Anniversary, seventieth. What is the UN General Assembly and why is it needed? Good intentions of the summits

08.03.2020

The 70th anniversary session of the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday begins work at the headquarters of the world organization in New York. The opening of the annual cycle of meetings will be announced by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Austrian diplomat Mogens Lucketoft, who was elected in June as chairman of this session. As part of the session, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to make a speech. According to some observers, the Russian leader will signal that Moscow is ready to soften its position on Ukraine and with the West, which was interrupted due to the annexation of Crimea and the crisis in Donbass. Officially, nothing like this is announced in Moscow.

The day before, according to the UN News Center, the 69th session of the General Assembly ended. Chairman of the General Assembly Sam Kahamba Kutesa said that during the session 105 plenary meetings were held and 327 resolutions and decisions were adopted. One of the most noteworthy documents was resolution 69/267 on the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the founding of a world organization, adopted at the initiative of Russia, TASS notes. In addition, on September 11, the GA approved the basic principles for restructuring the sovereign debt of states.

The official opening ceremony of the new session will take place at 15:00 local time (22:00 Moscow time). The annual general debate will be held from 28 September to 3 October. According to the established tradition, the representatives of Brazil and the United States will be the first to speak from the rostrum of the General Assembly on September 28. This year both countries will be represented at the presidential level. Before the start of the general debate, Ban Ki-moon will present to the UN member states his annual report on the work of the organization, followed by a speech by the Chairman of the General Assembly, Mogens Lukketoft. On the eve of the general political discussion, the Summit on Sustainable Development will be held in the General Assembly Hall from September 25 to 27, the report says.

The agenda of the 70th session of the General Assembly includes 170 topics, including issues of maintaining peace and security, preventing armed conflicts, countering terrorism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, protecting the environment, promoting the sustainable development of countries, observing the nuclear non-proliferation regime, protecting human rights and ensuring the rule of law.

The session participants will also discuss the reform of the UN Security Council. In addition, during the year, the campaign to elect the UN Secretary General officially starts. The powers of Ban Ki-moon, who has been in office since January 1, 2007, expire on December 31, 2016. According to the organization's charter, he has no right to be nominated for a third five-year term. Among the contenders for this post are UNESCO Executive Director Irina Bokova, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, Presidents of Chile and Lithuania Michelle Bachelet and Dalia Grybauskaite, former Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

A week after the opening of the session within the framework of the General Assembly, by tradition, a general political discussion will be held - debates by delegates of the UN member countries. However, this year the general debate has been postponed to a later stage - on September 25-27, a development summit will be held, at which the global socio-economic development agenda for 2015-2030 will be approved. As reported, on the opening day of the summit, the head of the Vatican, Pope Francis, will visit the UN headquarters for the first time in 20 years.

Putin will speak from the tribune of the General Assembly - 10 years after participating in a similar session

The day after the end of the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN Headquarters in New York, a general political discussion kicks off, in which over 150 heads of state and government are expected to participate this year, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as well as dozens of foreign ministers UN member states. The speeches of the delegations of the countries will last until October 3, TASS reports.

A detailed program of discussions has not yet been published, but it is known that the participants in the debate will touch upon pressing issues on the international agenda - the conflicts in Ukraine, Syria and Yemen, the fight against terrorism, the critical situation with migrants in the EU and global climate change. The busiest day promises to be the first day of the debate, when speeches by the presidents of Russia, Brazil, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, the United States and France will be heard from the rostrum of the General Assembly.

This is not the first time that Vladimir Putin will speak from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly - for example, in 2000 he delivered a speech at the Millennium Summit. The Russian leader also spoke in 2003 at the 58th session and in 2005 at the 60th session. In 2009, the Russian delegation at the session of the General Assembly was headed by the then President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.

The Kremlin has already reported that the president will speak at the GA on the morning of September 28. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last Sunday in the Sunday Time program on Channel One, in his speech from the UN rostrum, Putin will set out the Russian side's "principled assessments" on the most pressing problems of the modern world. According to the minister, the president will also touch upon "specific aspects, such as Syria, the Ukrainian crisis."

"All these crises and many others stem from systemic problems with regard to attempts to slow down the process of forming a polycentric world," Lavrov said. Earlier, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that the Russian leader was scheduled to meet with Ban Ki-moon.

One of the most discussed at the General Assembly promises to be the issue of the situation in Syria, which has become even more aggravated against the background of rumors about Russia's alleged military buildup in this country, which Moscow categorically denies.

