The general debate is part of the General Assembly session and is held at the beginning of each regular session in September, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and A/RES/57/301, and the agenda for the session. Usually, the general debate is agenda item 8 of the regular session agenda.
Each member state has the opportunity to speak during the general debate. Often heads of state or government represent their countries at the general debate.
The theme for the general debate of the 79th session of the General Assembly is:
Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.
The information note on Arrangements for the high-level meetings and the general debate issued each session (A/INF/session/4) includes:
The UN Journal is a good source of official information about these activities.
The Secretariat publishes a note with the latest information on the Opening dates of forthcoming regular sessions (A/INF/session/1):
Session | Opening date of the General Assembly | Opening date of the general debate |
Seventy-ninth | Tuesday, 10 September 2024 | Tuesday, 24 September 2024 |
Eightieth | Tuesday, 9 September 2025 | Tuesday, 23 September 2025 |
Eighty-first | Tuesday, 8 September 2026 | Tuesday, 22 September 2026 |
Eighty-second | Tuesday, 7 September 2027 | Tuesday, 21 September 2027 |
Eighty-third | Tuesday, 5 September 2028 | Tuesday, 19 September 2028 |
Eighty-fourth | Tuesday, 11 September 2029 | Tuesday, 25 September 2029 |
Eighty-fifth | Tuesday, 10 September 2030 |
Tuesday, 24 September 2030 |
Eighty-sixth | Tuesday, 9 September 2031 | Tuesday, 23 September 2031 |
Eighty-seventh | Tuesday, 7 September 2032 | Tuesday, 21 September 2032 |
Eighty-eighth | Tuesday, 6 September 2033 | Tuesday, 20 September 2033 |
According to paragraph 50 of resolution 75/325:
"The general debate in the General Assembly shall open on the Tuesday of the fourth week in September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day, and shall be held without interruption over a period of nine working days"
By tradition, Brazil usually speaks first at the General Debate, followed by the United States.
In current practice, after the opening of the meeting by the President of the General Assembly, the order of speakers is:
Since the 10th session in 1955, Brazil has spoken first and the United States has spoken second, with a few exceptions.
The list of the first and second speakers for the first 10 sessions are set out below.
Session | Date | Meeting Record | 1st speaker | 2nd speaker |
1 | 24 October 1946 | A/PV.35 & A/PV.36 | Mexico | Belgium |
2 | 17 September 1947 | A/PV.82 | Mexico | United States |
3 | 23 September 1948 | A/PV.139 | Philippines | United States |
4 | 21 September 1949 | A/PV.222 | Brazil | United States |
5 | 20 September 1950 | A/PV.279 | Brazil | United States |
6 | 8 November 1951 | A/PV.335 | Brazil | Netherlands |
7 | 16 October 1952 | A/PV.379 | Cuba | Sweden |
8 | 17-18 September 1953 | A/PV.434 & A/PV.436 | United States | Chile |
9 | 23 September 1954 | A/PV.475 | Canada | Chile |
10 | 22 September 1955 | A/PV.518 | Brazil | United States |
According to the General Debate website, for all other Member States, the speaking order is based on the level of representation, preference and other criteria such as geographic balance. Only the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union are invited to participate in the general debate and their speaking slots are determined by the level of representation.
The table below links to the meeting records for the general debates of the regular sessions of the General Assembly.
