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The '''sixty-seventh session of the [[United Nations General Assembly]]''' opened on 18 September 2012. The [[President of the United Nations General Assembly]] was chosen from the [[Eastern European Group|EEG]] (the smallest regional grouping<ref>http://www.eyeontheun.org/view.asp?p=55&l=11</ref>) with Serbia's then foreign minister [[Vuk Jeremić]] beating out Lithuania's [[Dalius Čekuolis]] [[United Nations General Assembly presidential election, 2012|in an election]].<ref>http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/un-battle-idINDEE82S0I420120329</ref><ref>http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/08/uk-un-serbia-idUKBRE8570V520120608</ref> |
The '''sixty-seventh session of the [[United Nations General Assembly]]''', or '''Sexagÿsimo Sÿptimo Periodo de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unida''',<!--official langauges needed--> opened on 18 September 2012. The [[President of the United Nations General Assembly]] was chosen from the [[Eastern European Group|EEG]] (the smallest regional grouping<ref>http://www.eyeontheun.org/view.asp?p=55&l=11</ref>) with Serbia's then foreign minister [[Vuk Jeremić]] beating out Lithuania's [[Dalius Čekuolis]] [[United Nations General Assembly presidential election, 2012|in an election]].<ref>http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/un-battle-idINDEE82S0I420120329</ref><ref>http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/08/uk-un-serbia-idUKBRE8570V520120608</ref> |
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==Organisation for the session== |
==Organisation for the session== |
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| Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  United Nations |
| Dates | 18 September 2012 - September 2013 |
| Venue(s) | United Nations Headquarters |
| Cities | New York City |
The sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, or Sexagÿsimo Sÿptimo Periodo de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unida, opened on 18 September 2012. The President of the United Nations General Assembly was chosen from the EEG (the smallest regional grouping[1]) with Serbia's then foreign minister Vuk Jeremić beating out Lithuania's Dalius Čekuolis in an election.[2][3]
On 23 June 2011, Serbia's Vuk Jeremić was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly after beating Lithuania's Dalius Čekuolis in an election. This was the turn of the Eastern European Group to preside over the General Assembly. He also said that the session would prioritise what he characterised as 'issues of great concern, including the promotion of sustainable development and the maintenance unity amongst UN member states.' [4] In his acceptance speech, he said:[5]
I hope that our joint endeavours may help to bring us closer to the day when humankind shall have assuaged its hurts and abolished its fears; and, in so doing, to further the aspirations of the peoples of the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. May it be the will of God that the next session of the General Assembly goes down in history as one of peace.
As is tradition during each session of the General Assembly, Secetary-General Ban-ki Moon drew lots to see which member state would take the helm at the first seat in the General Assembly Chamber. On 8 June 2012, Jamaica was chosen to lead the chamber, while the other member states would follow according to the English translation of their name, the same order would be followed in the six main committees.[6]
The Chairmen and officers of the six Main Committees were also elected: First Committee (Disarmament and International Security Committee) ;Second Committee (Economic and Financial Committee) ; Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee) ; Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) ; Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary Committee) ; and the Sixth Committee (Legal Committee) .
The nineteen vice-presidents of the UNGA also elected were from: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Lebanon, Nepal (Asian group), Algeria, Angola, Congo,[which?] Ghana, Sierra Leone (African group), Russia (Eastern European group), Honduras, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago[7] (Latin American and Caribbea group), France, Israel, Netherlands, Palau, United Kingdom and the United States of America (Western European and Others group). An additional African member would be elected at a later date.[8]
The opening session of the 67th UNGA includes:[9]
President Vuk Jeremic said at the opening of the session: "Peace and security is a prerequisite for the stability needed for global economic growth, sustainable development and social progress. Our objective should be the full implementation of the mandate this body received at the Rio+20 Conference. This will require a decisive commitment to observe not only procedural deadlines but also the political and financial objectives it has been designed to accomplish." He also said the main theme of the session would be the peaceful settlement of international disputes: "I hope this framework will usefully serve the noble cause of preventing gathering conflicts and resolving existing ones." As well as maintaining the rule of law: "Close to 800 years after the Magna Carta was promulgated, many people around the world still do not enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in that seminal document – rights that protect individuals, while enabling countries to develop in peace and security, as sovereign equals. I urge the Member States to agree on a consensus document by the start of the High-Level Debate on the Rule of Law in a few days’ time." Other important goals for the session are: peace and security as a means of enhancing development, a focus before te Millennium Development Goals' deadline in 2015, achieving the commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil in June, progress on arms control and disarmament, strengthening UN peacekeeping operations, coordinating global responses to non-state terrorism and the promotion of human rights.