As White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the day before, US President Barack Obama could personally discuss the situation in Syria with Putin. He acknowledged that Russia has "legitimate interests and significant investments" in Syria. “That is why we called on Russia to reconsider the ways of coordinating efforts with the international coalition in the fight against the (terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation) Islamic State,” Ernest said. He did not specify in what form the conversation would be held - by phone or in person, and also where exactly it will take place.However, it is possible that Obama and Putin will meet at the GA session, where both will speak.

Meanwhile, the press did not rule out that at the UN General Assembly Putin would make it clear that Russia, which is under the heavy yoke of partial international isolation and sanctions, is ready to stop confrontation with the West and move towards rapprochement. In particular, the media saw signs of an impending change in Russian policy in the removal from office of the implacable "imperialist", the former chairman of the People's Council of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Andrei Purgin. Behind the latest actions with the alleged buildup of the military potential of the Russian Federation in Syria, in which Moscow is suspected in the West, according to the press, there may be preparations for a possible bargaining in Ukraine using the "Syrian card".

The 70th session of the UN General Assembly is taking place in New York. On Monday, within the framework of the session of the General Assembly, a general political discussion will start. More than 150 heads of state and government, as well as foreign ministers and heads of delegations will address its participants.

Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to take part in the meeting of the General Assembly. Before that, Putin spoke at three sessions of the General Assembly - in 2000, after he became president, in 2003 and 2005. In 2009, President Dmitry Medvedev spoke at the session.

Moscow and Washington agreed to hold a meeting between Putin and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the General Assembly session on September 28.

New ones first

From old to new

Hollande suggested that the members of the Security Council not use the right of veto in the event of a mass death of people. A veto is not the right to block, but the right to act, the French President believes.

Hollande proposed a coalition that would allow the formation of a new government that would lead Syria into a future without a dictatorship.

Turning to the topic of the Middle East, Hollande said that the situation in Syria "requires intervention." He agreed with the need to find a joint solution, but recalled that the tragedy began with a revolution that wanted to overthrow a dictatorship that was killing its own people. “Three years ago there was no talk of terrorists,” Hollande said. According to him, many Syrians fled the country not from the war and terrorists, but from the "Assad regime." The French president stressed that the tragedy arose "because of the alliance of terrorists and the dictatorship."

Hollande believes that for the transition to a new energy policy, developed countries need to allocate 100 billion dollars.

French President Francois Hollande began his speech with the fear that the planet will face problems if no agreement is reached on climate change.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the UN with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In a conversation with him, the head of state expressed hope for reaching agreements on combating terrorism. At the same time, Putin stressed that without strengthening state structures in the states of the region, including in Syria, the task of combating terrorism cannot be solved.

Terrorism arises in the shadow of tyranny, fueled by hatred after being tortured in prisons. We reaffirm our readiness to fight terrorism, but we need to understand its causes, the leader of Qatar believes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, after speaking at a session of the UN General Assembly, briefly talked “on his feet” with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, TASS reports. After the speech, Putin left the meeting room, where several dozen people were waiting for him for a traditional greeting. Leaving the hall, the President of Russia saw Rahmon among those who met him and approached him, after which the two presidents exchanged a few phrases.

Iraq, Syria, Yemen are examples of crises fueled by extremism and international indifference, Rouhani said. The roots of today's wars are military interventions and invasions.
“It is necessary that the actions of the United States take into account the realities of the region,” the Iranian president concluded.

“If not for the US military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq” and their support for the Zionist regime, the terrorists would not be able to justify their crimes, Rouhani added.

The Iranian President noted the dangers posed by terrorist organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. According to him, these organizations "may turn into terrorist states."

“We believe that in order to fight terrorists, it is necessary to adopt a legally binding international document so that no country can use terrorism as a pretext to interfere in the affairs of other states,” the Iranian leader said, adding that Tehran supports the establishment of democracy in Syria and Yemen.

“We support the establishment of power through elections, not through weapons,” Rouhani said. He called for a united front to fight extremism and violence.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: webtv.un.org)

Putin proposed returning to the basic principles of the UN, announced at the first session of the General Assembly in January 1946 in London: good will, contempt for intrigues and a spirit of cooperation.

Unilateral sanctions “bypassing the UN” pursue political goals and, in addition, allow eliminating economic competitors, the Russian leader believes. In return, he proposes to speed up integration processes, citing Russia's cooperation with China as an example.