Session |
Date | Meeting Record | UN Digital Library search |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
24-31 Oct. 1946 |
A/PV.35-45 |
1946 General Debate |
2 |
17-23 Sept. 1947 |
A/PV.82-90 |
1947 General Debate |
3 |
23-29 Sept. 1948 |
A/PV.139-148 |
1948 General Debate |
4 |
21-26 Sept. 1949 |
A/PV.222-229 |
1949 General Debate |
5 |
20-28 Sept. 1950 |
A/PV.279-289 |
1950 General Debate |
6 |
8-16 Nov. 1951 |
A/PV.335-348 |
1951 General Debate |
7 |
16 Oct.-25 Nov. 1952 |
A/PV.379-398 |
1952 General Debate |
8 |
17-29 Sept. 1953 |
A/PV.434-449 |
1953 General Debate |
9 |
23 Sept.-6 Oct. 1954 |
A/PV.475-492 |
1954 General Debate |
10 |
22 Sept.-4 Oct. 1955 |
A/PV.518-533 |
1955 General Debate |
11 |
16 Nov.-6 Dec. 1956 |
A/PV.581-611 |
1956 General Debate |
12 |
19 Sept.-8 Oct. 1957 |
A/PV.680-703 |
1957 General Debate |
13 |
18 Sept.-7 Oct. 1958 |
A/PV.749-774 |
1958 General Debate |
14 |
17 Sept.-7 Oct. 1959 |
A/PV.797-824 |
1959 General Debate |
15 |
22 Sept.-17 Oct. 1960 |
A/PV.868-907 |
1960 General Debate |
16 |
22 Sept.-18 Oct. 1961 |
A/PV.1011-1039 |
1961 General Debate |
17 |
20 Sept.-18 Oct. 1962 |
A/PV.1125-1155 |
1962 General Debate |
18 |
19 Sept.-14 Oct. 1963 |
A/PV.1208-1240 |
1963 General Debate |
19 |
3 Dec. 1964- |
A/PV.1289-1325 |
19th sess. General Debate |
20 |
23 Sept.-15 Oct. 1965 |
A/PV.1334-1364 |
1965 General Debate |
21 |
22 Sept.-18 Oct. 1966 | A/PV.1412-1447 | 1966 General Debate |
22 |
21 Sept.-13 Oct. 1967 | A/PV.1562-1591 | 1967 General Debate |
23 |
2-25 Oct. 1968 | A/PV.1677-1707 | 1968 General Debate |
24 |
18 Sept.-8 Oct. 1969 | A/PV.1755-1784 | 1969 General Debate |
25 | 17 Sept.-2 Oct. 1970 | A/PV.1841-1859 | 1970 General Debate |
26 | 27 Sept.-13 Oct. 1971 | A/PV.1940-1965 | 1971 General Debate |
27 | 25 Sept.-11 Oct. 1972 | A/PV.2038-2063 | 1972 General Debate |
28 | 24 Sept.-11 Oct. 1973 | A/PV.2124-2150 | 1973 General Debate |
29 | 23 Sept.-10 Oct. 1974 | A/PV.2238-2265 | 1974 General Debate |
30 | 22 Sept.-9 Oct. 1975 | A/PV.2355-2382 | 1975 General Debate |
31 | 27 Sept.-14 Oct. 1976 | A/31/PV.5-32 | 1976 General Debate |
32 | 26 Sept.-13 Oct. 1977 | A/32/PV.6-33 | 1977 General Debate |
33 | 25 Sept.-13 Oct. 1978 | A/33/PV.6-34 | 1978 General Debate |
34 | 24 Sept.-12 Oct. 1979 | A/34/PV.5-32 | 1979 General Debate |
35 | 22 Sept.-10 Oct. 1980 | A/35/PV.4-33 | 1980 General Debate |
36 | 21 Sept.-9 Oct. 1981 | A/36/PV.5-33 | 1981 General Debate |
37 | 27 Sept.-15 Oct. 1982 | A/37/PV.5-34 | 1982 General Debate |
38 | 26 Sept.-14 Oct. 1983 | A/38/PV.5-33 | 1983 General Debate |
39 | 24 Sept.-11 Oct. 1984 | A/39/PV.4-31 | 1984 General Debate |
40 | 23 Sept.-11 Oct. 1985 | A/40/PV.4-33 | 1985 General Debate |
