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• Position: United Nations General Assembly's agenda - Brief Article

Han Seung-soo, President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, referring to Afghanistan said: "This year marked a turning point in our debate on this issue that has been on the agenda of the General Assembly since 1980."

The Assembly functioned in an atmosphere of uncertainty due to the events of Tuesday, 11 September. In the course of doing so, the international community rallied to welcome Afghanistan back into the comity of nations.

The day after the tragic events, the Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that called for "international cooperation to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the outrages of 11 September 2001". Security Council members departed from tradition and stood to unanimously adopt resolution 1373 (2001), which communicated the Council's readiness "to take all necessary steps to respond to the attacks, and to combat all forms of terrorism, yet keeping with the responsibilities of the UN Charter".

However, 11 September and the crisis in Afghanistan alone did not dictate all of the session's agenda. On its own, the Assembly adopted 75 resolutions, while the six Main Committees passed nearly 200. Some of the resolutions adopted by the Assembly in plenary dealt with:

* Recognizing the importance of volunteers, the "White Helmets", as an operational partner of the United Nations during relief, rehabilitation and technical cooperation for development;

* Recognizing the need for international cooperation during natural disasters, in light of the havoc brought upon Cuba by Hurricane Michelle;

* Highlighting the role of the United Nations in promoting development in a globalized and interdependent world;

* The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, and the need for full and equal participation of women in decision-making and the national life in Afghanistan; and

* Implementation of the First UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), including the proposal to establish a world solidarity fund for poverty eradication.

* Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal. The Assembly recognized that the goal of the Olympic movement, based upon mutual understanding and promoted by friendship, solidarity and fair play, was to build a peaceful and better world by educating the youths through sport, practised without discrimination of any kind. In this spirit, the International Olympic Committee invited...