In addition, he noted, a number of countries have taken the path of closed exclusive economic associations, and negotiations on their creation are being conducted behind the scenes. “Probably, they want to put all of us before the fact that the rules of the game can be replayed, and without the participation of the WTO. This affects the interests of all states,” warns the President of Russia, offering to discuss this issue with the participation of the UN and the WTO.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Yuriy Sergeev

One of the most anticipated speeches will be the speech of Vladimir Putin, who will visit the United States for the first time since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. Our correspondent Nina Vishneva more.

The United Nations has opened a new season of stormy discussions and possibly life-changing decisions belatedly. Even the special anniversary date had no effect. However, the first meeting of any session of the UN General Assembly is just the initial one for resolving internal issues, including with discipline and punctuality. celebratory speeches and congratulations - all this will come later.

The traditional moment of silence at the beginning "for prayer and reflection", as written in the UN Charter. Also, according to the charter, the General Assembly has a new chairman. Mogens Lykketoft is the Speaker of the Danish Parliament at the time of his election.

"I declare open the regular 70th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations."

No sooner had I taken a chair than I had to deal with not the most pleasant questions about non-payment of dues. 5 of the 193 states that make up the international community are bad debtors.

Mogens Lukketoft, President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly:"I remind you of the charter: UN member states that are in arrears do not have the right to vote in the General Assembly."

During the coming year, the meetings of the General Assembly will consider about 170 issues related to the maintenance of peace and security, as well as economic growth and disarmament. It will culminate in a high-level session from 28 September to 3 October. It promises to become one of the most representative in history, to bring together the maximum number of leaders of states. And the most anticipated by politicians, experts, the press, of course, is the speech of the President of Russia. He will take part in the general political discussion and at the UN summit on sustainable development. This is Vladimir Putin's first visit to the United States since the start of the Syrian and Ukrainian crises.

Each participant of the General Assembly, including the Russian President, will have such a brochure "Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly" on the table. This is, at the moment, a set of main laws for all countries that are part of the international community. The Rules, like all UN working documents, are issued in the five official languages of the UN, including Russian. The last time changes and additions to these rules were made in 2006. In the list of issues that will be raised by the anniversary session, there is also the point of adjusting the rules in accordance with the changing situation in the world.

This season, the campaign for the election of the UN Secretary General officially starts. Ban Ki-moon's term ends on December 31, 2016.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General:"There's a lot of work to be done as world leaders come together to establish a landmark 2030 sustainable development agenda and an agreement on climate change."

A key aspect of the international agenda during all meetings of the General Assembly should also be issues related to joint efforts to combat terrorism, as well as the situation with refugees to Europe from the countries of the Middle East and Africa.

The Russian delegation at the anniversary session of the General Assembly will hold not only a number of landmark meetings in the Security Council, but also numerous diplomatic meetings, as they call it, "on the sidelines" and on the sidelines. But it will not do without a holiday - on October 24, the 70th birthday of the United Nations will be celebrated.

In fact, it officially opened on September 15, but only on September 28 did its most important part begin - the general debate, which will last until October 3. Why did all the "political heavyweights" come to New York? More than 140 heads of state and government are going to speak (despite the fact that today 193 states are members of the UN).

Over the past few days, the world politicians have been living in anticipation of the speeches of Barack Obama, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin - and they fell to speak almost one after another. Will world leaders be able to offer effective steps to ease tensions on the planet, which really threatens to escalate into a major war? In our opinion, some short-term detente in relations between the United States and Russia is quite possible - primarily on the basis of the need to somehow counteract the spread of ISIS and the destruction of Europe under the pressure of refugees. But to believe in "peace and friendship" is stupid and naive: the contradictions are too deep. The US claims to maintain monopoly global leadership and the strengthening of Russia, China and their BRICS partners are incompatible moments. New collisions are inevitable.

Incidentally, the Chinese celebrate Confucius's birthday on September 28, which could have been an inspiration for Mr. Xi, who is making his debut at such forums. On September 3, China fully demonstrated its increased military and political power at a grand parade, after which, in particular, during the visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to the United States, it began to show its readiness for peaceful cooperation and smoothing out frictions. But what is significant, Barack Obama, upon arriving in New York, did not, as was customary, stay at the hotel, which was recently bought out by businessmen from the Middle Kingdom.