41 | 22 Sept.-10 Oct. 1986 | A/41/PV.4-32 | 1986 General Debate |
42 | 21 Sept.-9 Oct. 1987 | A/42/PV.4-33 | 1987 General Debate |
43 | 26 Sept.-13 Oct. 1988 | A/43/PV.4-31 | 1988 General Debate |
44 | 25 Sept.-12 Oct. 1989 | A/44/PV.4-31 | 1989 General Debate |
45 | 24 Sept.-10 Oct. 1990 | A/45/PV.4-29 | 1990 General Debate |
46 | 23 Sept.-10 Oct. 1991 | A/46/PV.4-30 | 1991 General Debate |
47 | 21 Sept.-8 Oct. 1992 | A/47/PV.4-30 | 1992 General Debate |
48 | 27 Sept.-13 Oct. 1993 | A/48/PV.4-29 | 1993 General Debate |
49 | 26 Sept.-12 Oct. 1994 | A/49/PV.4-28 | 1994 General Debate |
50 | 25 Sept.-11 Oct. 1995 | A/50/PV.4-29 | 1995 General Debate |
51 | 23 Sept.-10 Oct. 1996 | A/51/PV.4-30 | 1996 General Debate |
52 | 22 Sept.-7 Oct. 1997 | A/52/PV.5-28 | 1997 General Debate |
53 | 21 Sept.-2 Oct. 1998 | A/53/PV.7-26 | 1998 General Debate |
54 | 20 Sept.-2 Oct. 1999 | A/54/PV.4-22 | 1999 General Debate |
55 | 12-22 Sept. 2000 | A/55/PV.10-28 | 2000 General Debate |
56 | 10-16 Nov. 2001 | A/56/PV.44-57 | 2001 General Debate |
57 | 12-20 Sept. 2002 | A/57/PV.2-19 | 2002 General Debate |
58 | 23 Sept.-2, 17 Oct. 2003 | A/58/PV.7-20, 36 | 2003 General Debate |
59 | 21-30 Sept. 2004 | A/59/PV.3-17 | 2004 General Debate |
60 | 16-23 Sept. 2005 | A/60/PV.9-23 | 2005 General Debate |
61 | 19-27 Sept. 2006 | A/61/PV.10-23 | 2006 General Debate |
62 | 25 Sept.-3 Oct. 2007 | A/62/PV.4-16 | 2007 General Debate |
63 | 23-29 Sept. 2008 | A/63/PV.5-16 | 2008 General Debate |
64 | 23-26 & 28-29 Sept. 2009 | A/64/PV.3-13 | 2009 General Debate |
65 | 23-25 & 27-30 Sept. 2010 | A/65/PV.11-12, 14-17, 19-24 | 2010 General Debate |
66 | 21-24 & 26-27 Sept. 2011 | A/66/PV.11-13, 15-16, 18-30 | 2011 General Debate |
67 | 25-28 Sept. & 1-3 Oct. 2012 | A/67/PV.6- A/67/PV.21 | 2012 General Debate |
68 | 24 Sept.-1 Oct. 2013 | A/68/PV.5-10, 12-23 | 2013 General Debate |
69 | 24-30 Sept. 2014 | A/69/PV.6-20 | 2014 General Debate |
70 | 28 Sept. - 3 Oct. 2015 | A/70/PV.13-28 | 2015 General Debate |
71 | 20-26 Sept. 2016 | A/71/PV.8-22 | 2016 General Debate |
72 | 19-25 Sept. 2017 | A/72/PV.3-23 | 2017 General Debate |
73 | 25 Sept.-1 Oct. 2018 | A/73/PV.6-16 | 2018 General Debate |
74 | 24-30 Sept. 2019 | A/74/PV.3-13 | 2019 General Debate |
75 | 22-26 & 29 Sept.2020 | A/75/PV.4-14 | 2020 General Debate |
76 | 21-25 & 27 Sept.2021 | A/76/PV.3-17 | 2021 General Debate |
77 | 16-26 Sept. 2022 | A/77/PV.3-14 | 2022 General Debate |
78 | 19-28 Sept. 2023 | A/78/PV.4-14 | 2023 General Debate |
79 | 24-30 Sept 2024 | A/79/PV.7-18 | 2024 General Debate |
Note from Metadata Unit, Oct 2024, the following symbols listed in general debate table, are not correct:
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