The Seventy-second Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 12 September 2017. The
President of the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
was from the
Eastern European Group
The Group of Eastern European States (EEG) is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 23 Member States from Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.
The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue ...
.
Organisation for the session
President
Slovakian Foreign Minister
Miroslav Lajcak was elected as President of the General Assembly on 31 May 2017.
Vice-presidents
There were twenty-one Vice-Presidents for the 72nd Session. They were:
The five
permanent members of the Security Council:
*
*
*
*
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
*
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
As well as the following nations:
*
*
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Committee bureaus
The following were elected as Chairs and officers of the General Assembly committees for the 73rd Session:
First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)
Second Committee (Economic and Financial)
Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)
Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)
Sixth Committee (Legal)
Seat allocation
As is tradition before each session of the General Assembly, Secretary-General
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
drew lots to see which Member State would occupy the first seat in the
General Assembly Hall for the session, with the other Member States following according to the English translation of their name. The same order is followed in the six main committees. For this session the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
was chosen to take the first seat of the General Assembly Chamber.
General debate
Most states had a representative speak about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year regarding the actions of the General Assembly. The general debate serves as an opportunity for Member States to declare which international issues are most pressing to them. The General Debate occurred from 19–25 September 2017, with the exception of the intervening Sunday.
The theme for the session's debate was chosen by President Miroslav Lajcak as "Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet."
The speaking order for the general debate was as follows:
* The President of the General Assembly: Called the meeting to order
* The Secretary-General: Introduced the “Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization”
* The President of the General Assembly: Opened the general debate and made a speech
* Brazil, as per tradition, was the first Member State to speak in the general debate
* The United States of America, as the host country, was the second Member State to speak
* All other full Member States (speaking order is based on the level of representation, preference and other criteria such as geographic balance)
* Only the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union are invited to participate in the general debate (speaking slots are determined by the level of representation)
A voluntary 15-minute time limit for statements is to be observed in the general debate. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in one of the United Nations official languages of
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Chinese,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Russian or
Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators.
Resolutions
Resolutions came before the UNGA between October 2017 and summer 2018.
The
tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in continuation during the tenure of this session on 21 December 2017 in regards to the
status of Jerusalem
The status of Jerusalem is disputed in both international law and diplomatic practice, with both the Israelis and Palestinians claiming Jerusalem as their capital city.Moshe Hirsch, Deborah Housen-Couriel, Ruth Lapidoth''Whither Jerusalem?: Pro ...
.
United Nations General Assembly resolution ES-10/L.22 passed by 128 votes to nine against with 21 absentees and 35 abstentions.
Elections
The
election of non-permanent members to the
Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
for 2019–2020 was held on 8 June 2018, in which
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
were elected.
An election to choose 18 members of the
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
for a three-year term will take place.
References
External links
President of the 72nd General Assembly
Agenda for the 72nd General Assembly
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2017
2017 in the United Nations
2018 in the United Nations
Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly