The General Assembly (GA) is the main body of the United Nations. Since the creation of the UN, the GA has been the focal point for matters of general as well as international concern. As such, each country has an Ambassador to the General Assembly. This Ambassador should be seen as the coordinator of the country’s delegation and is responsible for assimilating information gathered by the country’s representatives.
A GA ambassador represents the final view of their nation on all issues discussed in the General Assembly and is usually asked to comment to the press on issues concerning their nation. A GA ambassador’s comments are considered powerful due to the political environment in which they operate. The immense responsibility placed on the GA ambassador is shown in the broad range of actions taken in the General Assembly. Countries may be negotiating a peace accord or teetering on the brink or war. Debate is enriched, but also made more difficult, by this degree of freedom of action.
The General Assembly deals with topics of a broad nature and requires delegates to be versed in a wider range of international issues than expected in other bodies. This does not mean, however, that a delegate should be an expert on each topic. Rather, an Ambassador to the General Assembly should have a working knowledge in most of the issues that drive the country and will be able to extrapolate sufficiently to determine their country’s position. The General Assembly operates under the Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines.
The Committees of the General Assembly develop resolutions based on their respective committees purpose and shall remain together for the duration of the conference. The resolutions developed in these committees may be specific or broad in nature. Since the resolutions crafted in these committees may be forwarded to the General Assembly for consideration, students are encouraged to craft detailed and accurate proposals. Since resolutions may be forwarded to the General Assembly, delegates from these committees may be allowed to address the General Assembly, but are not guaranteed that right. Therefore all comments and discussion points from a country of this committee should be forwarded to their General Assembly Ambassador.