Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly (GA) occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.

The Assembly, composed of a number of subsidiary bodies, meets from September to December every year and elects its President on a yearly basis. The GA resolutions cover a broad range of topics, from peace and security to economic and social development, social, humanitarian and cultural affairs to budgetary and legal issues.

Most recently, the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. It adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a set of Sustainable Development Goals as a universal and inclusive guide for economic development that is environmentally sustainable and socially appropriate and that leaves no on behind.

It is the role of the UNESCO Office in New York to follow the debates of the GA with a particular focus on the resolutions and discussions that are of particular importance to UNESCO’s its fields of competency, i.e. education, culture, science, communication and information.