The 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly was the session of the United NationsGeneral Assembly that ran from 16 September 2008 to 14 September 2009.
The theme for the 63rd Session was "The impact of the global food crisis on poverty and hunger in the world as well as the need to democratize the United Nations."
Organisation
President of the 63rd Session, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann
President
Nicaraguan diplomat and politician Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann was elected by acclimation to the position of President of the General Assembly on 4 June 2008. At the time of his election, d'Escoto Brockmann was serving as Senior Adviser on Foreign Affairs to President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.[1]
In his first speech as President-elect of the General Assembly, d'Escoto Brockmann laid out some of his priorities for the session. He primarily called for unity within the United Nations, as well as between its Member States. He called for unity to combat hunger and poverty, as well as in the struggle to preserve the world's indispensable biodiversity and cultural diversity. Other priorities for d'Escoto Brockmann in the 63rd Session included:[2][3][4]
As is tradition, before each session of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General draws lots to determine which Member State will occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall for the Session, with other Member States following according to the English translation of their name. For the 65th Session, Barbados was chosen to take the first seat of the General Assembly Chamber.[1]
The General Debate of the 63rd Session was held between 23 & 29 September 2008, with the exception of the intervening Sunday. At the General debate, Member States have the opportunity to lay out the issues that are most concerning to them, as well as their hopes as to what the General Assembly will do during the Session. [12]
The order of speakers is given first to Member States, then Observer States and supranational bodies. Speakers are put on a speaking 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.[13]
Prior to the election, the General Assembly approved a request from Iceland to relinquish its WEOG Council seat on 31 December 2008. Norway was then elected to fill the seat for a one-year term beginning 1 January 2009.
International Court of Justice
On 6 November 2008, the General Assembly elected five judges to sit on the International Court of Justice for nine-year terms beginning 6 February 2009. The five elected judges were:[16]
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