Seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly

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Seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly
←  72nd 18 September 2018 – 17 September 2019 74th  →
Reunion con AFESE (38623712645) (cropped).jpg
President of the 73rd General Assembly
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés
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-third session of the United Nations General Assembly was opened on 18 September 2018. [1] The President of the United Nations General Assembly was from the GRULAC group.

Contents

Organisation for the session

President

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés was elected as President of the General Assembly on 5 June 2018. [2]

Vice-Presidents

There were twenty-one vice-presidents for the 73rd Session. They were: [2] [3]

The five permanent members of the Security Council:

As well as the following nations:

Committees

The following were elected as Chairs and officers of the General Assembly committees for the 73rd Session: [2]

First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Ion Jinga Flag of Romania.svg Romania Chairperson
Ms. Marissa EdwardsFlag of Guyana.svg Guyana Vice-chair
Mr. Noël DiarraFlag of Mali.svg Mali Vice-chair
Mr. José Ataíde AmaralFlag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal Vice-chair
Ms. Muna Zawani Md IdrisFlag of Brunei.svg Brunei Darussalam Rapporteur

Second Committee (Economic and Financial)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Jorge Skinner-Kleé ArenalesFlag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala Chairperson
Mr. Mehdi RemaounFlag of Algeria.svg Algeria Vice-chair
Ms. Hessa Muneer Mohammed Rashed AlAteibiFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates Vice-chair
Mr. Cedric BraquettiFlag of Monaco.svg Monaco Vice-chair
Ms. Anneli LeppFlag of Estonia.svg Estonia Rapporteur

Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Saikal Flag of the Taliban.svg Afghanistan Chairperson
Ms. Lahya Itedhimbwa ShikongoFlag of Namibia.svg Namibia Vice-chair
Mr. Martin KováčikFlag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia Vice-chair
Mr. Andrés Molina LinaresFlag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala Vice-chair
Ms. Katharina Konzett-StofflFlag of Austria.svg Austria Rapporteur

Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Lewis Garseedah Brown IIFlag of Liberia.svg Liberia Chairperson
Mr. Faisal Nasser M. AlhakbaniFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia Vice-chair
Mr. Dániel GoldeaFlag of Hungary.svg Hungary Vice-chair
Mr. Michael O'TooleFlag of Ireland.svg Ireland Vice-chair
Mr. Luis Mauricio Arancibia FernándezFlag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Rapporteur

Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Ms. GiIlian Bird Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Chairperson
Mr. Fabio Esteban Pedraza-TorresFlag of Colombia.svg Colombia Vice-chair
Mr. Andre LipandFlag of Estonia.svg Estonia Vice-chair
Mr. Haseeb GoharFlag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Vice-chair
Mr. Hicham OussihamouFlag of Morocco.svg Morocco Rapporteur

Sixth Committee (Legal)

NameCountryPosition
H.E. Mr. Michel Xavier BiangFlag of Gabon.svg Gabon Chairperson
Ms. Maria Angela PonceFlag of the Philippines.svg Philippines Vice-chair
Ms. Barbara KremžarFlag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia Vice-chair
Mr. Patrick LunaFlag of Brazil.svg Brazil Vice-chair
Ms. Nadia Alexandra KalbFlag of Austria.svg Austria Rapporteur

Seat Allocation

As is tradition during each session of the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres drew lots to see which member state would take the helm at the first seat in the General Assembly Chamber, with the other member states following according to the English translation of their name, the same order would be followed in the six main committees. [4] For this session, Mali was chosen to take the first seat of the General Assembly Chamber. [3]

General Debate

Most states had a representative speaking about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year as to what the UNGA will do. This was an opportunity for the member states to opine on international issues of their concern. The General Debate occurred from 25 September to 1 October 2018, with the exception of the intervening Sunday. [5] The theme for that year's debate was chosen by President María Fernanda Espinosa as "Making the United Nations relevant to all people: Global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies". [6]

