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Why Brazil always gives the opening speech, the Icelandic hammer: Some curiosities for the UN General Assembly

2023-09-19 22:58:08Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Why Brazil always gives the opening speech, the Icelandic hammer: Some
United Nations General Assembly Hall

At the United Nations General Assembly (UN), which gathers more than 190 world leaders every year in New York, many decisions have been made that have shaped world history since 1945.

Very interesting and unusual events often occurred at the UN General Assembly.

Sometimes very controversial expressions are used in speeches and sometimes speeches that should last 15 minutes last for hours.

AA collected interesting and controversial moments recorded during discussions in the UN General Assembly over the past 78 years.

The longest speech

Speeches at the UN General Assembly are supposed to last no more than 15 minutes, but some officials' speeches sometimes last for hours.

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro's speech on September 26, 1960, went down in history as the longest speech to the UN General Assembly.

Castro spoke for about 4.5 hours, 269 minutes to be exact.

Chavez compared Bush to the "devil"

In the UN General Assembly, where very tough discussions often take place, there have been moments when leaders have used insulting words against the leaders of other countries and accused each other.

In a speech in 2006, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez compared former US President George W. Bush to "the devil".

In a speech in 1987, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused the United States of "funding rebels" in Latin America, prompting the American delegation to leave the room.

Unforgettable phrases

One of the most significant moments at the UN General Assembly was a 100-minute speech by then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2009.

He criticized the UN Security Council, saying it should not be called the Security Council, but the Terrorism Council.

Former Ugandan President Idi Amin made a big mistake in a speech in 1972 when he first praised former British Prime Minister Edward Heath and then compared him to Adolf Hitler. Amin later corrected his mistake by saying he meant Winston Churchill, not Hitler.

Opening and closing sessions with the Icelandic hammer

The gavel became the symbol of the General Assembly after Iceland presented it to the president of the UN General Assembly in 1952 to open and close sessions, approve the agenda and vote on resolutions.

Iceland's gift was accidentally broken in 1960 when Irish diplomat Frederick Boland was trying to appease former Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev.

After that, a new hammer was requested from Iceland, but it also disappeared in 2005, so they had to look for another new one.

Brazil makes the opening remarks

Although Brazil is not the host country or even a permanent member of the UN Security Council, an opening speech is given each year to kick off a week of high-level meetings at the UN General Assembly.

Former UN Chief of Protocol Desmond Parker explained the reasons for this practice, which has been in place since the 10th UN General Assembly in 1955.

"In those days when no one wanted to speak first, Brazil always offered to speak first. Thus he won the right to speak first in the General Assembly."

The order of presentations at the General Assembly is not alphabetical. After the US, the host country, who speaks after Brazil, the order of speeches for all member states is based on the level of representation, the time when the speech will be given and several other criteria, taking into account the geographical balance.

Seating arrangements

The arrangement of seats in the General Assembly also has its own rules. The Secretary General randomly selects the name of a member state from a hat containing the names of all member states.

The selected seat is entitled to sit in the first seat on the right, and then the seating arrangement continues in alphabetical order.

Parker explained that the purpose of this is to prevent each state delegation from sitting in the same place every year to ensure equal opportunity and equal distribution.

A few other points of interest

Indonesia became the first and only country to send a letter to withdraw from the UN in 1965, following a dispute with Malaysia.

The youngest General Assembly guest was the three-month-old baby of then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, for the first time in history, the session of the UN General Assembly was held online.

Participants from 190 countries

During this year's 78th session of the UN General Assembly from September 19 to 26, high-level participation from 190 countries is expected.

The UN General Assembly is one of the five main organs of the UN. It is composed of all member states of the United Nations and meets in regular annual sessions called by a president elected by a majority of representatives.

As the only UN body in which all member countries have representatives, the Assembly serves as a forum for members to discuss issues of international law and make decisions on the further functioning of the organization.


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