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120-568: In January 2013, the 30-member UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals was established to identify specific goals for the SDGs. The Open Working Group (OWG) was tasked with preparing a proposal on the SDGs for consideration during the 68th session of the General Assembly, September 2013 – September 2014. On 19 July 2014, the OWG forwarded a proposal for the SDGs to

240-525: A military coup . On 9 October of the same year, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union lifted the suspension imposed on Mali, citing progress made to return to democracy. The country was again suspended on 1 June 2021, following its second military coup within nine months. Guinea's membership was also suspended by the African Union on 10 September 2021, after a military coup deposed

360-411: A military coup in late July that deposed democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum ; this has since also led to the 2023 Nigerien crisis . Gabon's membership was suspended by the African Union on 31 August 2023 following a military coup that deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba . The African Union has a number of official bodies: These institutions have not yet been established; however,

480-491: A UN System Task Team, launched a High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons and appointed Amina J. Mohammed as his own Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning. These processes are complemented by a set of eleven global thematic consultations and national consultations in 88 countries] facilitated by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). The Rio+20 outcome document mentioned that "at

600-1048: A complementary global survey, which asks people to submit their six priorities for a better world. In February 2014, the UN Special Envoy for Youth and the President of the General Assembly launched the Global Partnership for Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, with a Crowdsourcing platform to consolidate concrete language for youth priorities in the post-2015 goals. At the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, 192 UN member states agreed to establish an intergovernmental working group to design Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as

720-520: A global partnership for development) led to identifying a problematic "donor-recipient" relationship. Instead, the new SDGs favor collective action by all countries. Negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda began in January 2015 and ended in August 2015. The negotiations ran in parallel to United Nations negotiations on financing for development, which determined the financial means of implementing

840-641: A global partnership for development. The MDG's overall target date is 2015. At the 2010 High-Level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly to review progress towards the MDGs, governments called for accelerating progress and for thinking on ways to advance the development agenda beyond 2015. After the 2010 High-Level Plenary Meeting, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has taken several initiatives. He has established

960-592: A global vision for sustainable development: Inclusive Social Development, Environmental Sustainability, Inclusive Economic Development, and Peace and Security. Other processes included the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, whose report was submitted to the Secretary General in 2013. This United Nations Development Group (UNDG) report picks up from where

1080-728: A heated debate in Accra, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government agreed in the form of a declaration to review the state of affairs of the AU with a view to determining its readiness towards a Union Government. In particular, the Assembly agreed to: The declaration lastly noted the "importance of involving the African peoples, including Africans in the Diaspora , in the processes leading to

1200-530: A lack of democracy and leaders who refuse to step down, discrimination against minorities (including LGBT people, religious groups and ethnicities) and corruption. He suggested an intensified democratization and free trade to significantly increase living quality for Africans. Member states of the African Union cover almost the entirety of continental Africa, except for several territories held by Spain ( Ceuta , Melilla , and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera ). In addition, European countries have dependencies among

1320-720: A lesser extent Portuguese and Arabic are used. The Constitutive Act , for example, is written in English, French and Arabic, while the protocol amending the Constitutive Act is written in English, French and Portuguese. As of 2020, the AU website is available in its entirety in English, partially in French and minimally in Arabic. Portuguese and Swahili versions were added as "coming soon" ( em breve ) in April 2019. According to

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1440-456: A majority of United Nations member States or by a single member, as long as a majority concurs. Special sessions typically cover one single topic and end with the adoption of one or two outcome documents, such as a political declaration, action plan or strategy to combat said topic. They are also typically high-level events with participation from heads of state and government, as well as by government ministers. There have been 32 special sessions in

1560-831: A member state was the May 2003 deployment of a peacekeeping force of soldiers from South Africa, Ethiopia , and Mozambique to oversee the implementation of the various agreements in Burundi . AU troops were also deployed in the Sudan for peacekeeping during the Darfur Conflict , before the mission was handed over to the United Nations on 1 January 2008 via UNAMID . The AU has a peacekeeping mission in Somalia , consisting of troops from Uganda and Burundi. The AU has adopted

1680-652: A modified version of the basic scale, for the costs of peacekeeping operations. The General Assembly is entrusted in the United Nations Charter with electing members to various organs within the United Nations system. The procedure for these elections can be found in Section 15 of the Rules of Procedure for the General Assembly. The most important elections for the General Assembly include those for

1800-677: A number of important new documents establishing norms at continental level, to supplement those already in force when it was created. These include the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003), the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and its associated Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance. The historical foundations of