The order of speakers was given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observers entities had a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers were 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 one 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 20 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium. Speeches are requested to be limited to five minutes, with seven minutes for supranational bodies. [4]

Foreign ministers and high representatives participating in the General Debate signed the Code of Conduct Towards Achieving a World Free of Terrorism. The Code of Conduct was the brainchild of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The main goal of the document is implementation of a wide range of international commitments to counter terrorism and establishing a broad global coalition towards achieving a world free of terrorism by 2045. [7]

Resolutions

The following are resolutions the General Assembly has passed in its 73rd session, as of 3 December 2018. [8] [9]

ResolutionDatePlenary or CommitteeAgenda ItemVotePassedTopic
A/RES/73/124 September 2018Plen.66No VoteYesPolitical declaration adopted at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit
A/RES/73/210 October 2018Plen.119No VoteYesPolitical declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
A/RES/73/310 October 2018Plen.129No VoteYesPolitical declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis
A/RES/73/412 October 2018C.5140No VoteYesScale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations: requests under Article 19 of the Charter
A/RES/73/516 October 2018Plen.125146-3-15YesChair of the Group of 77 for 2019
A/C.1/73/X26 October 2018Plen.This draft resolution was not formally introduced31-55-54NoPreservation of and compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty [10]
A/RES/73/626 October 2018Plen.30No VoteYesFiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: space as a driver of sustainable development
A/RES/73/729 October 2018Plen.77No VoteyesReport of the International Criminal Court
A/RES/73/81 November 2018Plen.43189-2-0YesNecessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba
A/RES/73/99 November 2018Plen.92No VoteYesReport of the International Atomic Energy Agency
A/RES/73/1026 November 2018Plen.128 (u)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Central European Initiative
A/RES/73/1126 November 2018Plen.128 (y)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
A/RES/73/1226 November 2018Plen.128 (k)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
A/RES/73/1326 November 2018Plen.128 (o)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization
A/RES/73/1426 November 2018Plen.128 (v)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM
A/RES/73/1526 November 2018Plen.128 (l)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe
A/RES/73/1626 November 2018Plen.128 (w)No VoteYesCooperation between the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States
A/RES/73/1726 November 2018Plen.133No VoteYesImpact of rapid technological change on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets
A/RES/73/1830 November 2018Plen.39100-12-62YesCommittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
A/RES/73/1930 November 2018Plen.39156-8-12YesPeaceful settlement of the question of Palestine
A/RES/73/2030 November 2018Plen.39152-8-14YesSpecial information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat
A/RES/73/2130 November 2018Plen.3996-13-64YesDivision for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat
A/RES/73/2230 November 2018Plen.38148-11-14YesJerusalem
A/RES/73/2330 November 2018Plen.3899-10-66YesThe Syrian Golan
A/RES/73/243 December 2018Plen.12No VoteYesSport as an enabler of sustainable development
A/RES/73/253 December 2018Plen.14No VoteYesInternational Day of Education
A/RES/73/16517 December 2018Plen.14No VoteYes United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants

Elections

References

  1. ↑ "Bring the United Nations closer to the people, urges Assembly President in her inaugural speech". UN News. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. 2018. ISSN   0110-1951.
  3. 1 2 Delegates' Handbook, Seventy-third Session of the United Nations General Assembly (PDF). New York: United Nations. 2018.
  4. 1 2 "63rd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, Geneva, 1 - 5 October 2012" (PDF). Unhcr.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "6 things to know about the General Assembly as UN heads into high level week". UN News. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Letter of the President-elect of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly to Heads of States" (PDF). 26 July 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "At UN General Assembly, FM presents Kazakh initiatives, meets foreign officials, US business representatives". astanatimes.com. 4 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Resolutions of the 73rd session". United Nations General Assembly. n.d. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  9. ↑ "Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its 73rd session". Dag Hammarskjöld Library. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  10. ↑ "Resolutions".

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