The United Nations General Assembly, which was created in 1945, is one of the main bodies of the UN, bringing together all 193 Member States. It sets out the UN’s broad lines of action.
The Assembly adopts resolutions which help establish standards and codify international law, on the basis of representativeness (1 State = 1 vote) and debate (forum for negotiations and discussion).
The General Assembly meets regularly in six Main Committees:
- Disarmament & International Security
- Economic & Financial
- Social, Humanitarian & Cultural
- Special Political & Decolonization
- Administrative & Budgetary
- Legal
It also decides on the organization’s internal operations: it admits new members upon recommendation of the Security Council, it examines and approves the budget, and it appoints the UN Secretary-General upon recommendation of the Security Council.
Resolutions are made after debates which end with a vote in plenary session. For several years now, depending on the issues, Members States have been trying to take most decisions by consensus instead of proceeding to a vote.
Updated: September 2020