1920-434: A part of Asia), accounting for slightly less than 2% of the total area. The total population of the African Union, as of 2017 , is estimated at more than 1.25 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a. The official languages of the African Union are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili , and "any other African language". The primary working languages of the African Union are English and French. To

2040-522: A principle for the realization of a new post-2015 development agenda. This new development agenda will be aligned with a human rights approach that will improve the quality of and refine policies over time. Utilizing cultural values and culturally sensitive approaches can mediate and improve development outcomes by providing a space where opportunities for education, gender equality and women's and girls' empowerment, environmental sustainability , and durable urbanization can be realized. Partnerships with

2160-461: A range of international issues. These issues came to the fore because of the phenomenal growth and changing makeup of the UN membership. In 1945, the UN had 51 members, which by the 21st century nearly quadrupled to 193, of which more than two-thirds are developing countries . Because of their numbers, developing countries are often able to determine the agenda of the Assembly (using coordinating groups like

2280-537: A report which sets out a universal agenda to eradicate extreme poverty from the face of the earth by 2030, and deliver on the promise of sustainable development. The report calls upon the world to rally around a new Global Partnership that offers hope and a role to every person in the world. In the report, the Panel calls for the new post-2015 goals to drive five big transformation shifts: Regional organizations are conducting consultations to formulate regional positions on

2400-486: A report, In Larger Freedom , that criticized the General Assembly for focusing so much on consensus that it was passing watered-down resolutions reflecting "the lowest common denominator of widely different opinions." He also criticized the Assembly for trying to address too broad an agenda, instead of focusing on "the major substantive issues of the day, such as international migration and the long-debated comprehensive convention on terrorism." Annan recommended streamlining

2520-627: A space will be created that is more inclusive and responsive towards the local and global voices of stakeholders. Civil society will also create strong accountability mechanisms that can be used to measure implementation. The report was launched at a General Assemybly side event with the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and chair of UNDG on 25 September 2014 in New York. Fragile and conflict affected states have been left behind and unchanged in

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2640-619: A successor of the MDGs. The HLP's work will be closely coordinated with this working group in order to bring together the processes around the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the SDGs. The working group has presented an 'Outcome Document' of 19. July 2014, comprising 17 goals and 169 targets. Activities of the Open Working Group, leading to the Outcome Document, are rendered at its website, the new goals for Sustainable development were announced on Seventieth anniversary of

2760-646: A unit in itself or to integration of the sub-regions. The 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa and the 1991 treaty to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the creation of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration, with a timetable for regional and then continental integration to follow. Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by

2880-428: Is also important to the authors of the report. They recognise a strong interest in bringing on-board multilateral institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organisations in a future framework, based on the 'recognition that they can help or hinder future development outcomes.' They call for more work on global governance, and for the identification of viable options for doing so effectively, ambitious goals in

3000-473: Is intended to facilitate the harmonisation of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action time frames. In 2006, the AU decided to create a Committee "to consider the implementation of a rotation system between the regions" in relation to the presidency. Controversy arose at the 2006 summit when Sudan announced its candidacy for the AU's chairmanship, as a representative of

3120-565: Is split into two distinct periods, the main and resumed parts of the session. During the main part of the session, which runs from the opening of the session until Christmas break in December, most of the work of the Assembly is done. This period is the Assembly's most intense period of work and includes the general debate and the bulk of the work of the six Main Committees. The resumed part of the session, however, which runs from January until

3240-506: The G77 ), the character of its debates, and the nature of its decisions. For many developing countries, the UN is the source of much of their diplomatic influence and the principal outlet for their foreign relations initiatives. Although the resolutions passed by the General Assembly do not have binding forces over the member nations (apart from budgetary measures), pursuant to its Uniting for Peace resolution of November 1950 (resolution 377 (V)),

3360-713: The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments for the Post- 2015 Development were appointed to lead the dialogue on the means of implementation of the Post-2015 agenda at the local level. The process was implemented jointly with national governments, local government and their associations, citizens and communities. The results included valuable contributions from the local level, voicing local issues at national and international levels. The dialogue's main objective has been to identify and propose ways of implementing

3480-573: The Methodist Central Hall in London and included representatives of the 51 founding nations. Most questions are decided in the General Assembly by a simple majority . Each member country has one vote. Voting on certain important questions—namely recommendations on peace and security; budgetary concerns; and the election, admission, suspension, or expulsion of members—is by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. Apart from

3600-579: The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was also established. The African Union was launched in Durban on 9 July 2002 by its first chairperson, former South African head of state Thabo Mbeki , at the first session of the Assembly of the African Union. The second session of the Assembly was held in Maputo in 2003 and the third session in Addis Ababa was held on 6 July 2004. Since 2010,