However, the Chinese are cunning and patient, which allows them to achieve their goals, not paying attention to all sorts of small injections. I recently read an interesting statement by the Russian sinologist Sergei Tikhvinsky: “Chinese diplomacy has adhered to the “silkworm doctrine” since ancient times. This worm quietly, imperceptibly, but constantly eats, eats, eats a mulberry leaf. And as a result, it gnaws at the whole tree, and there are no leaves left on it. The factor of time works for China - five millennia of continuous development of culture. China has digested everyone – the Huns, the Uyghurs, the Manchus – everyone.” Yes, and he will also “digest” America!

Raul Castro, who is also scheduled to meet with Obama and Putin, will also speak at the General Assembly for the first time. Vivid speeches at the UN by his brother and Che Guevara entered the annals of history. So, Fidel Castro's speech at the 15th session of 1960 (at the very one during which N. Khrushchev promised to show the Americans "Kuzkin's mother"!) entitled "When the philosophy of robbery disappears, then the philosophy of war will also disappear" lasted 4 hours 29 minutes and entered the Guinness Book of Records.

Now the role of the frantic Fidel has been assumed by the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, who spoke from the UN rostrum on September 27. "Old Man" furiously walked through the American policy that led to the bloody wars in Iraq and Syria. The world, he says, is divided today as never before in the last 30 years. “We still have not been able to restore the balance of power that was lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. There is no balance of power, no peace, no stability. This is a systemic crisis, ”Alexander Grigorievich made such a conclusion.

The global crisis and prospects for reforming the UN

Ideas of deep reform of the UN, in particular the Security Council, have been thrown up lately, up to the exclusion of some of its permanent members from there or the abolition of the right of veto. Let us tell the supporters of such ideas at once and directly: this is impossible. It must always be borne in mind that the UN is a product of the Second World War, that it was founded by the main participants in the anti-Hitler coalition ("United Nations") in order to consolidate the status quo created as a result of that war, which would provide any kind of world.

Therefore, in order to radically change the structure of the UN, for this it is necessary to conduct another world war and, based on its results, expel all the losers from the Security Council. Or even abolish the UN and establish something else in its place, just as the Second World War ended the League of Nations, born of the First World War. Naturally, not a single person of sound mind wants to shovel up the system of international collective security in this way, which the UN is primarily called upon to serve.

The significance of the right of veto for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (“the principle of unanimity”) is that it is the basis of the checks and balances mechanism that allows the five great nuclear powers to pursue their interests in a purely peaceful and legal way. If the veto was lifted, I'm afraid that sooner or later someone would have to use another convincing argument in the form of a nuclear bomb to defend their interests. And so Russia, the United States and other permanent members have to seek consensus on all critical issues.

The very attempt to deprive one of them of the right to veto would become something akin to declaring war on this power - with all the ensuing consequences.

Now, as regards the claims of specific states to obtain a seat as a permanent member of the Security Council. By the way, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a meeting with colleagues from Japan, India and Brazil, raised the issue of reforming the Security Council. But just Germany and Japan, with their economic strength and great political influence (especially Germany in the European Union), do not have the moral right to claim permanent seats in the Security Council - because they lost the Second World War, because they were guilty of unleashing it and without a statute of limitations responsibility for tens of millions of victims of that war.

Brazil is not yet a great power, especially since it does not have nuclear weapons - and this, whatever one may say, is an important reason for claiming the right of veto. Brazil is still nothing more than an influential regional subpower.

Personally, only the claims of India seem convincing to me. She has a whole set of weighty arguments: this country is the second most populous and one of the largest economies in the world; it has nuclear weapons - albeit without the presence of full-fledged strategic delivery vehicles; it has four millennia of civilization development, considerable merits in the victory in the Second World War and a leading role in the non-aligned movement since J. Nehru. However, its introduction into the club of permanent members of the UN Security Council with the right of veto would mean a sharp strengthening of the positions of the BRICS, which, of course, the United States and its allies will never agree to.

Nevertheless, in the context of the global crisis and a fundamental change in the balance of power on the world stage, the need to reform the UN is clearly overdue - and everyone understands this. Most likely, the reform will be limited to an increase in the number of members of the Security Council in general with an increase in quotas for those regions of the planet whose weight in the world economy and politics is growing (Latin America, Southeast Asia, etc.). I would suggest introducing a special category of permanent members of the UN Security Council without the right to veto - in my opinion, this would be a good compromise.

