A world of issues brings member states together - United Nations General Assembly's agenda - Brief Article

UN Chronicle, March-May, 2002

Han Seung-soo, President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, referring to Afghanistan said: "This year marked a turning point in our debate on this issue that has been on the agenda of the General Assembly since 1980."

The Assembly functioned in an atmosphere of uncertainty due to the events of Tuesday, 11 September. In the course of doing so, the international community rallied to welcome Afghanistan back into the comity of nations.

The day after the tragic events, the Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that called for "international cooperation to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the outrages of 11 September 2001". Security Council members departed from tradition and stood to unanimously adopt resolution 1373 (2001), which communicated the Council's readiness "to take all necessary steps to respond to the attacks, and to combat all forms of terrorism, yet keeping with the responsibilities of the UN Charter".

However, 11 September and the crisis in Afghanistan alone did not dictate all of the session's agenda. On its own, the Assembly adopted 75 resolutions, while the six Main Committees passed nearly 200. Some of the resolutions adopted by the Assembly in plenary dealt with:

* Recognizing the importance of volunteers, the "White Helmets", as an operational partner of the United Nations during relief, rehabilitation and technical cooperation for development;

* Recognizing the need for international cooperation during natural disasters, in light of the havoc brought upon Cuba by Hurricane Michelle;

* Highlighting the role of the United Nations in promoting development in a globalized and interdependent world;

* The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, and the need for full and equal participation of women in decision-making and the national life in Afghanistan; and

* Implementation of the First UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), including the proposal to establish a world solidarity fund for poverty eradication.

* Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal. The Assembly recognized that the goal of the Olympic movement, based upon mutual understanding and promoted by friendship, solidarity and fair play, was to build a peaceful and better world by educating the youths through sport, practised without discrimination of any kind. In this spirit, the International Olympic Committee invited Secretary-General Kofi Annan to attend the 2001 Winter Olympic Games ceremony in Utah, United States, a first for a UN leader.

Besides the Assembly's plenary meetings, the First Committee unanimously adopted a text on multilateral cooperation in disarmament and non-proliferation, and on global efforts against terrorism. The Second Committee approved the creation of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Countries and Small Island Developing States. It also discussed the international financial architecture and sustainable development, in light of the International Conference on Financing for Development scheduled for March 2002 in Monterrey, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 in Johannesburg.

The Third Committee resumed its session in February 2002 to deal with racial discrimination, while continuing preparations for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, scheduled to take place in Madrid, Spain in April 2002. The Fourth Committee closely followed the Security Council on Western Sahara and debated on how to operationalize the Brahimi Report on peacekeeping operations. The Fifth Committee cleared a budget of a little more than $2.6 billion, while the Sixth Committee focused on reaching a comprehensive convention on terrorism.

At the high-level general debate, from 10 to 16 November, during which the main theme was terrorism and globalization, 118 nations signed the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, while the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relating to children in armed conflict, and an agreement on conservation and management of straddling and migratory fish stock came into force with the required number of signatures. The treaty includes groundbreaking provisions to ensure compatible conservation and management measures between high-sea areas and coastal zones under national jurisdiction.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his concluding remarks to the regular session of the General Assembly, highlighted the spirit of cooperation: "Despite the enormity of the crises that we deal with, we have not been discouraged and we keep trying. We have succeeded in many areas, but we have not done so well in others. There is hope, and without hope, we are all lost", he said.