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United Nations General Assembly

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PRINCIPAL ORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. UN General Assembly (UNGA)
Deliberative assembly of all UN member states (each country has one vote) may resolve non-compulsory recommendations to states, or suggestions to the UNSC (not a Parliament) decides on the admission of new members, on proposal of the UNSC adopts the budget elects:
- the non-permanent members of the UNSC all members of ECOSOC on the proposal of the UNSC theUN Secretary General and the 15 judges of the ICJ

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA/GA)
- Is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations
- the only one in which all member nations have equal representation.
Powers
to oversee the budget of the United Nations appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. Meetings UNGA meets under its president or Secretary-General in regular yearly sessions. It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions.

Its composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter.

The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Westminster Central Hall in London and included representatives of 51 nations.

Voting in the General Assembly on important questions
Each member country has one vote. recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; budgetary matters – is by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting.
Other questions are decided by majority vote.

Resolutions

Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members.(Apart from approval of budgetary matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment)
The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under Security Council consideration.
Although the resolutions passed by the General Assembly do not have the binding forces over the member nations(apart from budgetary measures), pursuant to its Uniting for Peace resolution of November 1950 (resolution 377 (V)), the Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member, in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.
The General Assembly votes on many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These are generally statements symbolizing the sense of the international community about an array of world issues. Most General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable as a legal or practical matter, because the General Assembly lacks enforcement powers with respect to most issues. The General Assembly has authority to make final decisions in some areas such as the United Nations budget.General Assembly Resolutions are generally non-binding on member states, but carry considerable political weight, and are legally binding towards the operations of the General Assembly. The General Assembly can also refer an issue to the Security Council to put in place a binding resolution.

UN Budget
UNGA approves the budget of the United Nations, and decides how much money each member state must pay to run the organization( Chap IV of the UN Charter)
{Secretary-General, as "chief administrative officer" prepares the budget (Chapter XV, Article 97)}

Division of the General Assembly by membership in the five United Nations Regional Groups.

The African Group The Asia-Pacific Group The Eastern European Group The Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC) The Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Panorama of the UNGA

The General Assembly subsidiary organs are divided into five categories: committees (30 total, six main), commissions (seven), boards (six), councils and panels (five), working groups, and "other"
Committees
Main committees The First Committee: Disarmament and International Security (DISEC) The Second Committee: Economic and Financial (ECOFIN) The Third Committee: Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian (SOCHUM) The Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonisation (SPECPOL) The Fifth Committee: Administrative and Budgetary The Sixth Committee: Legal.
Other committees
These are not numbered. According to the General Assembly website, the most important are: Credentials Committee – This committee is charged with ensuring that the diplomatic credentials of all UN representatives are in order. The Credentials Committee consists of nine Member States elected early in each regular General Assembly session. General Committee – This is a supervisory committee entrusted with ensuring that the whole meeting of the Assembly goes smoothly. The General Committee consists of the president and vice presidents of the current General Assembly session and the chairman of each of the six Main Committees.
Commissions
There are six commissions: Disarmament Commission, established by GA Resolution 502 (VI) and S-10/2 International Civil Service Commission, established by GA Resolution 3357 (XXIX) International Law Commission, established by GA Resolution 174 (II) United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), established by GA Resolution 2205 (XXI) United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, established by GA Resolution 194 (III) United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, established by GA Resolution 60/180 and UN Security Council Resolutions 1645 (2005) and 1646 (2005)
Despite its name, the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was actually a subsidiary body of ECOSOC.
BoardsThere are seven boards which are catogrised into two groups: a) Executive Boards and b) Boards
Executive Boards Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund [established by GA Resolution 57 (I) and 48/162] Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and of the United Nations Population Fund [established by GA Resolution 2029 (XX) and 48/162] Executive Board of the World Food Programme [established by GA Resolution 50/8]
Boards Board of Auditors [established by GA Resolution 74 (I)] Trade and Development Board [established by GA Resolution 1995 (XIX)] United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board [established by GA Resolution 248 (III)] Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters [established by GA Resolution 37/99 K]
Councils and panelsThe newest council is the United Nations Human Rights Council, which replaced the aforementioned UNCHR in March 2006.
There are a total of four councils and one panel.[18]
Working Groups and otherThere is a varied group of working groups and other subsidiary bodies.

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