UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS ON 16 SEPTEMBER 1997

The General Assembly of the United Nations opens its fifty-second session on 16 September at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It brings together the delegations of all Member States, many of them led by heads of Government or Foreign Ministers, for an examination of international issues.

FORUM FOR MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATION

The General Assembly, set up in 1945 under the United Nations Charter, is the United Nations main deliberative organ and provides a forum for multilateral discussion of the full range of international issues covered by the Charter. The Assembly comprises all Members of the United Nations and meets in regular session each year from September to December, and thereafter as required.

FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

As set out in the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the United Nations General Assembly are:

to consider and it make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for

maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament

to discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, to make recommendations on it

to discuss, with the same exception, and make recommendations on any questions within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations

to initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realization, of human rights and fundamental freedoms and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, education and health fields

to make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation which might impair friendly relations among nations

to receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs

to consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States

to elect the nonpermanent members of the Security Council and the members of other United Nations Councils an organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to appoint the Secretary-General.

Pursuant to its "Uniting for Peace" resolution of November 1950, the Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member, in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.

While the Assembly is empowered to make only non-binding recommendations to States on international issues within its competence, it has, nonetheless, initiated actions - political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal - which have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

SIX MAIN COMMITTEES

After the election of its President and Vice-Presidents, and after the adoption of its agenda, the General Assembly commences its session with a three-week period of general debate, providing Member States with the opportunity to air their views on major international issues.

With the close of the general debate, the Assembly begins consideration of the substantive items on its agenda. Because of the great number of questions which it is called upon to consider (168 separate agenda items at the fifty-first session, for example), the Assembly distributes most substantive questions among its six Main Committees, which discuss them, seeking where possible to harmonize the various approaches of States, and then present draft resolutions for consideration to a plenary meeting of the Assembly. The Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee) is concerned with disarmament and related international security questions. The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) deals with a variety of political subjects not dealt with by the First Committee and with decolonization. The Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) is concerned with economic questions. The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (Third Committee) deals with so

cial and humanitarian issues. The Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee) deals with the administration and budget of the United Nations, and the Legal Committee (Sixth Committee) deals with international legal matters.

On a number of agenda items, however, such as the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the Assembly acts directly in its plenary meetings.

There are also a General Committee, composed of the President and 21 Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the Chairpersons of the six Main Committees, which makes recommendations to the Assembly about the adoption of the agenda, the allocation of items and the organization of work, and a Credentials Committee, appointed by the President at each session. The latter Committee reports to the Assembly on the credentials of representatives.

THE SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS

Each Member State in the Assembly has one vote. Votes taken on designated important issues, such as recommendations on peace and security and the election of Security Council members, require a two-thirds majority of Member States, but other questions are decided by simple majority.

In recent years a special effort has been made to achieve consensus on issues, rather than requiring a formal vote, thus strengthening support for the Assembly's decisions. The President consults delegations to see whether they are willing to agree to the adoption of a resolution without a vote. If they are, he can formally propose that the resolution be so adopted.

WORKING GROUPS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Of the open-ended working groups established by the General Assembly to reform and improve the efficiency of the Organization, two completed their work during the fifty-first session of the Assembly: the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on an Agenda for Development and the Open-ended High-level Working Group on the Strengthening of the United Nations System.

The General Assembly adopted an Agenda for Development, which provides a comprehensive definition of development as a multidimensional effort to achieve a higher quality of life for all people. The Agenda outlines the results of the recent cycle of United Nations conferences in the area of development, and identifies the key development activities of the United Nations.

The General Assembly also adopted a series of specific measures aimed at strengthening the United Nations system. They are to take effect from 1 January 1998 and concern mainly the General Assembly and the Secretariat.

The Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council and the High-level Open-ended Working Group on the Financial Situation of the United Nations will continue their work during the fifty-second session.

REGIONAL GROUPS

Over the years various informal regional groupings have evolved in the General Assembly as vehicles for consultation and to facilitate procedural work. The groups are the African States, the Asian States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Western European and other States. For election purposes, the United States is considered a part of the Western European and other States. Turkey, which for election purposes is in the Western European Group, is also a member of the Asian Group. The post of President of the General Assembly rotates among the regional groups (during the fifty-second session, the President will be from the Group of Eastern European States).

SPECIAL SESSIONS AND EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSIONS

In addition to its regular sessions, the Assembly may meet in special and emergency sessions.

At turning points over the years, the Assembly has convened 19 special sessions on issues which demanded particular attention, including problems of Palestine, United Nations finances, Namibia, disarmament, international economic cooperation, apartheid, drugs and the environment.

The nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, also known as "Earth Summit +5",

took place from 23 to 28 June 1997 to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21

- the programme of action adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The special session adopted a programme for the further implementation of Agenda 21, including a preambular statement of commitment, as it completed the review and appraisal of Agenda 21.

Emphasizing that the implementation of Agenda 21 in a comprehensive manner remained vitally important and was more urgent than ever, Member States committed themselves to ensuring that the next comprehensive review of its implementation in the year 2002 should demonstrate greater measurable progress in achieving sustainable development.

Ten emergency special sessions have addressed situations in which the Security Council found itself deadlocked, namely the Middle East (1958 and 1967), Hungary (1956), Suez (1956), the Congo (1960), Afghanistan (1980), Palestine (1980 and 1982), Namibia (1981), the occupied Arab territories (1982) and illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian Territory (1997).

The General Assembly, at its tenth emergency special session held on 24 and 25 April 1997, condemned the construction by Israel of a new settlement in East Jerusalem and demanded the immediate and full cessation of its construction- at its resumed tenth emergency special session held on 15 July 1997, the Assembly condemned Israel's failure to comply with the demands made at its tenth emergency special session. The Assembly also decided to adjourn the emergency special session temporarily and to authorize the President of the Assembly to resume its meetings upon request from Member States.

CARRYING ON THE WORK OF THE ASSEMBLY

The work of the United Nations derives largely from the decisions of the General Assembly and is carried out:

* by committees and other bodies established by the Assembly to study and report on specific issues, such as disarmament, outer space, peacekeeping economic development, the environment and human right, and

* by the Secretariat of the United Nations - the Secretary-General and his staff of international civil servants.