What is the General Debate of the UN General Assembly?

The General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (GA/UNGA), or simply the “General Debate”, is an annual event that takes place in New York. It is a high-level meeting that involves presidents, prime ministers and secretaries of state from all members of the UN. They typically gather in September to deliver statements about how they perceive major issues in international politics. Also, they hold both formal and informal meetings on the sidelines of UN events. As a whole, the event is a prominent part of the UN’s calendar and it helps to shape international perceptions about countries and their foreign policies.

In 2023, the UNGA General Debate has the following theme:

Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all

What happens in the General Debate?

Despite what its name suggests, the General Debate is not an actual debate between nations. Each country has the right to send a high-level representative to the UN General Assembly Hall. The Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union are invited to send representatives as well. These high-level leaders deliver speeches about themes that matter the most to them. Meanwhile, diplomats and lower-level officials watch as the event unfolds.

Since there are 193 members in the UN, representatives are asked to keep their declarations short — up to 15 minutes. However, this limit is not enforced. In average, speeches have been lasting about 35 minutes, and, in some cases, they may last more than one hour. Currently, the former Cuban president Fidel Castro holds the record of having spoken for the longest time, for 4.5 hours.

In general, countries have two main ways to show displeasure with a speech:

• Their representatives can stage a walkout, by getting up and leaving the Hall during a speech. Sometimes, walkouts are previously planned by many representatives — this is a sign of extreme dissatisfaction with the behavior of a certain country. For example, in 2011, several states boycotted an address by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, because he had launched a scathing critique of Western nations.
• Their representatives can ask for the right to reply. This request is transmitted to the Secretary-General and circulated to all members of the UN. All replies to speeches occur at the end of each day’s session, and they are usually made by lower-level officials. India and Pakistan, for instance, are used to exchanging replies every year.

What is the order of the speeches?

The Secretary-General of the UN is the first to speak, but his intervention is not considered a part of the General Debate. He presents his report on the work of the United Nations during the year and, usually, highlights the most important international issues. His remarks are supposed to be neutral, but he has some leeway to criticize countries for their actions or inactions.

Next, the President of the General Assembly opens up the General Debate with a speech of their own. Their words are similarly ceremonial. In fact, the real power that they have is the ability to shape high-level thematic debates that happen alongside the main speeches and that produce non-binding recommendations.

The first country to address the UN General Assembly is always Brazil, by force of tradition, since 1955. There are many explanations for this:

• Because of its role as an Allied nation during the Second World War, Brazil should have been given a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. As this was not accepted, opening the debates was meant as a consolation prize.
• When the United Nations came into existence, no other country wanted to open the debate, while Brazil always volunteered itself.
• During the Cold War, Brazil was considered a neutral country and the world powers wanted it to speak first, so as to provide an independent assessment of international politics.

The second country to speak is the United States, because it hosts the UN Headquarters and the UN General Assembly itself in New York.

All other speeches are ordered by the UN staff, based on the level of representation, states’ preferences and other criteria such as balance between the world’s geographic regions. One such criterion is avoiding to schedule in the same session speeches from countries that are engaged in international disputes.

How do countries sit in the General Assembly Hall?

In general, countries are seated according to English alphabetical order, irrespective of the rank of the head of the delegation. This procedure is laid down by the Resolution 71/323 of the General Assembly.

However, every year, the Secretary-General of the UN draws a lot from a box containing the names of all members. This randomly-selected country occupies the first seat of the hall: at the right end of the front row, as seen from the podium.

Another exception is made for delegations that request wheelchair-accessible seating. In this case, a country’s delegation will be moved to one of those special seats, and all other delegations will be moved by one seat.

What happens on the sidelines of the event?

Every year, hundreds of foreign dignitaries come to New York. They take advantage of physical proximity to conduct bilateral and multilateral meetings on the margins of the General Assembly. The original BRICS countries, for instance, launched their group at the 61st Session of the General Assembly.

There are also meetings with civil society representatives, such as when U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with LGBTQI+ activists.

In 2023, there was less activity on the sidelines of the General Debate, because many world leaders have decided not to come. Absentees included Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and the U.K.’s Rishi Sunak. However, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was present and tried to mobilize support for his country’s ongoing war against Russia.

Conclusion

The General Debate of the UN General Assembly is a significant annual event in international relations. It attracts leaders from nearly every corner of the globe. Also, it offers nations a platform to present their perspectives on both national interests and collective challenges. The General Debate remains a beacon of multilateralism, emphasizing dialogue and collaboration as the way forward in a rapidly changing global landscape.