3720-632: The Overseas Development Institute and others points to the need to adopt frameworks which are more flexible, grounded, and innovative in service delivery, which also requires changes to donors' models. This report by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) collects the perspectives on the 'world we want' from over 1 million people around the globe. For almost one year, people engaged in 88 national consultations, 11 thematic dialogues, and through

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3840-773: The Sahara and the Nile . The primary working languages are Arabic , English , French , Portuguese , Spanish , and Swahili . Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament . At a G20 (Group of 20) meeting held in Delhi , India in 2023, the African Union was admitted as a member to the G20 like the European Union . The objectives of

3960-677: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco , which claims sovereignty over the Western Sahara , withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity in 1984 due to the admission of the SADR as a member. On 30 January 2017, the AU readmitted Morocco as a member state. Somaliland 's 2005 application to join the AU is still pending. Mali was suspended from the African Union on 19 August 2020 following

4080-860: The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment to consider the rights of the family to a healthy and productive environment. The current UN development agenda is centred on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the UN in 2000. The MDGs encapsulate eight globally agreed goals in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, gender equality and empowerment of women, child and maternal health, environmental sustainability, reducing HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, and building

4200-578: The trust territories attained independence and the decolonization movement progressed, the functions of the Special Political Committee were merged into the Fourth Committee during the 1990s. Each main committee consists of all the members of the General Assembly. Each elects a chairman, three vice chairmen, and a rapporteur at the outset of each regular General Assembly session. These are not numbered. According to

4320-428: The "A Million Voices" report left off by looking more in depth at factors within a specific country that will either support or impede implementation. The findings of this report derive from six Dialogues revealing several main principles in order to support the successful implementation of the new development agenda: participation, inclusion, and the need for strengthened capacities and partnerships. Lessons learned from

4440-630: The "Future We Want" outcome document forms the link between the Rio+20 agreement and the Millennium Development Goals : "We recognize that the development of goals could also be useful for pursuing focused and coherent action on sustainable development. The goals should address and incorporate in a balanced way all three dimensions of sustainable development (environment, economics, and society) and their interlinkages. The development of these goals should not divert focus or effort from

4560-431: The 'global MyWorld citizen survey also show the extent that people see 'an honest and responsive government' as a top priority. This emerged as the second highest of a range of sixteen factors' ... 'second only to 'a good education' globally (and within the top five priorities for Low-Human Development Index countries).' Researchers found that areas gaining traction in the post 2015 conversation include - They warn against

4680-580: The 18th AU summit. The complex was built by China State Construction Engineering Corporation as a gift from the Chinese government , and accommodates, among other facilities, a 2,500-seat plenary hall and a 20-story office tower. The tower is 99.9 meters high to signify the date 9 September 1999, when the Organisation of African Unity voted to become the African Union. The building cost US$ 200 million to construct. On 26 January 2018, five years after

4800-671: The 1946-1951 period the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic Social Council also conducted proceedings at the United Nations interim headquarters at Lake Success, New York . During this time in 1949, the CBS Television network provided live coverage of these sessions on its United Nations in Action broadcast series which was produced by the journalist Edmund Chester . It moved to

4920-547: The AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are: The membership of many of the communities overlaps, and their rationalisation has been under discussion for several years—and formed the theme of the 2006 Banjul summit. At the July 2007 Accra summit the Assembly finally decided to adopt a Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. This protocol

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5040-550: The AU—over thirty states have ratified the Kampala Convention , the only continental treaty focusing on internally displaced persons in the world. Beginning in 2016, the African Union introduced continent-wide passports. The individual member states of the African Union coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis. The AU represents

5160-581: The African Union are: The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union , made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Félix Tshisekedi , President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The AU also has a representative body, the Pan-African Parliament , which consists of 265 members elected by

5280-506: The African Union eyes the establishment of a joint African space agency . Barack Obama was the first-ever sitting United States president to speak in front of the African Union in Addis Ababa on 29 July 2015. During his speech, he encouraged the world to increase economic ties via investments and trade with the continent and lauded the signs of progress made in education , infrastructure and economy . However, he also criticized

5400-538: The African Union originated in the First Congress of Independent African States , held in Accra , Ghana from 15 to 22 April 1958. The conference was aimed at establishing Africa Day to annually mark the liberation movement concerning the willingness of the African people to free themselves from colonial rule, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which

