Things to know about the General Debate which begins on Tuesday, September 24:
What is the general debate?
The General Debate is an annual meeting of the heads of state and government of the 193 member states of the United Nations. It takes place at the start of the annual session of the world council, the UN General Assembly, often referred to as UNGA.
The General Debate is usually the first debate of the session and, except for high-level meetings, is the only debate in which heads of state and government regularly participate.
Is this really a debate?
Not really. The General Debate provides an opportunity for representatives of all Member States (and some other organizations) to present their views to the distinguished audience in the General Assembly Hall.
There is no discussion or debate immediately following a speech. However, member states have a right of reply, and this is given in writing by a head of state.
This letter is addressed to the Secretary-General, who distributes it to all Member States. During the General Debate, statements exercising the right of reply are made at the end of each day.
What is the theme of this session?
The theme of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly is: “Leaving no one behind: working together for peace, sustainable development and the advancement of human dignity for present and future generations.”
This is decided by the President of the General Assembly after extensive consultation. Many heads of state may mention it in their speeches but they are not obliged to do so.
Who will speak and when?
According to current practice, after the start of the meeting United Nations Secretary General A statement is given, after this there is a statement by the President of the General Assembly.
Traditionally, or since the 10th session of the General Assembly in September 1955, Brazil speaks at the beginning of the General Debate.
In accordance with United Nations protocol and liaison services, in the early days no country was prepared to speak first, and Brazil stepped forward on several occasions to take this responsibility.
The United States, being the host country of the United Nations, comes on stage after Brazil.
The order of speeches of the other 191 Member States is based on criteria such as geographical balance, level of representation and their priority – for example, heads of state do not necessarily have to be present in New York at the start of the General Debate.
In addition, only non-member observer states holding observer status at the United Nations are invited, including the Holy See and Palestine, as well as the European Union.
Red lights and angry faces
During the general debate, speeches are scheduled for an arbitrary 15 minutes, and speakers are notified by a red flashing light when their time is up, though they are never stopped or interrupted.
The key word here is “voluntary,” and most heads of state speak for longer than the scheduled 15 minutes.
In 1960, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro set the record for the longest speech at 269 minutes when he promised “we will do our best to be brief.”
There have been other longer speeches, but some may have become more notable for their content rather than their length.
In 2006, amid rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called then-US President George W. Bush “the devil” from onstage.
In 2009, late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi delivered a 100-minute speech in which he sharply criticized the United Nations Security Council and the veto power of the five permanent members.
In 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed a cartoon image of a bomb to warn the world that Iran was only months away from developing a nuclear weapon.
And in 2017, US President Donald Trump threatened to “completely destroy North Korea,” while North Korean leader Kim Jong-un denounced Trump as “Rocket Man.”
Gavel, walk-out
The first General Debate was held in 1946 and over the nearly 80 years, many traditions and many interesting anecdotes have been created around the event.
In 1952, Iceland presented the United Nations with a gavel, which is used to mark the start of the morning and afternoon sessions of the General Debate and to maintain order when required.
It was then used in an attempt to silence the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, when he tried to emphasize his point by banging his shoe on the podium.
Diplomatic etiquette is sometimes reversed when an entire delegation walks out of the General Assembly hall to protest the ideology and actions of another member state. However, this has become so common in recent years that such a display is no longer surprising.
Israel and Iran regularly protest each other’s speech.
How to watch the General Debate?
Although the General Debate is not open to the public, its proceedings will be available live and on demand on UN Web TV.
All speeches from the General Debate are available at the United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
The proceedings, or key excerpts from many of the last 78 general debates, are available on the United Nations Audiovisual Library.