General Assembly

General Assembly

Further Reading

• A concise encyclopedia of the United Nations (including General Assembly , H Volger, KA Annan -2010)
• The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (TG Weiss – 2007)
• International Law: A Dictionary (including General Assembly , Boczek, Boleslaw Adam -2005)

General Assembly (Of the United Nations)

General Assembly in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): On December 19, 2011, the General Assembly adopted by consensus its annual resolution on the rights of the child. U.N. Doc. A/RES/66/141. U.S. Deputy Representative Sammis delivered a statement on November 22, 2011 before the Third Committee adopted the resolution. Mr. Sammis’ statement is excerpted below and available in full at (internet link) usun.state.gov/briefing/statements/2011/177942.htm.

Developments

The United States is extremely pleased to co-sponsor the “Rights of the child” resolution today. Throughout the lengthy negotiations we welcomed the transparency, flexibility and support of the sponsors and other negotiating partners. This resolution highlights the important issue of protecting children with disabilities and to ensure that their interests and rights are safeguarded, and that they are equal participants in society. The United States is committed to advance the wellbeing of all children, including children with disabilities, and is committed to work with the U.S. partners in this room and around the world to advance the protection of these vulnerable children.

Details

Our domestic efforts include the Individuals with Disabilities Act, or IDEA. This landmark legislation mandates programs and services, including special education services, that actively support states and localities in guaranteeing individuals with disabilities a free and appropriate public education. IDEA currently supports the education of over six million children and youth and 322,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities. Over more than three decades, IDEA has resulted in more young children with disabilities receiving high-quality early interventions that prevent or reduce future need for services. In addition, more children with disabilities are not only attending mainstream schools, but are also receiving access to the general education curriculum and learning a wide variety of academic skills.

More about the Issue

The United States co-sponsors this resolution today with the express understanding that it does not imply that States must become parties to instruments to which they are not a party or implement obligations under human rights instruments to which they are not a party and, by co-sponsoring this resolution, we do not recognize any change in the current state of treaty or customary international law. Further we understand the resolution’s reaffirmation of prior documents to apply to those who affirmed them initially. Moreover, we note that references to transfer of technology in United Nations resolutions should refer to technology transfers on mutually agreed terms. We hope to continue working with the co-sponsors and other delegations next year.

General Assembly in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): The United States did not participate in the commemoration in September 2011 of the 10-year anniversary of the 2001 Durban Conference. The White House issued a press statement on September 22, 2011 explaining the decision not to participate. That statement appears below and is available at (internet link) whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/22/statement-press-secretary-10th-anniversary-durban-conference.

Developments

Several months ago, the United States announced that we would not participate in the 10-year commemoration of the 2001 Durban Conference. Consistent with that decision, we are not attending today’s high level event in New York.

Since its inception at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, the Durban process has included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism. In 2009, after working to try to achieve a positive, constructive outcome in the Durban Review Conference that would get past the deep flaws of the Durban process to date to focus on the critical issues of racism, the United States withdrew from participating because the review conference’s outcome document reaffirmed, in its entirety, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) from 2001, which unfairly and unacceptably singled out Israel. The DDPA also endorsed overbroad restrictions on freedom of expression that run counter to the U.S. commitment to robust free speech.

Details

Last December, the United States voted against the resolution establishing the commemoration because we did not want to see the hateful and anti-Semitic displays of the 2001 Durban Conference commemorated.

Over the last few months, we did not participate in negotiations on the Commemoration’s Political Declaration document and, like many other countries, we were not present when the Declaration was adopted. We are also deeply disappointed that the rules established for credentialing non-governmental organizations to participate were used by some delegations to silence voices critical of the Durban process.

More about the Issue

The United States is profoundly committed to ending racism and racial discrimination. We remain fully and firmly committed to upholding the human rights of all people and to combating racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance, anti-Semitism and bigotry, including through enhanced implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This commitment is rooted in the saddest chapters of the U.S. history and reflected in the most cherished values of the U.S. union. We will continue to work in partnership with all nations of goodwill to uphold human rights and combat racism, bigotry, and racial discrimination in all forms and all places.

General Assembly

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on general assembly explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

General Assembly

Resources

See Also

• International Human Rights
• Discrimination
• Race

Resources

See Also

• International Human Rights
• Children
• General Assembly Resolutions

Resources

See Also

• International Organization
• Foreign Relations
• Organization
• United Nations
• United Nations System

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See Also

• Legislature

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “general assembly” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

See Also

• See united nations.