5520-449: The African Union project. There are divisions among African states on the proposals, with some (notably Libya ) following a maximalist view leading to a common government with an AU army; and others (especially the southern African states) supporting rather a strengthening of the existing structures, with some reforms to deal with administrative and political challenges in making the AU Commission and other bodies truly effective. Following

5640-429: The Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member , in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. The first session of

5760-404: The Assembly. After 13 sessions, the OWG submitted their proposal of 8 SDGs and 169 targets to the 68th session of the General Assembly in September 2014. On 5 December 2014, the UN General Assembly accepted the Secretary General 's Synthesis Report, which stated that the agenda for the post-2015 SDG process would be based on the OWG proposals. In 1972, governments met in Stockholm , Sweden , for

5880-423: The Constitutive Act of the African Union, The working languages of the Union and all its institutions shall be, if possible, African languages, Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. A protocol amending the Constitutive Act was adopted in 2003 and as of April 2020 has been ratified by 30 of the 37 member states needed for a two-thirds majority. It would change the above wording to, 1. The official languages of

6000-405: The East African region. Several member states refused to support Sudan because of tensions over Darfur (see also below). Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo was elected to a one-year term. At the January 2007 summit, Sassou-Nguesso was replaced by President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, despite another attempt by Sudan to gain

6120-415: The European Union (since 1974). Further, the United Nations General Assembly may grant observer status to an international organization or entity, which entitles the entity to participate in the work of the United Nations General Assembly, though with limitations. The agenda for each session is planned up to seven months in advance and begins with the release of a preliminary list of items to be included in

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6240-509: The Free Movement Protocol. This protocol allows for free movement of people between countries that are part of the African Union. Article 14 of the Protocol to the treaty establishing the African economic community relating to the free movement of persons, right of residence, and the right of establishment discusses the free movement of workers. The African Union also has a Migration Policy Framework for Africa (MPFA). Forced displacement of people and groups has also been an area of focus for

6360-405: The French media report. Moussa Faki Mahamat , head of the African Union Commission, said the allegations in the Le Monde ' s report were false. "These are totally false allegations and I believe that we are completely disregarding them." The African Union replaced its Chinese-supplied servers and started encrypting its communications following the event. In 2018, the African Union adopted

6480-435: The General Assembly and the other principal organs to ensure better coordination on topical issues that required coordinated action by the United Nations, in accordance with their respective mandates. A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, or United Nations People's Assembly (UNPA), is a proposed addition to the United Nations System that eventually could allow for direct election of UN parliament members by citizens all over

6600-486: The General Assembly simply appointing the candidate that receives the Council's nomination. The United Nations Regional Groups were created in order to facilitate the equitable geographical distribution of seats among the Member States in different United Nations bodies. Resolution 33/138 of the General Assembly states that "the composition of the various organs of the United Nations should be so constituted as to ensure their representative character." Thus, member states of

6720-454: The General Assembly website, the most important are: Other committees of the General Assembly are enumerated . There are six commissions: Despite its name, the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was actually a subsidiary body of ECOSOC . There are seven boards which are categorized into two groups: a) Executive Boards and b) Boards The newest council is the United Nations Human Rights Council , which replaced

6840-512: The General Assembly's agenda, committee structure, and procedures; strengthening the role and authority of its president ; enhancing the role of civil society ; and establishing a mechanism to review the decisions of its committees, in order to minimize unfunded mandates and micromanagement of the United Nations Secretariat . Annan reminded UN members of their responsibility to implement reforms, if they expect to realize improvements in UN effectiveness. The reform proposals were not taken up by

6960-434: The MDGs show the key role of local government in defining and delivering the MDGs, and in communicating them to citizens. Evidence for this includes the multiplication of decentralized development cooperation initiatives and the use of city-to-city cooperation as a cost-effective mechanism for implementation. In February 2014, UNDP and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), on behalf of UNDG, together with

7080-463: The MDGs were to be achieved by 2015, a further process was needed. Discussion of the post-2015 framework for international development began well in advance, with the United Nations System Task Team on Post 2015 Development Agenda releasing the first report known as Realizing The Future We Want . The Report was the first attempt to achieve the requirements under paragraph 246 and 249 of the Future We Want document. It identified four dimensions as part of

7200-510: The MY World global survey. As member states consult on the shape and content of a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) beyond 2015, it is hoped that the opportunity to listen to these voices will contribute to reaching consensus on what is needed to move towards a common sustainable future. The report was launched at a press conference by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and chair of UNDG on 10 September 2013 in New York. Paragraph 246 of

