U.N. General Assembly to assemble on Tuesday. Here's all you need to know!
In recent years, the world has seen not one but a myriad of extreme situations, ranging from a deadly pandemic to Russia's war in Ukraine, to poverty to climate change, along with many more.
The 78th session of the U.N. The General Assembly does not have one clear-cut issue to discuss, as all the above-mentioned are important and have not been resolved yet. The coronavirus variants, ongoing war political crisis in Latin America and West Africa, floods, fires, earthquakes, and more will be setting the backdrop of the meeting this time.
Therefore, the theme of the General Debate this year is going to be "Rebuilding Trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, prosperity, progress, and Sustainability for all.”
Purpose of the UN General Assembly
Through the United Nations General Assembly, nations that are a part of it throw light upon their agendas and grievances, along with calls to action for the rest of the world to see. Such a broadcast also acts as a permanent record.
The countries participating this year
It is expected that there will be at least 145 countries whose heads of state and government are coming to New York to attend the Assembly. These dignitaries will include Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (the President of Brazil), Joe Biden (the President of the United States), and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (President of Ukraine), on the very first day. For Zelenskyy, this is going to be the very first in-person appearance at the U.N. since the invasion of his country by Russia.
In the year 2022, the General Assembly granted him a special dispensation to put forward a pre-recorded speech.
However, this time, some key absences of the representatives of some permanent UN Security Council member countries will also be felt. This is because the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France are not going to come to the meeting this time.
Other than that, top leaders from other countries like Mexico and India will also be visiting.
ALSO READ: Old Parliament vs New Parliament: What Are the Key Differences?
The duration
The duration of the General Debate of the current year will be running for a total of six days. The General Debate, however, will be ending a day later, that is on September 26. This is because this year, a two-day break will be given in the 6-day schedule. A spokesperson from the U.N. clarified that on Monday, there won't be any speeches due to the observance of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
What about non-UN membersbers? Are they allowed to attend the General Assembly?
Well, some of them are permitted to attend the General Assembly. All the member states of the United Nations are invited to speak. However, not all of these invited members are going to make it. Additionally, it is important to note that the United Nations also has its permanent observers. According to the website of the U.N., these permanent observers have access to “most meetings and relevant documentation.”
For instance, the Holy See (the Vatican), the European Union, and Palestine are going to be permanent observers yet again in this year's General Assembly. Last year, President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas gave the longest speech.
ALSO READ: African Union as a permanent G20 Member: What is the African Union? How will it impact the G20?
ALSO READ: Top 10 Hardest Countries to Get Citizenship in the World 2023
