United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It is made up of all United Nations member states and meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the representatives.

Special sessions

Special sessions can be convened at the request of the UN Security Council, of a majority of UN members, or, if the majority concurs, of a single member. A special session was held in October 1995 at the head of government level to commemorate the UN's 50th anniversary. Another special session was held in September 2000 to celebrate the millennium; it put forward the Millennium Development Goals. A further special session (2005 World Summit) was held in September 2005 to commemorate the UN's 60th anniversary; it assessed progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and discussed Kofi Annan's In Larger Freedom proposals.

Related Topics:
UN Security Council - 1995 - 2000 - Millennium Development Goals - 2005 World Summit - 2005 - Kofi Annan

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The Assembly may take action on maintaining international peace if the UN Security Council is unable, usually due to disagreement among the permanent members, to exercise its primary responsibility. The "Uniting for Peace" resolutions, adopted in 1950, empower the Assembly to convene in emergency special session to recommend collective measures – including the use of armed force – in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression. Two-thirds of the members must approve any such recommendation. Emergency special sessions under this procedure have been held on ten occasions. The two most recent, in 1982 and 1997 through 2003 respectively, have both been convened in response to actions by Israel. The ninth considered the situation in the occupied Arab territories following Israel's unilateral extension of its laws, jurisdiction, and administration to the Golan Heights. The tenth was triggered by the occupation of East Jerusalem and dealt with the issue of Palestine.

Related Topics:
UN Security Council - Uniting for Peace - 1950 - Emergency special session - 1982 - 1997 - 2003 - Israel - Tenth - East Jerusalem - Palestine

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At the first Special Session of the UN General Assembly held in 1947, Oswaldo Aranha, then head of the Brazilian delegation to the UN, began a tradition that has remained until today whereby the first speaker at this major international forum is always a Brazilian.

Related Topics:
1947 - Oswaldo Aranha

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