7320-419: The OAU issued the Sirte Declaration (named after Sirte, Libya) on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of an African Union. The Declaration was followed by summits at Lomé in 2000, when the Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted, and at Lusaka in 2001, when the plan for the implementation of the African Union was adopted. During the same period, the initiative for the establishment of

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7440-566: The OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union , a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission , is based in Addis Ababa . The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, Egypt . The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around 30 million km (12 million sq mi) and includes world landmarks such as

7560-553: The Post-2015 Development Agenda. National consultations follow several objectives: The consultations include different stakeholders including civil society organizations, disadvantaged and minority groups, the private sector, academia, women organizations and youth, and other constituencies according to particular national contexts. The countries selected to participate are a representative sample across several dimensions: regional, country typology, and different types of development challenges. Countries are determining how they want to take

7680-489: The Post-2015 Development Agenda. Notably, the African Union has mandated the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank and UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, to come up with an African Common Position on the Post 2015 Development Agenda. This Common Position will be a result of multiple sub-regional and regional consultations with African policy makers (national and regional), civil society organizations, academia,

7800-410: The Post-2015 Development Agenda; those negotiations resulted in the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in July 2015. The UN System Task Team was established by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to support UN system-wide preparations for the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda. It comprises 60 UN agencies, as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund . In June 2012, it published

7920-480: The Security Council for two-year terms, 18 members of the Economic and Social Council for three-year terms, and 14–18 members of the Human Rights Council for three-year terms. It also elects the leadership of the next General Assembly session, i.e. the next President of the General Assembly, the 21 vice presidents, and the bureaux of the six main committees. Elections to the International Court of Justice take place every three years in order to ensure continuity within

8040-635: The Security Council if supported by at least seven members, or by a majority of Member States of the United Nations. If enough votes are had, the Assembly must meet within 24 hours, with Members being notified at least twelve hours before the opening of the session. There have been 11 emergency special sessions in the history of the United Nations. The General Assembly subsidiary organs are divided into five categories: committees (30 total, six main), commissions (six), boards (seven), councils (four) and panels (one), working groups, and "other." The main committees are ordinally numbered , 1–6: The roles of many of

8160-428: The Steering Committees working on their founding have been constituted. Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency (the Afro ). The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit held in Accra , Ghana, was the creation of a Union Government, with the aim of moving towards a United States of Africa . A study on the Union Government was adopted in late 2006, and proposes various options for "completing"

8280-450: The UN General Assembly was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London and included representatives of 51 nations. Until moving to its permanent home in Manhattan in 1951, the Assembly convened at the former New York City Pavilion of the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing, New York . On November 29, 1947, the Assembly voted to adopt the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine at this venue. During

8400-417: The UN secretary-general in annual sessions at the General Assembly Building , within the UN headquarters in New York City. The primary phase of these meetings generally runs from September through part of January until all issues are addressed, which is often before the next session starts. It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions. The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in

8520-481: The Union and all its institutions shall be Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and any other African language. 2. The Executive Council shall determine the process and practical modalities for the use of official languages as working languages. Founded in 2001 under the auspices of the AU, the African Academy of Languages promotes the usage and perpetuation of African languages among African people. In 2004 Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique addressed

8640-621: The United Nations Charter . The UNGA is responsible for the UN budget, appointing the non-permanent members to the Security Council , appointing the UN secretary-general , receiving reports from other parts of the UN system, and making recommendations through resolutions . It also establishes numerous subsidiary organs to advance or assist in its broad mandate. The UNGA is the only UN organ where all member states have equal representation. The General Assembly meets under its President or

8760-599: The United Nations World Summit in September 2005. Instead, the Summit solely affirmed the central position of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, as well as the advisory role of the Assembly in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international law. The Summit also called for strengthening the relationship between

8880-400: The United Nations are informally divided into five regions, with most bodies in the United Nations system having a specific number of seats allocated for each regional group. Additionally, the leadership of most bodies also rotates between the regional groups, such as the presidency of the General Assembly and the chairmanship of the six main committees. The regional groups work according to

9000-466: The United Nations has evolved over the years; major resolutions on the process include General Assembly resolutions: 41/213 of 19 December 1986, 42/211 of 21 December 1987, and 45/248 of 21 December 1990. The budget covers the costs of United Nations programmes in areas such as political affairs, international justice and law, international cooperation for development, public information, human rights, and humanitarian affairs. The main source of funds for

9120-723: The United Nations, as marked by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with a name " UN70 ". United Nations General Assembly For two articles dealing with the membership of and participation in the General Assembly, see: The United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA or GA ; French: Assemblée générale , AG ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session , its powers, composition, functions, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of

