São Paulo – The 67th General Assembly of the United Nations due to open next Tuesday (18th) will assess the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, and set up two high-level meetings scheduled to take place in 2013. One will focus on inclusion of disabled persons, and the other on international migration and development. The representatives of the 193 United Nations member countries will also discuss the theme of this year’s General Assembly: “Adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means.”
Other topics to be discussed from this meeting until the 68th General Assembly, in September2013, include: Millennium Development Goals, climate change and sustainable development, food security, the role of mediation in conflict resolution, disarmament, United Nations and Security Council reform, revitalization of the General Assembly, and reaffirming the UN’s role in global governance. There is one committee for each of these topics. In the week before the general debate, the committees on each topic meet to discuss the issues which will be discussed by the heads of state in the following week.
The president of the 66th Assembly, the Qatari ambassador to the UN, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser told the UN Radio this Monday (17th) that conflict mediation was one of the “main concerns” during his term in office. “The most important thing was that the General Assembly was involved in political cases which caused concerned regarding the stability of world security,” said Al-Nasser, referring to the protests in Libya and Syria as peace-threatening disturbances.
The search for political stability in conflict-ridden places will not be the only topic of discussion at the General Assembly. The Rio+20, held from June 20th to 22nd in Rio de Janeiro, contemplated how UN member states can contribute to sustainable development. During the Rio+20 meetings, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) was made stronger.
It was decided that the Unep will have a fixed budget, as opposed to being donation-dependent, which it is at this time. The participating countries also agreed that the Unep will also have a stronger presence in discussions about sustainable development. The way in which the strengthening will be implemented, however, will need to be decided by the General Assembly starting in 2012.
This week, the former Serbian minister of Foreign Relations, Vuk Jeremic, will be inaugurated president of the General Assembly, replacing Al-Nasser. Jeremic was elected in June in secret ballot, and will remain in office until September 2013.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
