A 'rich and powerful' debate.

• Author: Hagen, Jonas
• Position: 2002 Assembly Session

The President of the fifty-seventh General Assembly, Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic, in his closing remarks on 20 September described the general debate as "rich and powerful". Among the 188 speakers, the Assembly heard 33 heads of State, 14 heads of Government, 14 Deputy Prime Ministers and 110 Foreign Ministers. They debated a range of issues during the ten-day deliberation, which opened after a day of mourning commemorating the terrorist attacks of II September 2001. Major themes that emerged from the debate were peace and security, terrorism, globalization, HIV/AIDS and sustainable development. The Chronicle covers the Assembly debate organized around these themes in individual sections (see below).

The issue of Iraq was prominent, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan underscoring that 'efforts to obtain Iraq's compliance with the [security] Council resolutions mustcontinue". President George Bush of the United States said that if Iraq did not meet the demands of the Council, "action will be unavoidable".

The Middle East was an important topic in the debate, and a number of speakers recognized the need for two viable States--Israel and Palestine--with recognized and secure borders. Juli Minoves-Triquell of Andorra said that nations had come out of the ruins of the Second World War to build a better world for all and that this belief enabled him to envision a "glorious city on the hill. A new Jerusalem. A Jerusalem of all religions, all beliefs."

Countries voiced their support of the new regime in Afghanistan (see "Do Not Send Us Your Weapons", p. 18). Many delegates warned the Asssembly that the international community should not abandon the country again, and that there can be "no room for complacency" toward the rebuilding effort there, as Abdulaziz Kamilov of Uzbekistan said. Post-war dislocation, economic disaster, remnants of militant groups and drug production and trafficking still endanger the young democracy in Afghanistan, he said.

All participants in the debate denounced terrorism, and many Member States outlined concrete measures that they had undertaken to combat it (see "Respect for Human Life, Justice, Tolerance..., p. 22). States also voiced their support for the newly established International Criminal Court. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fog Rasmussen, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said: "People do not need revenge; they want justice. They do not wish for impunity; they want accountability. This is what the...