9240-401: The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals". Paragraph 249 states that "the process needs to be coordinated and coherent with the processes to consider the post-2015 development agenda". Taken together, paragraph 246 and 249 paved the way for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000 and

9360-580: The aforementioned UNCHR in March 2006. There are a total of four councils and one panel. There is a varied group of working groups and other subsidiary bodies. Countries are seated alphabetically in the General Assembly according to English translations of the countries' names. The country which occupies the front-most left position is determined annually by the secretary-general via ballot draw. The remaining countries follow alphabetically after it. On 21 March 2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented

9480-517: The agreement in the Future We Want outcome document. The Rio+20 summit also agreed that the process of designing sustainable development goals, should be "action-oriented, concise and easy to communicate, limited in number, aspirational, global in nature and universally applicable to all countries while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities". Because

9600-434: The approval of budgetary matters, including the adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under the Security Council 's consideration. During the 1980s, the Assembly became a forum for "North-South dialogue" between industrialized nations and developing countries on

9720-613: The assembly in Swahili, but had to translate his words himself. The AU declared 2006 the Year of African Languages. 2006 also marked Ghana's 55th anniversary since it founded the Bureau of Ghana Languages originally known as Gold Coast Vernacular Literature Bureau . All UN member states based in Africa and on African islands are members of the AU, as is the partially recognized state of

9840-623: The authority to make final decisions in some areas such as the United Nations budget. The General Assembly can also refer an issue to the Security Council to put in place a binding resolution. From the First to the Thirtieth General Assembly sessions, all General Assembly resolutions were numbered consecutively, with the resolution number followed by the session number in Roman numbers (for example, Resolution 1514 (XV) , which

9960-438: The beginning of the following sessions. The General Assembly votes on many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These are generally statements symbolizing the sense of the international community about an array of world issues. Most General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable as a legal or practical matter, because the General Assembly lacks enforcement powers with respect to most issues. The General Assembly has

10080-502: The beginning of the new session, includes more thematic debates, consultation processes and working group meetings. The general debate of each new session of the General Assembly is held the week following the official opening of the session, typically the following Tuesday, and is held without interruption for nine working days. The general debate is a high-level event, typically attended by Member States' heads of state or government , government ministers and United Nations delegates. At

10200-523: The chair. The year 2007 was the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, a symbolic moment for the country to hold the chair of the AU—and to host the mid-year summit at which the proposed Union Government was also discussed. In January 2008, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania took over as chair, representing the East African region and thus apparently ending Sudan's attempt to become chair—at least till

10320-680: The completion of the building of the AU Headquarters, the French newspaper Le Monde published an article stating that the Chinese government had heavily bugged the building, installing listening devices in the walls and furniture and setting up the computer system to copy data to servers in Shanghai daily. The Chinese government denied that they bugged the building, stating that the accusations were "utterly groundless and ridiculous." Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn rejected

10440-429: The consensus principle. Candidates who are endorsed by them are, as a rule, elected by the General Assembly in any subsequent elections. The General Assembly meets annually in a regular session that opens on the third Tuesday of September, and runs until the following September. Sessions are held at United Nations Headquarters in New York unless changed by the General Assembly by a majority vote. The regular session

10560-641: The consultations forward, but UNDG provided guidelines in support. Starting in May 2012, the objective of the global thematic consultations is to organize formal and informal meetings with different stakeholders around current and emerging challenges. The consultations focus on eleven themes identified by UNDG: inequalities, health, education, growth and employment, environmental sustainability, governance, conflict and fragility, population dynamics, hunger, food and nutrition security, energy, and water. Several thematic meetings have already taken place. The first thematic meeting on growth, structural change and employment

10680-418: The country's President Alpha Condé . Sudan's membership was suspended by the African Union on 27 October 2021, after a military coup deposed the civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok . Burkina Faso's membership was suspended by the African Union in the aftermath of a military coup on 31 January 2022. Niger's membership was suspended by the African Union on 22 August 2023 following

10800-640: The course of just three months; however, additional workloads have extended these sessions until just short of the next session. The routinely scheduled portions of the sessions normally commence on "the Tuesday of the third week in September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day," per the UN Rules of Procedure. The last two of these Regular sessions were routinely scheduled to recess exactly three months afterward in early December but were resumed in January and extended until just before

10920-415: The court. In these elections, five judges are elected for nine-year terms. These elections are held jointly with the Security Council, with candidates needing to receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. The Assembly also, in conjunction with the Security Council, selects the next secretary-general of the United Nations. The main part of these elections is held in the Security Council, with

