The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday opened its 71st annual session here, with joint efforts to carry out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its top priority.
Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji succeeds Mogens Lykketoft, a veteran Danish politician, as the president of the UNGA at its 71st session.
The following are basic facts about the UNGA and its main functions:
The UNGA, established in 1945 under the UN Charter, is a chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.
It meets in regular sessions which last from September to December each year, and thereafter as required, at UN headquarters in New York.
Its major powers are to approve the United Nations budget, receive and consider reports from other parts of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council and the secretary-general on the recommendation of the Security Council, and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions.
All the 193 UN member states belong to the UNGA, and each state, large or small, has one vote and is allowed to send up to five representatives.
Votes on important issues, such as recommendations on peace and security and the election of Security Council members, require a two-thirds majority of member states, while other questions are decided by a simple majority.
The UNGA can make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN Charter or affecting the powers and functions of other UN organs, except issues under discussion of the Security Council.
These recommendations cover a wide range of areas, including cooperation for maintaining world peace and security, the development of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields.
Though these recommendations do not carry the legal weight as a Security Council resolution does, the General Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member, a veto, in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression.
It can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to member states for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.
The UNGA has, so far, initiated extensive political, economic, and humanitarian actions affecting the lives of millions of people throughout the world.
Outstanding examples include the Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document which reflected a commitment to attaining peace, security and disarmament, poverty eradication, safeguarding human rights, promoting the rule of law, and protecting the environment, among others.
The SDGs, a set of 17 development targets approved by world leaders in September 2015, serves as the blueprint for the global development efforts for the years leading up to 2030.
If a member state does not pay its annual dues, it is not allowed to vote under the Charter. However, exceptions can be made if the member state can show that conditions beyond its control contribute to the inability to pay.
In October, the General Assembly is expected to appoint the next UN secretary-general upon the recommendation of the Security Council to succeed the current UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, who will end his term on Dec. 31.
