Since the 10th United Nations General Assembly in 1995, Brazil has been the first country to address the delegation, followed by the United States.
During the week-long Annual General Debate, which began on Tuesday, representatives from worldwide, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will address the chamber of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
According to the UNGA’s provisional list of speakers, PM Modi will address on September 25. During the debate, generally regarded as the core of the annual conference, conversations are likely to centre around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and security.
Annual General Debate
First, the President of the General Assembly, currently the Ecuadorean Foreign Minister MarÃa Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, calls the General Debate to order.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will next provide the Organization’s Annual Report on Activities. Following the President’s address, the debate begins. The general debate is not a debate.
Member nations take turns giving speeches and are allowed to respond if necessary. Long-standing traditions still govern several of the United Nations’ practises.
A complicated collection of rules and regulations directs everything from the order of speakers to the duration of their speeches. Every day, the General Assembly Debate has two parts: a morning session and an afternoon session.Â
Since the 10th United Nations General Assembly in 1995, Brazil has been the first country to address the delegation, followed by the United States.
The subsequent order follows a complex algorithm reflecting the level of representation, geographical balance and other considerations.
Even though speakers are supposed to restrict their speeches to around 15 minutes, world leaders sometimes go beyond that.
Fidel Castro of Cuba gave the longest speech ever delivered at the General Assembly, lasting four and a half hours in 1960 (albeit not during the General Debate).
But Why Brazil?
The Head of State of Brazil has been the first speaker at the UNGA for over six decades, which is a unique tradition. This custom dates back to the United Nations’ early years, following its establishment shortly after World War II.
Brazil isn’t the first nation that comes to mind when it comes to the country that should open the UN General Assembly’s general debate. It isn’t the host, nor is it at the top of the alphabetical list.
Brazil isn’t even a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. President Jair Bolsonaro, like countless other Brazilians before him, delivered the opening remarks during the UNGA general debate.
Most countries were hesitant to be the first to speak in the chamber during the initial days, and Brazil was the only country to volunteer to speak at that time.
Some think the practice began in 1947, when Oswaldo Aranha, Brazil’s top diplomat, presided over the Assembly’s First Special Session. He was also elected President of the second session of the General Assembly.
With a few exceptions, Brazil has always spoken first, followed by the United States, since the 10th session in 1955.
Then UN Protocol and Liaison Services chief Desmond Parker stated in 2010, that, “In very early times, when no one wanted to speak first, Brazil always…offered to speak first. And so they have earned the right to speak first at the General Assembly.”
The Second Spot
The United States, as the host country with the UN building in New York, takes second place. In his first UNGA speech since taking office earlier this year, US President Joe Biden spoke to the assembly on Tuesday, outlining his vision for a new era of diplomacy.
