Report by Ananya Singh
New York, Sep 27: The 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on Tuesday, 14th September 2021. Maldives’ Abdulla Shahid was sworn in as the President. He took over from Volkan Bozkir of Turkey and will hold the post for a year.
The focus areas of the UNGA 2021 were:
- Promotion of Sustained Economic Growth andDevelopment
- Maintenance of International Peace and Security
- Development of Africa
- Promotion of Human Rights
- Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance Efforts
- Promotion of Justice and International Law
- Disarmament of military forces and weapons
- Drug Control and Combating International Terrorism
The General Debate of the UNGA concluded on 27th Sep 2021. The theme for this year’s General Debate was ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’.
What is the United Nations General Assembly?
UNGA is the main policy-making organ of the United Nations. It is also the only organ with all 193 member states having an equal vote. It makes important decisions, which include appointing the Secretary-General (currently Antonio Guterres of Portugal), electing non-permanent members of the Security Council, and approving the UN Budget. Many of the above decisions are taken during the General Debate, which is the first session of the UNGA.
What is the General Debate?
The General Debate is the meeting of the Heads of State and Governments of the member states and takes place at the beginning of the session. It is held for 9 days. The speakers express the views of their respective countries. It takes place at the General Assembly Hall in New York, USA. Brazil is always the first to speak, followed by USA. The speakers are determined by either their level of representation or their sending a message to the Secretary-General requesting a specific speaking position. The name of the speaker is then added to their desired position, if possible.
Why does Brazil always speak first, followed by USA?
For the past six decades Brazil has always opened the General Debate by making the first speech. There are two explanations for this. First, the tradition began in 1946, when Brazil’s Oswaldo Aranha was elected as the First Special to preside over the UNGA and a year later when he became the President of the UNGA (1947). Second, when no country wished to make the first speech, Brazil volunteered to speak first. As Brazil was the only country to repeatedly offer to speak first, it earned the right to always speak first. The United States of America follows next as it is the host country.