Good intentions of the summits

On September 25-27, the UN held a Global Development Summit, which approved the “Sustainable Development Goals” of humanity until 2030. This fundamental document was agreed upon for three whole years, and it replaced similar goals (“Millennium Development Goals”, MDGs) that were adopted at the “Summit Millennium” in 2000. According to Ban Ki-moon, this new program “one can be proud of”. “Now we have to make it [the agreed agenda - KD] a reality for the people,” said the UN Secretary General. True, to implement it, trillions of dollars will be needed, and annually!

The document defines 17 goals with 169 targets. The main goals are numbered 1 and 2: "End poverty in all its forms throughout the world" and "End hunger ...". The MDGs were similar. The final report on their implementation notes progress in resolving the problem of poverty: the number of people living on less than $ 1.25 a day has decreased in the world from 1.9 billion people. in 1990 to 836 million people. now. However, China and India have made the greatest contribution to this matter, while in many African countries the problem is not being solved at all. More than 800 million people in the world still live in poverty and hunger. Children under 15 who are not attending school have halved, but there are still 43 million. The fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is going on with difficulty.

And, in general, it is hardly possible to say that since 2000 the world has become more prosperous and safer for ordinary people. All measures taken by international institutions to solve the global problems of mankind lead to no more than "half-results". These measures are capable of reducing the scale of poverty and hunger, but they are not able to eradicate them, to end them, as the Goals declare.

The reasons for this were touched upon in his speech at the Summit by Alexis Tsipras: it is impossible to eradicate poverty with neo-liberal thinking. In his words, “we must move away from the neo-liberal mindset that markets are the only allocator of resources in the economy. And we cannot talk about a stable tax system based on the global financial system that encourages tax havens and the creation of offshore companies.” The Greek prime minister summed up his speech with a quote from John Maynard Keynes: "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in moving away from old ones."

Post Scriptum. Speeches by world leaders - first impressions

Briefly, thesis, the most important and revealing thoughts of the speakers.

Ban Ki-moon, of course, talked a lot about the "Goals". He noted that trillions of dollars in the world are spent on armaments, and not for the benefit of people. Today there are 100 million people on the planet who require urgent humanitarian assistance, 60 million refugees - and they need 200 billion dollars of assistance. Speaking about the problem of refugees, the UN Secretary General said that "in this millennium we should not build walls and fences."

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also raised the issue of refugees, saying that in a world where the free movement of goods and capital is declared, it is absurd to prevent the movement of people as well. Brazil is a multi-ethnic country "made by refugees" and is open to anyone who needs asylum.

D. Rousseff reaffirmed the demand to expand the Security Council through both permanent and non-permanent members, stressed the important role of BRICS in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and also welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba and advocated the lifting of US sanctions against Havana.

In B. Obama's speech, a large place was occupied by lengthy discussions about democracy, human rights and popular uprisings against "dictatorial regimes" and corruption, which are provided by the development of communication technologies, but are in no way connected with the activities of American NGOs. The President of the United States defended the existing world order, thanks to which, allegedly, "millions of people were lifted out of the shackles of poverty." At the same time, however, the President of the United States recognized the polarization of society, frightened by the growth of "far-right and ultra-left."

Barack Obama put pressure not only on Russia, but also on China, recalling the disputes over the ownership of the islands of the South China Sea - and, as you know, it is on this basis that the Americans put together an “anti-Chinese arc”, trying to lure not only the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand there but also socialist Vietnam.

Barack Obama expressed confidence that Congress would lift the embargo against Cuba, which "should not exist." These words drew applause.

Xi Jinping began by recalling the victory in World War II. Called for a rejection of the "Cold War mentality". He defended the right of all countries - large and small - to choose their own political system and their own path of development. Big countries should treat small ones as equals.

The Chinese leader recalled the 2008 crisis: when capital pursues only profit, this leads to big problems. It is impossible to rely only on the "invisible hand of the market" - the firm hand of state regulation is also needed! The widening gap between wealth and poverty is unfair.

As the Chairman of the People's Republic of China stated, his country will never follow the path of hegemony, expansion and establishment of spheres of influence. It is necessary to increase the representation of developing countries, incl. African, in the governing bodies of the UN.

Vladimir Putin's speech can be described as restrained and tough. He, like Xi Jinping, began his speech with the origins of the UN, leading its history from the Victory and the Yalta Conference. The Yalta system was paid for with tens of millions of lives. The UN is a structure that has no equal. Its essence is to work out compromises. All attempts to undermine the legitimacy of this organization (a hint of the idea of abolishing the veto!) are extremely dangerous - this would lead to a slide into the "dictatorship of force."

