GENERAL ASSEMBLY – CONCEPT, COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS

This article states about the concept of General Assembly of United Nations including meaning, its composition and its various functions

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

General Assembly is one of the principal organs and the chief deliberative and policy making body of the United Nations.

 

The only part of the UN that is truly universally representative body is the General Assembly. The Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice are the other important organizations. According to the United Nations Charter, the General Assembly's role is to discuss, debate, and offer recommendations on issues relating to international peace, and such as international law, human rights, development, disarmament, and the peaceful resolution of disputes between nations.

 

It chooses the non-permanent members of the Security Council, as well as other UN organizations like the Human Rights Council (HRC), and names the Secretary-General on the Security Council's recommendation. It takes into account the reports from the other four United Nations bodies, evaluates the financial standing of member states, and, in terms of its most direct function, approves the UN budget. In conjunction with the Security Council, the assembly chooses the judges for the International Court of Justice.

 

Provisions relating to General Assembly are contained in Chapter IV of the Charter comprising of Articles 9 to 22.

2. COMPOSITION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 

Article 9 of the Charter lays down regarding the composition of the General Assembly by stating that General Assembly shall consists of all the members of the United Nations. Each of them possesses an equal status irrespective of its size, power or importance. Each member shall have not more than five representatives in the General Assembly.

 

General Assembly meets each year commencing on the third Tuesday of September to December at the Head-quarter in New York. The meeting is known as the ‘Regular Session’ or the annual session of the General Assembly. Thirteen weeks time of the regular session of the Assembly has been customary in the sense that it has remained constant since its first session.

 

The President of the Assembly is elected by the General Assembly for each session. Until the President for each session is elected, the assembly is presided by the President of the previous session. President declares the opening and closing of each plenary meeting of the session.

 

‘Special Session’ may be called by the Secretary- General at the request of the Security Council or by a majority of the member state. An ‘emergency special session’ may be called if the Assembly is not in the session within 24 hours of the receipt by the Secretary General of a request by the Security Council on the vote of any nine of is member, or by majority of the member of the United Nations.

 

There is no provision in the Charter for calling of the emergency special session by the General Assembly itself.

 

3. FUNCTIONS AND POWERS

 

Functions and Powers of the Assembly are laid down under Article 10 to 17 of the Charter. For convenience, they may be divided into following categories;

 

3.1. GENERAL FUNCTIONS:

 

The General Assembly is essentially a deliberative body. It has powers of discussion, investigation, review, supervision and to criticize in relation to the work of the United Nations as a whole and various other organs including the specialized agencies as well as any other matter.

 

Article 10 confers upon the Assembly a wider power by providing that the Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the scope of the Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any organ provided for in the Charter. After discussion, the Assembly may make recommendations on these questions and matters to the member states or to the Security Council or to both.

 

The functions of discussion are subject to one restriction which is one restriction which is provided under Article 2(7) of the Charter which prohibits intervention in the domestic affairs of the State which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State.

3.2. PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION:

 

Article 13 of the Charter has conferred to the Assembly specially to “initiate studies and make recommendations” for the purpose of the promotion of international co-operation in two different field. Firstly, the promotion of international co-operation in political fields and encouraging the progressive development of International Law and its codification, and secondly, the promotion of International co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields, and assisting in the realisation of human beings and fundamental freedom for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

 

3.3. MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY:

 

Although maintenance of international peace and security is the primary function of the Security Council, the General Assembly being an organ of the United Nations also performs function in this regard. Reference of a matter before the Assembly may be made by a member State under Article 35(2) or by the Security Council under Article 11(2).

 

The Assembly may also take action on its own initiative pursuant to Article 10 and 14. When a matter is brought before the Assembly, it maintains international peace and security in three ways: -

 

a) By Initiating Discussion:

 

The Assembly according to Article 11, Para 2 of the Charter may discuss any question relating to international peace and security. Discussion on such questions take place when they are brought before the Assembly by any member of the United Nations, or by the Security Council, or by a non-member of the United Nations under Article 35 Para 2 of the Charter.

 

b) By Making Recommendations:

 

The Assembly after discussion, may make recommendation on any question relating to the maintenance of international peace and security to the State or States concerned, or to the Security Council, or to both according to Article 11, Para 2 of the Charter.

 

c) By Taking Collective Measures (Uniting for peace Resolution):

 

The Uniting for Peace Resolution has empowered the General Assembly to take enforcement action including the use of armed forces for the maintenance of international peace and security.

 

3.4. ELECTIVE FUNCTIONS:

 

The Assembly is commonly known as the Central body of the United Nations because it elects some or all of the members of all the other organs of the United Nations. In this regard the Assembly performs the following functions:

 

a)  The Assembly elects all the ten non-permanents members of the Security Council. Out of them five members are elected every year in accordance with Article 23, Para 2 when equal number of members retire after completing the term of every two years.

b)   The Assembly elects all fifty-four members of the economic and Social Council. Out of them eighteen members are elected every year as per Article 61, Para 3.

c)   The Assembly elects some members of the Trusteeship Council.

d)   The Assembly elects fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice. The Judges are elected by a complicated system of parallel voting by the Security Council and the General Assembly independently of each other.

e)  The Secretary-General of the United Nations is also appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

f)  The Assembly elects members for subsidiary organs which may be created by it under Article 22.

 

3.5. FUNCTIONS RELATING TO ADMISSION, SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION OF MEMBERS:

 

A member is admitted to the United Nations by the Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The Assembly also cooperates with the Security Council in the suspension of member States against which enforcement action is being taken, and the expulsion of those which have been persistently violating the principles of the Charter.

3.6. FINANCIAL FUNCTIONS:

 

The General Assembly performs important functions relating to the finance of the United Nations. It considers and approves the budget of the Organisation. It decides the share of expenses to be borne by each member. Once the General Assembly decides share of expenses it becomes the obligation of the members to fulfil it.

 

The Assembly also consider and approves the financial and budgetary arrangements with specialized agencies and examines the administrative budgets of these agencies and makes recommendation to them.

 

3.7. SUPERVISORY FUNCTIONS:

 

The Assembly supervises the activities of other organs and of the specialized agencies of the Organisation. Thus, it considers annual and special reports of the Security Council (Article 15, Para 1). It also considers the reports of the other organs, i.e., of the Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (Article 15, Para 2). In Addition to the above most subsidiary U.N. bodies report to it either directly or through the Economic and Social Council.

 

3.8. MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS:

A number of other functions are performed by the Assembly which are as follows;

 

• a) It may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions (Article 22). In the past, the Assembly has established many subsidiary organs such as the International Law Commission (1947), the United Nations institute for Training and Research (UNITAR, 1963), the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer-Space (1957), the Special Committee on situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and the Human Rights Council (2006).

• b) The Assembly by Article 96, Para 2 may authorise other organs of the United Nations and specialised agencies to request for the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of legal questions.

• c)   The Charter may be amended when it has been adopted by a vote of two-third of the members of the Assembly including all permanent members of the Security Council.

 

4. CONCLUSION:

 

General Assembly is one of the principal organs and the chief deliberative and policy making body of the United Nations. It plays a vital role in the field of international organization with the way of performing the functions to reach the goals intended to be achieve by the UN Charter.