• What is the mandate of the General Assembly?
• How is the work of the General Assembly organized?
• Where can I find the current membership?
• How has the membership grown in the past?
• Who is the President of the General Assembly?
• Who has been President in the past?
• Where can I find statements made by General Assembly Presidents?
• Where can I find the rules of procedure?
• Where can I find information about special sessions?
• Where can I find information about emergency special sessions?
• Where can I find the meeting records?
• Where can I find General Debate statements?
• Where can I find the press releases?
• Where can I find information about high-level meetings?
• Where can I find webcasts of General Assembly meetings?
• Which meetings have taken place away from UN Headquarters?
• Where can I find the resolutions?
• Where can I find voting information?
• Which international instruments have been transmitted in General Assembly resolutions?
• Which international decades have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
• Which international years have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
• Which international days have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
• Which organizations have been granted observer status in the General Assembly?
  

• What is the mandate of the General Assembly?
  The functions and powers of the General Assembly are stipulated in Chapter IV of the Charter of the United Nations.
  
  
• How is the work of the General Assembly organized?
  The General Assembly meets in regular, special and emergency special sessions. The regular session commences in September, suspends its work in late December and reconvenes as required in the following year. The session concludes in September on the day before the next session begins. The work of the General Assembly is conducted in the plenary and the six main committees. The official languages of the General Assembly are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. More information about the General Assembly and its documentation as well as the main committees can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gasess.htm.
  
  
• Where can I find the current membership?
  Each of the 192 Member States of the United Nations has one seat in the General Assembly. The current UN membership is posted at: http://www.un.org/Overview/unmember.html.
  
  
• How has the membership grown in the past?
  The growth in UN membership (1945 onwards) is shown at: http://www.un.org/Overview/growth.htm.
  
  
• Who is the President of the General Assembly?
  The presidency changes every session. Information about the current President, Dr. Srgjan Kerim (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), is posted at: http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/.
  
  
• Who has been President in the past?
  Information about past Presidents (1946 onwards) is posted at: http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/presskit/listpast.shtml.
  
  
• Where can I find statements made by General Assembly Presidents?
  Statements made before the General Assembly are included in meeting records; speeches at non-UN fora are contained in press releases. Prior to the 52nd session (which began in September 1997), the general series GA/- included the statements made by Presidents; after that time period, they are contained in a special series, GA/SM/-. Press releases from October 1995 onwards are posted at: http://www.un.org/apps/pressreleases/.
  
  
• Where can I find the rules of procedure?
  The rules of procedure are accessible at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gasess.htm#gaintro.
  
  
• Where can I find information about special sessions?
  Information about special sessions (from the 1st session in 1947 onwards) is posted at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R02087.
  
  
• Where can I find information about emergency special sessions?
  Information about emergency special sessions (from the 1st session in 1956 onwards) is accessible at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R03055.
  
  
• Where can I find the meeting records?
  The full text of recent plenary and main committee meeting records can be accessed through UNBISnet and the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). UNBISnet's Index to Speeches allows retrieval of meeting records by speaker, country, organization and topic. The full text of plenary verbatim records (from the 55th session onwards) is also posted at: http://www.un.org/documents/. Earlier plenary records as well as main committee records can be consulted at a UN depository library (list: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/deplib/countries/index.html) or a UN Information Centre (list: http://www.un.org/aroundworld/unics/english/directory.htm). Background information about speeches made before the General Assembly and access to them can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gaspeech.htm.
  
  
• Where can I find General Debate statements?
  Citations for General Debate statements (1946 onwards) can be researched in UN-I-QUE. The statements are comprehensively retrievable either by the current name of the country, e.g., Canada, or by the number of the session, e.g., 1st session (1946), 61st session (2006). The full text of General Debate statements is reproduced in plenary verbatim records and can be accessed through UNBISnet, the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS) and also (from the 55th session onwards) at: http://www.un.org/documents/. Earlier General Debate statements can be consulted at a UN depository library (list: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/deplib/countries/index.html) or a UN Information Centre (list: http://www.un.org/aroundworld/unics/english/directory.htm).
  
  
• Where can I find the press releases?
  Plenary press releases as well as main committee press releases from October 1995 onwards are posted at: http://www.un.org/apps/pressreleases/. More information about press releases, their series symbols and access to them can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/press.htm.
  
  
• Where can I find information about high-level meetings?
  UN-I-QUE lists citations for the high-level commemorative statements made before the General Assembly on the occasion of UN anniversaries, i.e., 25th (1970), 40th (1985) and 50th (1995). Citations for the speeches delivered on the occasions of the high-level Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000 and the World Summit of the United Nations in September 2005 can also be retrieved. The full text of high-level statements is reproduced in plenary verbatim records and can be accessed through UNBISnet, the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS), at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/anniversary/index.html and also (from the 57th session onwards) at: http://www.un.org/documents/. Earlier plenary records can be consulted at a UN depository library (list: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/deplib/countries/index.html) or a UN Information Centre (list: http://www.un.org/aroundworld/unics/english/directory.htm).
  
  
• Where can I find webcasts of General Assembly meetings?
  Webcasts are accessible at: http://www.un.org/webcast/.
  
  
• Which meetings have taken place away from UN Headquarters?
  A list of meetings away from UN Headquarters can be found at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R00242.
  
  
• Where can I find the resolutions?
  The full text of resolutions (1946 onwards) can be retrieved through UNBISnet, the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS) and is also posted at: http://www.un.org/documents/resga.htm. Background information about resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and access to them can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gares.htm.
  
  
• Where can I find voting information?
  The voting records for General Assembly resolutions from the 38th session (1983) onwards are accessible at: http://unbisnet.un.org/. Earlier voting records can be consulted at a UN depository library (list: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/deplib/countries/index.html) or a UN Information Centre (list: http://www.un.org/aroundworld/unics/english/directory.htm). Background information about voting in the General Assembly can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gavote.htm.
  
  
• Which international instruments have been transmitted in General Assembly resolutions?
  The full text of conventions, declarations and other international instruments found in General Assembly resolutions from 1946 onwards is posted at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/resins.htm.
  
  
• Which international decades have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
  A list of international decades proclaimed by the General Assembly (from the first decade in 1960 onwards) is accessible at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R02086
  
  
• Which international years have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
  A list of international years proclaimed by the General Assembly (from the first year in 1959/1960 onwards) is posted at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R02085
  
  
• Which international days have been proclaimed by the General Assembly?
  A list of international days proclaimed by the General Assembly is available at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R02091.
  
  
• Which organizations have been granted observer status in the General Assembly?
  A list of organizations that have been granted observer status in the General Assembly is posted at: http://lib-unique.un.org/lib/unique.nsf/Link/R02020.
  
  
  

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