No one is obliged to adapt to the model of social structure that someone considers the only correct one. V. Putin compared the current export of “democratic” revolutions with the “export of revolution” during the Soviet era. No one, he said, learns from mistakes, but only repeats them.

Islamists, no matter how cruel they may be, are by no means dumber than the leaders of the West, and it is not yet known who is using whom for their own purposes. The Russian president compared the creation of a coalition against ISIS with the anti-Hitler coalition.

Vladimir Putin devoted a minimum of time to Ukraine in his speech - it is obvious that Moscow is trying to shift the focus of the world community from Ukraine to Syria, and use the Middle East issues to build bridges with the West. The reason for the war in Ukraine: the "confrontational thinking" of the West, which puts the post-Soviet countries in front of a "false choice": "to be with the West or with Russia." Vladimir Putin stressed the need to preserve the integrity of Ukraine.

Comparing the speeches of the three world leaders, again, suggests that Russia and China are looking for common ground in confrontation with America. Many thoughts of Xi Jinping and V. Putin clearly echoed each other and were opposed to the much more "quarrelsome" rhetoric of the US President. Although Obama in his speech still left "windows" for negotiations and cooperation.

The speeches by the heads of the United States, China and Russia set the tone for the stubborn struggle that will most certainly unfold at the opening session of the General Assembly. In any case, a tough diplomatic struggle is better than an open war - unless diplomacy prepares this war and does not grow into it. It is likely that in the coming years a reform of the organizational structure of the UN will take place.

Negotiations and agreements around this are extremely important in terms of which of the world powers will be able to put the countries of the Third World on their side. Xi Jinping, in my opinion, quite clearly stated that his country is the best friend of developing nations, that it is - in contrast to the dictates of the United States and the planting of its puppets through "color revolutions" - is focused on "soft expansion". That's why he is a "silk worm"!

According to the Charter of the United Nations, the UN General Assembly has the following functions and powers:

consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including in matters of disarmament, and make appropriate recommendations;
to discuss any questions relating to the maintenance of international peace and security and make recommendations on such matters, except when any dispute or situation is under the consideration of the Security Council;
organize studies and prepare recommendations for the promotion of international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the promotion of international cooperation in the economic, social and humanitarian fields and in the fields of culture, education and health;
to recommend measures for the peaceful settlement of any situation which might disturb the friendly relations between nations;
receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other UN bodies;
consider and approve the budget of the United Nations and fix the amount of assessed contributions from Member States;
elect non-permanent members of the Security Council and members of other councils and bodies of the United Nations and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.

How are the sessions of the General Assembly going?

The planned session of the UN General Assembly begins with a general debate, at which the member states of the organization have the opportunity to express their views on the most important international issues.

After the completion of the general debate, the General Assembly begins consideration of the main items on its agenda. Since their number is very large (for example, the agenda of the fifty-ninth session included 163 items), the General Assembly distributes agenda items, depending on their subject matter, among its six main committees, which discuss them and then submit them to the General Assembly for consideration at one of the plenary meetings draft resolutions and decisions.

The six main committees of the General Assembly include:

Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee): deals with disarmament and related international security matters.
Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs (Second Committee): deals with economic matters.
Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs (Third Committee): deals with problems of a social and humanitarian nature.
Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee): deals with a variety of political issues outside the scope of the First Committee, as well as decolonization issues.
Committee on Administration and Budget (Fifth Committee): deals with the administration and budget of the United Nations.
Legal Affairs Committee (Sixth Committee): deals with international legal matters.

How are decisions made at the session of the General Assembly?

Each member state has one vote at a session in the General Assembly. Decisions on certain important issues, such as recommendations on peace and security and the election of members of the Security Council, are taken by a two-thirds majority of Member States; decisions on other issues are taken by a simple majority of votes.

Composition and functions of the General Committee of the General Assembly

The General Committee consists of the President, 21 Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the Chairmen of the six Main Committees. The Committee makes recommendations to the Assembly regarding the adoption of the agenda, the allocation of agenda items and the organization of work.

According to the resolution of the General Assembly "Unity for Peace" of November 3, 1950, in the event that there is reason to perceive a threat to the peace, a violation of the peace or an act of aggression, and the Security Council is unable to act due to a vote against one of the permanent members , the General Assembly may take appropriate action. Also, the General Assembly may immediately consider this issue in order to make the necessary recommendations to the members of the Organization on collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.