-national and geographical diverse. Finally he pledged to uphold the rules of procedure of the General Assembly for him, his team and the entire Assembly. [2] [3]

Vice-Presidents

The General Assembly elected the following countries as the vice-presidents of the 76th session:

The five permanent members of the Security Council: [4]

As well as the following nations: [3]

Committees

The following were elected Chairs and Officers of the General Assembly's Main Committees for the 76th Session: [3]

First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)
NameCountryPosition
H.E. Omar HilaleFlag of Morocco.svg  Morocco Chair
Vacant, Latin American and Caribbean GroupVice-chair
Amir Hamzah Mohd NasirFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Vice-chair
Saša MilanovićFlag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Vice-chair
Sanna Leena OravaFlag of Finland.svg  Finland Rapporteur
Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
NameCountryPosition
H.E. Egriselda Aracely González LópezFlag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Chair
Angelito AyongFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Vice-chair
Lukáš Peter PrvýFlag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Vice-chair
Matthew EdbrookeFlag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein Vice-chair
Youssouf Aden MoussaFlag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti Rapporteur
Second Committee (Economic and Financial)
NameCountryPosition
H.E. Vanessa FrazierFlag of Malta.svg  Malta Chair
Nadja MicaelFlag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea Vice-chair
Karolina KrywulakFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Vice-chair
Claudia LarueFlag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic Vice-chair
Prathma UpretyFlag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Rapporteur
Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues)
NameCountryPosition
Mohamed Siad DoualehFlag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti Chair
Joongil ShinFlag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea Vice-chair
Devita AbrahamFlag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago Vice-chair
Hanne CarléFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Vice-chair
Maria‑Iuliana NiculaeFlag of Romania.svg  Romania Rapporteur
Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary Committee)
NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mher MargaryanFlag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Chair
Ahmed Mohamed Ismail ElmahsFlag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Vice-chair
Mike AmmannFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Vice-chair
Mohammed Abdulaziz AlateekFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Vice-chair
Megayla AustinFlag of Guyana.svg  Guyana Rapporteur
Sixth Committee (Legal)
NameCountryPosition
H.E.Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-ThaniFlag of Qatar.svg  Qatar Chair
Ahmed AbdelazizFlag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Vice-chair
Justina KrutulytéFlag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Vice-chair
Ricardo García LópezFlag of Spain.svg  Spain Vice-chair
Ana L. VillalobosFlag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Rapporteur

Seat allocation

As is tradition before each session of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General drew lots to see which member state would occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Chamber, with the other member states following according to the English translation of their name. For the 76th Session, Suriname was selected to sit in the first seat by Secretary-General António Guterres. This same order is followed in the six main committees, as well as other United Nations bodies. [3] [5] [6]

Agenda

The agenda for the 76th session, was approved by the General Committee prior to the opening of the Session.

General debate

Each member of the General Assembly had a representative speaking about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year as to what the UNGA would do. This is an opportunity for the member states to opine on international issues of their concern.

The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observers entities have a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators. Each speaker is requested to provide 350 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium. [4]

References

  1. "Election of the 76th President of the General Assembly". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  2. "A Presidency of Hope: Vision statement by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Maldives, candidate for the Presidency of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly" (PDF). United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Electing Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid President of Seventy-Sixth Session, General Assembly Selects Main Committee Bureaus, Economic and Social Council Members". United Nations Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. United Nations. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 Ruder, Nicole; Nakano, Kenji; Aeschlimann, Johann (2017). Aeschlimann, Johann; Regan, Mary (eds.). The GA Handbook: A Practical Guide to the United Nations General Assembly (PDF) (2nd ed.). New York: Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations. pp. 17, 86–88. ISBN   978-0-615-49660-3.
  5. United Nations General Assembly Session 75 Memorandum1. Organization of the seventy-fifth regular session of the General Assembly, adoption of the agenda and allocation of itemsA/BUR/75/1 page 5. 15 September 2020. Retrieved accessdate.
  6. "63rd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme: Information Note" (PDF). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. United Nations. n.d. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2019.