Seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly explained

Cities:	New York City, United States
Compactnav:	yes
Date:	5 September 2023 - present
Participants:	United Nations Member States
President:	Dennis Francis
Precedes:	79th
Venues:	General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters
Follows:	77th

The Seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 5 September 2023, and is the ongoing session of the United Nations General Assembly. The President of the General Assembly is from Latin American and Caribbean Group.

Organisation for the session

President

On 1 June 2023, the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations, Dennis Francis, was elected to the position of President of the General Assembly.^[1]

Vice-Presidents

The General Assembly elected the following countries as the vice-presidents of the 78th session:

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council:

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As well as the following nations:^[2]

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General debate

See main article: General debate of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Each member of the General Assembly will have a representative speaking about issues concerning their country and the hopes for the coming year as to what the UNGA will do. This is an opportunity for the member states to opine on international issues of their concern.

The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observers entities will have a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators. Each speaker is requested to provide 350 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: General Assembly Elects Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago President of Seventy-Eighth Session, Selects Main Committee Bureaus. United Nations. 1 June 2023. 5 September 2023.
2. Web site: Peace, Prosperity, Progress, and Sustainability to Guide UNGA 78 President. International Institute for Sustainable Development. 7 June 2023. 5 September 2023.
3. Book: Ruder . Nicole . Nakano . Kenji . Aeschlimann . Johann . Aeschlimann . Johann . Regan . Mary . The GA Handbook: A Practical Guide to the United Nations General Assembly . 2nd . New York . Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations . 2017 . 17, 86–88 . 978-0-615-49660-3.