The United Nations General Assembly will mark its from Tuesday, September 9, amid a challenging period of international relations.
The General Assembly is the primary deliberative body of the United Nations and, in effect, of global diplomacy.
This year’s session will comprise delegations from all 193 member states, which all have equal representation on a “one state, one vote” basis.
Unlike other UN bodies, such as the , this means all members have the same power when it comes to voting on resolutions.
It is also the only forum where all member states are represented.
What is discussed at the General Assembly?
There is a broad agenda that is discussed at every General Assembly that typically includes issues revolving around economic, social, security and environmental policy.
Among the wider discussions are also several standalone events. These include summits on climate and the global economy and updates on progress towards the which were adopted by the UN in 2015 as a call to action to end poverty and protect the planet.
This year will also see the launch of a new dialogue on
Although the aim of the General Assembly is to bring together all member states to find common ground, it always takes place against the backdrop of current global affairs. This year, this includes major ongoing conflicts such as and.
Recent editions have also occured against democratic backsliding across some regions of the world.
“There is a general backlash of democracy in several states,” Diana Panke, a professor of International Relations at the Free University of Berlin, told DW.
“This is one aspect that makes the [General Assembly] dynamic kind of difficult or challenging.”
Shifting priorities and power dynamics, like the rise of China and its growing list of supportive allies through its expansive Belt and Road initiative, as well as the increasingly reclusive approach to international bodies by the US under the current Trump administration, could also influence proceedings and the final wording of resolutions.
Who runs the General Assembly?
Each year, a new president of the UN General Assembly is elected from one of the five geographic groups represented in the body.
The president is responsible for opening and closing debates, as well as facilitating discussion and regulating speaking time.
This year’s president is who was elected in June and will take office this month.
The General Debate
Among the key events of the General Assembly is the General Debate, which affords an opportunity for all 193 members to speak.
The theme of the 80th edition is “Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights. “
It will begin on Tuesday, 23 September, and end on Monday, 29 September.
Resolutions aren’t binding, so what’s the point of the General Assembly?
A notable point of a UN General Assembly is that its resolutions do not require states to act — none of these agreements are binding.
That means that a state can support every resolution made at the Assembly, but never follow or implement the principles agreed to.
The nonbinding nature of agreement-making at the General Assembly has led to criticism of its effectiveness in recent years.
But Panke emphasized the value of the nonbinding nature of the proceedings. She said it provided a platform for nations to indicate their position across the General Assembly agenda and set the stage for building more forceful, legally enforceable agreements.
“They can ignite the process in the General Assembly setting and subsequently convene a Conference of the Parties and pass an international legally-binding treaty,” said Panke. One did not necessarily exclude the other.
Panke also pointed out that resolutions formed at the General Assembly had normative power, in spite of their nonbinding nature.
“They set standards of appropriateness against which the public can hold states accountable.”
Edited by: A. Thomas
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