The seventy-second session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 12 September 2017. The president of the United Nations General Assembly was from the Eastern European Group.

Organisation for the session

President Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak was elected as President of the General Assembly on 31 May 2017.

Vice-presidents There were twenty-one Vice-Presidents for the 72nd Session. They were:

The five permanent members of the Security Council:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America As well as the following nations:

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Committee bureaus The following were elected as Chairs and officers of the General Assembly committees for the 73rd Session:

First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Mohammad Hussein Ali Bahr Aluloom Chairperson Mr. Georg Sparber Vice-Chair Ms. Terje Raadik Vice-Chair Mr. Alfredo Toro Carnevalli Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Vice-Chair Ms. Martin Ngundze Rapporteur Second Committee (Economic and Financial) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Sven Jürgenson Chairperson Mr. Menelaos Menelaou Vice-Chair Ms. Kimberly Louis Vice-Chair Ms. Cristiana Mele Vice-Chair Ms. Theresah Chipulu Luswili Chanda Rapporteur Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Einar Gunnarsson Chairperson Mr. Nebil Idris Vice-Chair Ms. Alanoud Qassim M. A. Al-Temimi Vice-Chair Ms. Dóra Kaszás Vice-Chair Mr. Edgar Andrés Molina Linares Rapporteur Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Rafael Darió Ramírez Carreño Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Chairperson Mr. Yasser Halfouni Vice-Chair Ms. Ceren Hande Őzgür Vice-Chair Mr. Ahmed Abdelrahman Ahmed Almahmoud Vice-Chair Mr. Angel Angelov Rapporteur Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Tommo Monthe Chairperson Mr. Abbas Yazdani (Sep 2017 - 22 Mar 2018) Iran (Islamic Republic of) Vice-Chair Mr. Haseeb Zohar (7 May 2018 - 18 September 2018) Vice-Chair Ms. Julie O'Brien Vice-Chair Ms. Anda Grinberga Vice-Chair Mr. Felipe Garcia Landa Rapporteur Sixth Committee (Legal) Name Country Position H.E. Mr. Burhan Gafoor Chairperson Mr. Duncan Laki Muhumuza Vice-Chair Mr. Angel Horna Vice-Chair Ms. Carrie McDougall Vice-Chair Mr. Peter Nagy Rapporteur

Seat allocation As is tradition before each session of the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres drew lots to see which Member State would occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall for the session, with the other Member States following according to the English translation of their name. The same order is followed in the six main committees. For this session the Czech Republic was chosen to take the first seat of the General Assembly Chamber.

General debate

Most states had a representative speak about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year regarding the actions of the General Assembly. The general debate serves as an opportunity for Member States to declare which international issues are most pressing to them. The General Debate occurred from 19–25 September 2017, with the exception of the intervening Sunday.

The theme for the session's debate was chosen by President Miroslav Lajcak as "Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet."

The speaking order for the general debate was as follows:

The President of the General Assembly: Called the meeting to order The Secretary-General: Introduced the “Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization” The President of the General Assembly: Opened the general debate and made a speech Brazil, as per tradition, was the first Member State to speak in the general debate The United States of America, as the host country, was the second Member State to speak All other full Member States (speaking order is based on the level of representation, preference and other criteria such as geographic balance) Only the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union are invited to participate in the general debate (speaking slots are determined by the level of representation)

A voluntary 15-minute time limit for statements is to be observed in the general debate. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in one of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators.

Resolutions Resolutions came before the UNGA between October 2017 and summer 2018.

The tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in continuation during the tenure of this session on 21 December 2017 in regards to the status of Jerusalem. United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-10/L.22 passed by 128 votes to nine against with 21 absentees and 35 abstentions.

Elections The election of non-permanent members to the Security Council for 2019–2020 was held on 8 June 2018, in which South Africa, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Germany and Belgium were elected.

An election to choose 18 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term took place.

See also List of UN General Assembly sessions List of General debates of the United Nations General Assembly

References

External links

President of the 72nd General Assembly Agenda for the 72nd General Assembly