11040-470: The formation of the Union Government." Following this decision, a panel of eminent persons was set up to conduct the "audit review". The review team began its work on 1 September 2007. The review was presented to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at the January 2008 summit in Addis Ababa. No final decision was taken on the recommendations, however, and a committee of ten heads of state

11160-526: The full involvement of LRGs and local stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. To achieve a transformation agenda, we need transformed institutions that highlight the importance of national-level actors. This new agenda takes into account a diversity of stakeholders with policies and actions derived from a specific national context. When strengthening capacities we should concentrate on existing institutions and national development plans. We need to actively engage with individuals by embedding participation as

11280-413: The general debate, Member States are given the opportunity to raise attention to topics or issues that they feel are important. In addition to the general debate, there are also many other high-level thematic meetings, summits and informal events held during general debate week. Special sessions, or UNGASS, may be convened in three different ways, at the request of the Security Council, at the request of

11400-412: The global consultation on governance and post 2015 goals and an open conversation and debate with new actors. Launched in September 2012, the web platform, is a repository for both the thematic and the national consultations. It allows people from all over the world to participate in the global conversation on the issue they want to highlight in the post-2015 development debate. Moreover, the website hosts

11520-524: The history of the United Nations. If the Security Council is unable, usually due to disagreement among the permanent members, to come to a decision on a threat to international peace and security, then emergency special sessions can be convened in order to make appropriate recommendations to member states for collective measures. This power was given to the Assembly in Resolution 377(V) of 3 November 1950. Emergency special sessions can be called by

11640-558: The main committees have changed over time. Until the late 1970s, the First Committee was the Political and Security Committee and there was also a sufficient number of additional "political" matters that an additional, unnumbered main committee, called the Special Political Committee, also sat. The Fourth Committee formerly handled Trusteeship and Decolonization matters. With the decreasing number of such matters to be addressed as

11760-727: The margins of the annual high level debate of the UN General Assembly and it submitted its recommendations on how to arrive at an agreement on the post-2015 agenda to the Secretary-General in May 2013. The terms of reference of the HLP include the consideration of the findings of the national and thematic consultations at regional and national levels. On 30 May 2013, the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda released "A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development,"

11880-599: The national legislatures of the AU member states. Its president is Roger Nkodo Dang . Other political institutions of the AU include: The AU Commission , the secretariat to the political structures, is chaired by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa. On 15 July 2012, Dlamini-Zuma won a tightly contested vote to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, replacing Jean Ping of Gabon . Other AU structures are hosted by different member states: The AU's first military intervention in

12000-483: The new development agenda successfully. The results of the national and local dialogues have also informed regional and international events and policy discussions, and have been presented to key decision-makers of the Post-2015 framework. At the end of the UNDG mandated Dialogue on Localizing the Post-2015 Development Agenda, several of the institutions that led the process expressed an interest in continuing to advocate for

12120-835: The offshore islands of Africa: Spain (the Canary Islands and the islands of the plazas de soberanía ); France ( Mayotte , Réunion , and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean ); Portugal (the Azores , Madeira , and the Savage Islands ); and the United Kingdom ( Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ). The geography of the African Union is wildly diverse, including the world's largest hot desert (the Sahara ), huge jungles and savannas , and

12240-433: The organization. The Charter of the United Nations gives responsibility for approving the budget to the General Assembly (Chapter IV, Article 17) and for preparing the budget to the secretary-general, as "chief administrative officer" (Chapter XV, Article 97). The Charter also addresses the non-payment of assessed contributions (Chapter IV, Article 19). The planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation cycle of

12360-405: The outset, the OWG [Open Working Group] will decide on its methods of work, including developing modalities to ensure the full involvement of relevant stakeholders and expertise from civil society, Indigenous Peoples, the scientific community and the United Nations system in its work, in order to provide a diversity of perspectives and experience". The gaps and shortcomings of MDG Goal 8 (To develop

12480-675: The permanent Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City at the start of its seventh regular annual session, on 14 October 1952. In December 1988, in order to hear Yasser Arafat , the General Assembly organized its 29th session in the Palace of Nations , in Geneva , Switzerland. All 193 members of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly, with the addition of the Holy See and Palestine as observer states as well as

12600-493: The polarisation of the debate around the strength of the post-2015 goals. They found that 'some political, governance and accountability features do seem to shape whether and how MDG commitments have been achieved (alongside important issues of resourcing, technical capacities and others)' and identified key factors: Their findings focus on national level governance 'because of the growing body of evidence relevant to development progress available at this level.' Global governance

