General Assembly

Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th session of the General Assembly

General Assembly President confers with Security Council counterpart

18 October 2010
General Assembly President Joseph Deiss today met with the President of the Security Council for this month, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to discuss a number of issues on the agenda both organs of the world body.
Mazlan Othman, Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs

Possible threat to Earth by asteroids among issues at UN debate on outer space

14 October 2010
A United Nations working group is currently looking into how the Organization should respond to possible threats to the planet from near-earth objects, such as asteroids, a senior official with the world body said today.
Joseph Deiss

General Assembly President calls for expanded microfinance services to fight poverty

13 October 2010
The President of the General Assembly Joseph Deiss today underscored the importance of microfinance as a means of alleviating poverty, citing improvements in the lot of poor women who have had access to financial services they previously lacked.
Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington of Belize

UN debate hears calls for greater voice for poorer and smaller nations

29 September 2010
Poorer and smaller countries should have a greater role in the affairs of the United Nations to make the Organization even more representative of the world and its peoples, the General Assembly’s high-level debate heard today.
Foreign Minister Musa Kousa of Libya

Libya proposes turning General Assembly into world parliament

29 September 2010
Libya has proposed strengthening the General Assembly to function as the world’s premier legislative body, enacting binding resolutions that would be implemented by the a widened Security Council.
President Paul Kagame (right) welcomes Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his visit to Rwanda in March 2009

General Assembly: Ban and Rwandan President discuss various issues

26 September 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today had a meeting with Rwanda President Paul Kagame, on the sidelines of the General Assembly''s high-level debate, during which they discussed a range of issues, including maternal and child health.
Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool, President of Dominica, Addresses General Assembly

Dominica draws UN attention to threat from arms and drugs in the Caribbean

25 September 2010
Dominica’s President told the General Assembly today that a growing trade in illicit small and light weapons in the Caribbean, which he linked to drug smuggling, threatened peace and security in the region as he urged larger countries to help combat the problem.
Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, addresses General Assembly

European leaders press for ‘long overdue’ UN reform to match changing world

25 September 2010
The United Nations and many of its key organs need to adapt to keep pace with changing international realities, European leaders told the General Assembly’s high-level debate today, calling for reform of the Security Council, the Assembly and peacekeeping operations.
Kevin Rudd, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, addresses General Assembly

Australia warns UN will become a ‘hollow shell’ unless it reforms

25 September 2010
The United Nations will become “a hollow shell” with nations choosing to go around it to deal with the most pressing global issues unless its institutions are reformed to meet today’s challenges, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd told the General Assembly today.
Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, addresses General Assembly

Egypt and Mauritania speak out in UN Assembly against anti-Muslim sentiment

25 September 2010
Egypt’s Foreign Minister today stressed the need to propagate a global culture of religious tolerance, telling the General Assembly that Muslims have been subjected to ridicule and harassment because of their faith in some States in the West, and their religious icons disrespected.