What to expect from the United Nations General Debate — Global Issues

The 79th session of the General Assembly kicks off in mid-September and the focal point for many is the annual general debate. But what exactly is it?

Here’s what you need to know about the debate starting on Tuesday, September 24:

What is the general debate?

The General Debate is the annual September meeting of heads of state and government of the 193 UN member states. It takes place at the beginning of the session of the General Assembly, often known as UNGA.

This is usually the first debate of the session and, with the exception of the concurrent high-level meetings, the only one in which heads of state and government regularly participate.

Is this really a debate?

Not really. The General Debate offers the representatives of all Member States (and some other entities) the opportunity to deliver a speech in the hallowed setting of the General Assembly Hall.

There is no discussion or debate immediately following a speech. However, Member States do have the right to reply, and this is done in writing by a Head of State. The letter is addressed to the Secretary-General, who will send it to all Member States. During the general debate, statements are made at the end of each day in exercise of the right to reply.

The theme for this session in September, the 79th, is Leaving no one behind: Working together to promote peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations. Decided in broad consultation by the Chairman of the General AssemblyMany heads of state refer to it in their speeches, but are not obliged to do so.

Who speaks when?

In current practice, the UN Secretary-General delivers a statement after the opening of the meeting, followed by the President of the General Assembly.

Traditionally, and at least since the 10th session of the General Assembly in September 1955, it is Brazil that opens the debate. According to the UN protocol and liaison services, in the early days of the debate no state initially wanted to speak first, and Brazil intervened on several occasions.

The United States, host country of the UN, is next on stage.

The speaking order of the remaining 191 member states is based on criteria such as geographical balance, but also on the level of representation and their preference. For example, no head of state may be present in New York at the start of the debate.

In addition to the Member States, only non-Member States that act as observers to the Holy See and the State of Palestine, and the European Union, which has observer status at the UN, are invited to participate.

Flashing light, flashing moods

During the general debate, a voluntary time limit of 15 minutes is informally proposed for statements. Speakers are discreetly warned by a red flashing light when their time is up, but they are never interrupted or stopped.

The key word here is voluntariness, and many, if not most, heads of state speak for longer.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro still holds a record dating back to 1960 for the longest speech ever with a famous running time of 269 minutes, or just under four and a half hours, after the promise “we’ll do our best to keep it short.”

There have been other long and very long speeches, but these were perhaps more notable for their content than their length.

In 2006, amid rising tensions between the US and Venezuela, the latter’s president, Hugo Chávez, called then-US President George W. Bush “the devil” from the podium.

In 2009, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi delivered a scathing 100-minute speech in which he was highly critical of the UN. Security Council and the veto power of the five permanent members

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held up a cartoon of a bomb in 2012 to warn the world that Iran was months away from developing a nuclear weapon.

And former US President Donald Trump in 2017 threatened to “completely destroy North Korea,” with leader Kim Jong Un being disparagingly referred to as “Rocket Man.”

The hammer, the spout

The first general debate took place in 1946 and in the nearly 80 years that have followed, much tradition, pomp and circumstance, and a few myths have grown up around the event.

The gaveldonated by Iceland to the UN in 1952, it is used to signal the beginning of the morning and afternoon sessions of general debate and, when necessary, to maintain order.

It was used to silence the then leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev, who, as the legend goes, he took off his shoe and banged it on the stage to make his point.

Sometimes diplomatic decorum is disturbed when entire delegations decide to leave the General Assembly to protest against the positions and actions of another member state. In recent years, however, this has happened more often than usual, without being shocking.

Israel regularly protests against Iran’s statements and vice versa.

How to follow the general debate

Although the debate is not public, all proceedings are available live and on demand at UN Web TV.

All speeches from the general debate are available in the UN documents. Dag Hammarskjöld Library.

Many of the 78 previous general debates, or highlights of them, are available on the UN Audiovisual Library.