General Assembly and ECOSOC Affairs Division

The General Assembly and Economic and Social Council Affairs Division (GAEAD) comprises three branches, the General Assembly Affairs Branch, the ECOSOC Affairs Branch, and the Disarmament and Peace Affairs Branch.

The Division provides technical secretariat services to meetings of the General Assembly, its General  and First Committees, its Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee and various subsidiary organs and its Second and Third Committees, the Economic and Social Council and most of the Council’s subsidiary and ad hoc bodies, and special conferences and meetings held under the auspices of the United Nations. It also plans and organizes, in close cooperation with the Central Planning and Coordination Service, activities and services related to sessions of the organs and bodies mentioned above.

The Division also provides assistance and support to the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the President of the Trusteeship Council and the presiding officers of the other bodies mentioned above. It furthermore advises delegations of Members and Observer States, as well as other entities of the Secretariat, on the work of these organs and bodies, and prepares regular analytical briefs to the Secretary-General on major developments in the deliberations of these bodies.

Furthermore, the Division prepares and coordinates studies on relevant articles of the Charter for the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs.

General Assembly Affairs Branch

The General Assembly Affairs Branch plans and organizes the regular, special and emergency special sessions of the General Assembly. It coordinates activities and the provision of services related to all sessions of the General Assembly, and assists the President of the General Assembly on all matters relating to the session and work of the General Assembly and its General and Main Committees.

The Branch prepares a number of legislative documents, including the reports of the General Committee of the Assembly; preliminary list of agenda items and the provisional agenda of the Assembly; supplementary list of items and the final agenda of regular sessions; programme of work of the Assembly and schedule of plenary meetings; lists of resolutions and decisions and text of decisions adopted by the Assembly.

ECOSOC Affairs Branch

The Economic and Social Council Affairs Branch is primarily responsible for providing management support to the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly and to the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies. It also provides management support to the ad hoc Committees of the General Assembly concerned with economic and social matters as well as to ad hoc bodies and special conferences dealing with economic, social and related matters.

The Branch facilitates the deliberations of these bodies by assisting in the preparation, drafting and issuance of provisional agendas and annotations for the Economic and Social Council and most of its subsidiary bodies, planning and monitoring documentation and meeting requirements of these bodies and ensuring coordination with substantive units.

It also plans and monitors documentation and meeting requirements of bodies responsible for economic, social and related fields.

Disarmament and Peace Affairs Branch

The Disarmament and Peace Affairs Branch is primarily responsible for providing management support to the First (Disarmament and International Security) and Fourth (Special Political and Decolonization) Committees of the General Assembly. The Branch has also expanded its mandate to include the provision of technical support services to legislative bodies dealing with international peace and security, notably the Peacebuilding Commission, a subsidiary body of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping (the Committee of 34) of the General Assembly. It also provides management support to other subsidiary ad hoc Committees under the aegis of the Assembly, including the Disarmament Commission, the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean, and the Special Committee on the situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

It further provides management support for special conferences and meetings held under the auspices of the United Nations in the fields of Disarmament, international security, decolonization and other fields, such as the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, the Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament, and the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children.

The Branch facilitates the deliberations of the subsidiary organs and various open-ended working groups established by the General Assembly, such as the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council and the Open-ended Working Group to consider the objectives and agenda, including the possible establishment of the preparatory committee, for the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.

It also contributes to the preparation of the provisional agenda and annotations thereto for inclusion in the provisional agenda for the regular sessions of the General Assembly, ensures coordination with substantive units and plans and monitors documentation and meetings requests.