He was also congratulated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said of the session ahead: "We are living through a period of unease. These are times of rising unemployment, rising inequality, rising temperatures – and rising intolerance. The United Nations must rise to the moment."[10]
Most states will have a representative speaking about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year as to what the UNGA will do. This is as opportunity for the member states to opine on international issues of their concern. The General Debate will commence with the opening of the session on 25 September and continue uptil 1 October.
The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observers entities will have a change to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be on of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators. Each speaker is requested to provide 20 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium. Speeches are requested to be limited to five minutes, with seven minutes for supranational bodies.[6] President Vuk Jeremic chose the theme: "Adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means."
The broader preliminary agenda for the session is:[11]
A high level meeting on the rule of law took place on 24 September.[12] President Vuk Jeremic also constituted a three-person panel on the "post-2015 development agenda" in regards to the encroaching deadline to meet the Millennium Development Goals.[13] Thre three-members are: Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the United Kingdom's David Cameron.
It has been speculated by the Middle Eastern media that the Iranian nuclear programme, along with the Syrian civil war, would constitute the main focus of the session.[14][15] A few days before the session began, international leaders arrived for the summit amongst worry that these two issues would lead to a wider international conflict. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the United States, United Kingdom and France "violate the basic rights and freedoms of other nations" and called Israelis "uncultured Zionists." In addition, U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi warned the Security Council that the Syrian civil war was worsening, but Russia and China still used their veto power to in opposition to international intervention in Syria.[16]
Similar to the previous year, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowed to take up the issue of Palestinian membership in some form on 27 September at the General Debate, as part of a campaign that certain analysts[who?] view as an attempt to gain the international community's attention. However, Abbas will not call for formally putting the issue to a vote.[17] The move followed days of Palestinian protests directed against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron.[18] However, unlike the previous year, where Abbas sought full-member status, he will symblically seek non-member status. At the same time, the Palestinian delegation will be half the size of that of the previous year.[19]
Resolutions have come before the UNGA between 3 October 2012 and summer 2013 (though the session is still continuous).
The election of non-permanent members to the Security Council for 2013–2014 will be held in October 2012.[20] Outgoing members are: Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa.
An election is also scheduled to be held to choose 18 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term will take place from 12–18 November. The outgoing members are: Cameroon, Djibouti, Mauritius, Nigeria and Senegal (African group); Bangladesh, China, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia (Asian group); Hungary and Russia (Eastern European group); Cuba, Mexico and Uruguay (Latin American and Caribbean group); and Belgium, Norway and the United States (Western Europe and Others group). Current candidates are: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Sudan (African group); Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, with one more open seat pending (Asian group); Estonia and Montenegro (Eastern European group); Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela (Latin American and Caribbean group); and Germany, Greece, Ireland, Sweden and the United States, though there are only three vacancies (Wesern Europea and Others group). Those members whose terms expire in June will automatically have their terms extended by six months.[21]
The election fo 18 members to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Elections require a two-thirds majority, with outgoing members capable of running again, should they choose. The outgoing members are: Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Italy, Mongolia, Netherlands, Philippines, Rwanda, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States of America and Zambia.[22] Turmenistan is one of the candidates.[23]
An election will also take place for the Committee for Programme and Coordination for three-year terms. The 17 outgoing members are: Comoros, France, Haiti, Israel, Namibia, Russia and Venezuela.
An election will also be held to choose members for six-year terms to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The outgoing members are: Armenia, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, South Korea, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.
An election will be held for the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission. The General Assembly decided, during the 63rd session, that its nominations would have their terms commence on 1 January, instead of 23 June. Terms will last two years. Though nominations are filed by other UN organs, the outgoing seats up for election in the General Assembly are: Benin, Brazil, Indonesia, Tunisia and Uruguay.[22]
Appointments will occur for the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. The outgoing members are: Botswana, Croatia, Jamaica, Jordan and Nigeria.
The Committee on Contributions will also have new appointees. Outgoing members are: Japan, Kuwait, Poland, Somalia, Ukraine and the United States of America.
The Secretary-Generals nominations for two- or three-year terms to the Investments Committee will also be confirmed. Outgoing members are: Argentina and Botswana.
Appointments to the International Civil Service Commission will also take place. Outgoing members are: Algeria, Bangladesh, China Morocco and Russia. The full-time chair and vice-chair are not up for election.
Appointments will also occur for members and alternates to the United Nations Staff Pension Committee. Four individual of each category will be selected. Outgoing members are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Russia, the United States of America and Zimbabwe.
Appointments will also be made to the Committee on Conferences. Outgoing members are: Côte d'Ivoire, Germany, Nigeria, Panama, Moldova, Syria and Venezuela.[22]
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