United Nations General Committee

The United Nations General Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly whose main purpose is to organize the body's agenda, among other things.

Mandate

The Mandate of the General Committee consists of the following:

* Creating a provisional agenda for the General Assembly, as well as any supplementary lists,
* Assisting the President of the General Assembly and the General Assembly in drawing up the agenda for each plenary meeting,
* Making recommendations to the General Assembly concerning the recess and closing dates of the session,
* Coordinating the proceedings of the main committees by allocating agenda items, as well as determining the priority of said items,
* Entertaining requests for the inclusion of additional items in the agenda,
* Assisting in the general conduct of the work of the General Assembly,
* Making recommendations to the General Assembly.

The Committee meets periodically to review the progress of the General Assembly and its committees. It also meets at such times as the President deems necessary or upon the request of any other of its members.

An individual Vice-President of the General Assembly does not have the power to unilaterally add an item to the General Assembly's agenda, not even if they are a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council such as the United States. For example, the General Committee has regularly rejected agenda items about the participation of the Republic of China (Taiwan), even when raised by a sitting Vice-President who formally recognizes the Republic of China (such as Guatemala in 1993).

Regional Groups

The rules of the General Assembly state that the President and 21 Vice-Presidents must be elected from the following Regional Groups:
* 5 from the African Group
* 3 from the Asia-Pacific Group
* 3 from the Eastern European Group
* 3 from the Latin American and Caribbean Group
* 2 from the Western European and Others Group
* 5 from the Permanent Members of the Security Council

In addition, the chairs of the six Main Committees must consist of one from each group, with the remaining chair rotating unevenly between the three non-European groups.

(Prior to 1994, there were seven Main Committees, with two chairs from the African Group, one chair from every other group, and the remaining chair rotating between the Asian Group and the Latin American Group "every alternate year".)

The rules also state that every member of the General Committee must be from a different country. As the permanent members of the Security Council are always vice-presidents, this rule officially bans the permanent members from being President of the General Assembly or chairs of any Main Committee.

Members

The composition of the Committee for the 79th Session of the General Assembly is as follows: the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the 21 Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the chairs of the six main committees. The current members are as follow:

President of the General Assembly

Vice-Presidents

Chairpersons of the Six Main Committees

See also

* United Nations Credentials Committee

Notes

References

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United Nations General Assembly subsidiary organs
Committees