The General Assembly

In one line

The General Assembly is the plenary organ in which every Member has one vote, and it may discuss any matter within the Charter and recommend on it, but except in budgetary and internal matters its acts are recommendations and not commands.

Composition and voting: articles 9, 18 and 19

Article 9. The Assembly consists of all the Members, and each Member shall have not more than five representatives.

Article 18(1). Each member of the Assembly shall have one vote. That is the plainest expression in the Charter of the sovereign equality in article 2(1), and it is what makes the Assembly the organ in which small States count equally.

Article 18(2), important questions, decided by a two thirds majority of the members present and voting. The Charter lists them: recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security; the election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council; the election of the members of the Economic and Social Council; the election of members of the Trusteeship Council under article 86(1)(c); the admission of new Members; the suspension of the rights and privileges of membership; the expulsion of Members; questions relating to the operation of the trusteeship system; and budgetary questions.

Article 18(3). Other questions, including the determination of additional categories of questions to be decided by a two thirds majority, are decided by a majority of the members present and voting.

Read 18(3) carefully. The decision to add a new category of important question is itself taken by simple majority, which means an ordinary majority may raise the threshold for a later vote.

Present and voting means those casting an affirmative or negative vote. Abstentions are not counted, so a resolution may pass with fewer than two thirds of the membership behind it.

Article 19, arrears. A Member in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the contributions due for the preceding two full years. The Assembly may nevertheless permit it to vote if satisfied that the failure is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member.

That is the Assembly's only real sanction against its own membership, and it is automatic in form and negotiated in practice.

Powers: articles 10 to 17

The general power, article 10

The Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any organs provided for in the Charter, and, except as provided in Article 12, may make recommendations to the Members or to the Security Council or to both.