12720-512: The private sector and other relevant stakeholders. In May 2014 the Planet Earth Institute hosted an event at the United Nations in New York where the panel (including Alvaro Sobrinho , Paul Boateng & Christopher Edwards ) spoke on Delivering the Post 2015 applied science and skills agenda for Africa: the role of business. National consultations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda are designed to open to crowd-sourcing

12840-469: The private sector will prove to be useful due to its ability to create an environment favourable to social and environmental impacts. By reinforcing the nature of ethical business practices, businesses can move beyond financial contributions and move towards poverty eradication and sustainability. The diversity of civil society can create an enabling environment that will strengthen the impact and trust of multiple stakeholders. By partnering with civil society,

12960-472: The provisional agenda. This is refined into a provisional agenda 60 days before the opening of the session. After the session begins, the final agenda is adopted in a plenary meeting which allocates the work to the various main committees, who later submit reports back to the Assembly for adoption by consensus or by vote. Items on the agenda are numbered. Regular plenary sessions of the General Assembly in recent years have initially been scheduled to be held over

13080-416: The rapid decline in global poverty since 2000 says a February 2013 paper from the Overseas Development Institute . The researchers report that the outcome statement of the recent Monrovia meeting of the high level panel said - 'Economic growth alone is not sufficient to ensure social justice, equity and sustained prosperity for all people...The protection and empowerment of people is crucial.' They write that

13200-437: The regular budget is the contributions of member states. The scale of assessments is based on the capacity of countries to pay. This is determined by considering their relative shares of total gross national product, adjusted to take into account a number of factors, including their per capita incomes. In addition to the regular budget, member states are assessed for the costs of the international tribunals and, in accordance with

13320-468: The report "Realizing the Future We Want for All" which serves as an input to the work of the High-Level Panel. On 31 July 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed 27 civil society, private sector, and government leaders from all regions of the world to a High-Level Panel (HLP) to advise him on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Members of the panel include: The HLP's work is guided by 24 framing questions. It held its first meeting on 25 September 2012 on

13440-490: The rotation returned to East Africa. The current chair is Mohamed Ould Ghazouani , President of Mauritania , whose term began on February 17, 2024. The main administrative capital of the African Union is in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia , where the African Union Commission is headquartered. A new headquarters complex, the AU Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC), was inaugurated on 28 January 2012, during

13560-774: The upcoming President of the General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council , the Human Rights Council , the International Court of Justice , judges of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal , and United Nations Appeals Tribunal . Most elections are held annually, with the exception of the election of judges to the ICJ, which happens triennially. The Assembly annually elects five non-permanent members of

13680-409: The usually closed multilateral negotiation process. The consultations generate inputs into global policy making from individuals and groups in 88 countries through meetings and conferences, online discussions, and larger public debates. The consultations are organized by UN teams in the participating 88 countries and will conclude by the end of March 2013. They form an integral part in the elaboration of

13800-493: The world's longest river (the Nile ). The AU has an area of 29,922,059 square kilometres (11,552,972 sq mi), with 24,165 kilometres (15,015 mi) of coastline. The vast majority of this area is on continental Africa, while the only significant territories off the mainland are the island of Madagascar (the world's largest microcontinent and fourth-largest island ) and the Sinai Peninsula (geographically

13920-629: The world. African Union The African Union ( AU ) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa . The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya , on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban , South Africa . The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments;

14040-458: Was appointed to consider the review and report back to the July 2008 summit to be held in Egypt. At the July 2008 summit, a decision was once again deferred, for a "final" debate at the January 2009 summit to be held in Addis Ababa. One of the key debates in relation to the achievement of greater continental integration is the relative priority that should be given to integration of the continent as

14160-555: Was established on 25 May 1963, and the African Economic Community in 1991. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club". The idea of creating the AU was revived in the mid-1990s under the leadership of Libyan head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi ; the heads of state and governments of

14280-544: Was held in Tokyo, Japan, on 15–16 May 2012. Researchers have discussed that the post-2015 dialogue is an opportunity to develop a practical agenda to ensure the principle of 'leaving no one behind' translates into real changes to deliver essential services to those in poverty. They called for a potential agenda which must recognise that both institutional capacity and politics matter for the more equitable delivery of these services. They found no blueprint for this, but evidence from

14400-654: Was the 1514th numbered resolution adopted by the Assembly and was adopted at the Fifteenth Regular Session (1960)). Beginning in the Thirty-First Session, resolutions are numbered by individual session (for example Resolution 41/10 represents the 10th resolution adopted at the Forty-First Session). The General Assembly also approves the budget of the United Nations and decides how much money each member state must pay to run

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