Frequently Asked Questions

General debate

Q1. What is the general debate?

The general debate is the annual meeting of Heads of State and Government at the beginning of the General Assembly session. It is usually the first debate of the session and — with the exception of the high-level meetings — the only one in which Heads of State and Government regularly participate.

Q2. Which languages are available?

The general debate web site is available in all six UN languages. The daily list of speakers and all speaker's pages are created and updated in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Additionally, if the statement is made in a language other than the UN official languages, or in multiple languages, the individual speaker’s pages will display an option to view the video and listen to the audio on-demand in the language(s) in which the statement was delivered.

Q3. How long does the general debate last?

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure and A/RES/57/301, the general debate is to be held without interruption for nine working days. However, in practice, six days are usually sufficient to accommodate all speakers.

Q4. Where does the general debate take place?

The general debate takes place in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Q.5 What is the theme of the general debate?

Each year a new theme is chosen for the general debate. It is announced in a document called “Arrangements for the high-level meetings and the general debate of the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly” (A/INF/79/4 for 2024).

In 2024, the theme is "Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.

Q.6 How is the theme selected?

The President-elect of the General Assembly suggests a topic/theme of global concern for the upcoming general debate, based on informal discussions with Member States, the current President of the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General. Shortly after his/her election, usually no later than early August, the President-elect sends a letter to all Member States announcing the theme for the upcoming general debate and inviting them to focus their speeches on the proposed theme.

Q7. When is the general debate held this year?

The general debate of the 79th session of the General Assembly opens on Tuesday, 24 September 2024 and closes on Monday, 30 September 2024 (including Saturday, 28 September).

The meetings of the general debate are generally held from 9 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 9 pm. However, each meeting lasts until all scheduled speakers have spoken. Depending on how closely speakers comply with the recommended time limit, the morning meetings may run into the lunch break, and the afternoon meetings well into the night.

Q8. What are the length and the order of the speeches?

A voluntary 15-minute time limit for statements is to be observed in the general debate. Member States are informed by a note verbale from the Secretary-General at the end of May that the speakers list for the general debate is formally opened for signing up. The speaking order of the general debate is different from the speaking order of other General Assembly debates.

Speaking order of the general debate:

The President of the General Assembly calls the meeting to order;
The Secretary-General introduces the Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization (technically, not part of the general debate);
The President of the General Assembly opens the general debate and makes a speech;
Brazil is the first Member State to speak in the general debate (regardless of the level of representation) since the 10th session of the General Assembly, in 1955, except in 1983 and 1984;
The United States of America as the host country is the second Member State to speak (regardless of the level of representation), with a few exceptions;
For all other Member States, the speaking order is based on the level of representation, preference and other criteria such as geographic balance;
Only the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union are invited to participate in the general debate and their speaking slots are determined by the level of representation.

Q9. Do Members States have a right of reply?

Yes, the right of reply in response to a statement is made in writing by a Head of State. The letter is addressed to the Secretary-General, who will circulate it to all Member States.

During the general debate, statements in exercise of the right of reply to any other speaker are made at the end of each day. The number of interventions in the exercise of the right of reply for any delegation at a given meeting should be limited to two. The first intervention any delegation should be limited to ten minutes and the second intervention should be limited to five minutes.

A delegation, or a group of delegations, may demonstrate their disagreement with a speaker by getting up simultaneously and leaving the General Assembly Hall during a speech.

Q10. Is the general debate opened to the public?

No, the general debate and the General Assembly are not opened to the public. Due to the large number of VIPs attending, additional security measures are taken in and around the UN premises. Access to the premises is more restricted than usual and is restricted to delegates and their staff; staff members of the United Nations Secretariat and of the funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations system; accredited media; and affiliates who are wearing a United Nations grounds pass. In addition, members of civil society who are invited to attend the high-level meetings are required to be in possession of a meeting-specific pass at all times.

All other interested parties are invited to follow the proceeding on the dedicated website, which streams the general debate live and serves as an archive for debates going back to 2009.

Q11. Will the guided tours still take place during the general debate?

The guided tours are suspended from Monday, 16 September 2024, until the morning of Monday 7 October 2024.

UN Multimedia Products

Q12. Where can I find the Member States statements?

Each speaker has a dedicated page on the General Debate website featuring:

his/her statement in a PDF format and in as many languages as available;
an embedded video with all available audio tracks;
audio files in all six languages plus the “floor” (i.e. the language(s) in which the statement was delivered);
a summary of the statement (only available in English and French);
the official portrait of the speaker at the podium;
and any available UN news story published on the statement.

Content can be searched by session, date and country/speaker.

Q13. Where can I find the statements audio files?

Audio files of speeches in digital format (.mp3) will be available for download free of charge from the individual speaker's pages on the general debate website and from the UN Audiovisual Library website.

Audio enquiries and requests should be addressed to the United Nations Audio Library: avlibrary@un.org.

Q14. Where can I find the general debate photos?

Downloadable photographs in digital format (.jpg) of each speaker will be available the individual speaker's pages on the general debate website.

You can also download free of charge all photographs of the general debate after registering on the United Nations photo web site.

Photo enquiries and requests should be addressed to the United Nations Photo Library: photolibr@un.org

Q15. Where can I find videos and DVDs of the general debate?

Individual speaker's pages on the general debate website offers users the possibility to view the video of each speaker on-demand and in the language of their choice.

Delegations may request digital file formats of speeches (such as MOV and MPEG4 (H.264)) on-demand and they can also be downloaded online on the UN Audiovisual Library website. Copies of DVDs, Betacam SP, back orders or any other special requests are subject to charge. To request for a high resolution video copy of a statement, contact the United Nations Video Library: avlibrary@un.org

Live television feeds will be available through commercial carriers. For more information, contact the United Nations Television.

Broadcasters interested in accessing United Nations Television live coverage of the high-level meetings and the general debate can contact UNTV or one of their live transmission partners.