The general debate of the sixty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly was the first debate of the 65th session of the General Assembly that ran from 23 – 29 September 2010. Leaders from member states addressed the General Assembly.
Organization The speaking order of the general debate is different from the speaking order of other General Assembly debates. For the general debate, Secretary-General speaks first delivering their "Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, " they are then followed by: the President of the General Assembly who opens the general debate, the delegate from Brazil and the Delegate from the United States of America. After this, the order is first given to Member States, then Observer States and supranational bodies. For all other Member States, the speaking order is based on their level of representation at the general debate, order preference and other criteria such as geographic balance.
According to the rules in place for the general debate, statements should be made in one of the United Nations' official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and are translated by United Nations translators. Additionally, speakers are usually limited to a 15-minute time limit in order to comply with the schedule set up by the General Committee. Member States are also advised to provide 350 paper copies of their statements in order for them to be distributed to other Member States, as well as to translation services.
The theme for the 64th session was chosen by President Joseph Deiss as: "Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in global governance." After their election, the newly elected President of the General Assembly advises all Member States of the debate of the upcoming Session, and invites them to focus their speeches on the proposed theme.
Speaking schedule 23 September 2010 Morning Session
– Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization) – President of the 65th Session of the General Assembly Joseph Deiss (Opening) – Minister for Foreign Affairs Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim – President Doris Leuthart – President Barack Obama – President Bingu Wa Mutharika – President Laura Chinchilla Miranda – President Mahinda Rajapaksa – President Abdullah Gül – Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani – President Mwai Kibaki – President Emomali Rahmon – President Alan García Pérez – President Viktor Yanukovych – Premier Wen Jiabao – Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Afternoon Session – President Mikheil Saakashvili – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – President Ivan Gašparovič – King Abdullah II – President Joseph Kabila Kabange – President Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev – President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal – President Paul Biya – President Sebastián Piñera – President Bamir Topi – President Leonel Fernández Reyna – President Dalia Grybauskaitė – President Evo Morales Ayma – President Ernest Bai Koroma – President Jalal Talabani – President Salou Djibo – Deputy Prime Minister Steven Vanackere – Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Marie Ehouzou
Right of Reply Islamic Republic of Iran The Islamic Republic of Iran used its Right of Reply to respond to statements made by Belgium in its general debate speech before the Assembly. Belgium, in its speech, stated that non-acceptance for the provisions of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) by countries like North Korea and Iran threatened the international nonproliferation regime.
Iran responded by stating that Iran's had always been for peaceful purposes, which had been confirmed numerous times by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It continued by stating it was the right of every sovereign nation to develop peaceful nuclear energy under the NPT, and that Iran was not an exception in this regard. Finally, it stated that the international community should focus more on the secret, non-safeguarded nuclear-weapon installations of the Zionist regime, and not those of the peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Belgium Belgium used its Right of Reply to respond to the Right of Reply of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Belgium stated that, as a member of the European Union, it fully adhered to the position repeatedly expressed by the European Union with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue.
24 September 2010 Morning Session – President Pál Schmitt – President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – President Ali Bongo Ondimba – President Michel Sleiman – President Abdoulaye Wade – President Tarja Halonen – President Johnson Toribiong – President Demetris Christofias – President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan – Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – Prime Minister Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah – Prime Minister Naoto Kan – Deputy Prime Minister Jean Asselborn
Afternoon Session – President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf – President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón – President Robert Mugabe – President René Garcia Préval – President Paul Kagame – President Hifikepunye Pohamba – President Bharrat Jagdeo – President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi – President Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena – President Toomas Hendrik Ilves – President Benigno Aquino III – President Filip Vujanović – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – President Choummaly Sayasone – President Marcus Stephen – President Valdis Zatlers – President Gjorge Ivanov – Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo – Prime Minister Emil Boc – Prime Minister Stephenson King – Minister for Foreign Affairs Murray McCully – Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson – Minister for Foreign Affairs Basile Ikouébé – Secretary of State Mario Canahuati
Right of Reply Islamic Republic of Iran The delegation of Islamic Republic of Iran used its Right of Reply to respond to statements made by both Kuwait and the United Kingdom in their general debate speeches before the Assembly. Kuwait, in its speech, stated that the disputed islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs were illegally occupied Emarati Islands, and called for a resolution according to the principles and bases of international law. Iran responded by stating that there was no conflict whatsoever over the islands, as they were an eternal part of the Iranian territory and were under the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran also responded to statements made by the United Kingdom made in its speech before the Assembly. The United Kingdom, in its speech, raised its concern over the Iranian nuclear program, and denounced comments made by Iranian President Ahmedinejad in his general debate address as an attempt to distract attention from Iran's nuclear obligations and to generate media headlines. In his speech, Ahmedinejad had implied that a majority of Americans, as well as people from around the world, agreed that the United States Government orchestrated the [ September 11th ] attacks to reverse the declining American economy and its grip on the Middle East.
Iran responded to the United Kingdom by defending Ahmedinejad, stating that he simply raised a number of questions concerning one of the main events of the past decade. Additionally, it reminded the body that Iran was among the first nations to denounce the terrorist attacks as cowardly and atrocious.
25 September 2010 Morning Session – President Jurelang Zedkaia – President Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool – Head of State Mswati III – President Boris Tadić – President Desiré Delano Bouterse – President Malam Bacai Sanhá – President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed – President Haris Silajdžić – Prime Minister Borut Pahor – Prime Minister José Socrates – Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende – President Mahmoud Abbas – Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf – Vice-Chancellor Guido Westerwelle – Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Aboul Gheit – Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd – Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev
Afternoon Session – President José Ramos-Horta – President Václav Klaus – President Anote Tong – Vice-president Gervais Rufyikiri – Vice-president Alik L. Alik – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – Minister for Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini – Minister for Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé – Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger – Minister for Foreign Affairs Maite Nkoana-Mashabane – Minister for Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian Republic of Korea – Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Shin Kak-Soo
Right of Reply Sudan Sudan used its Right of Reply to respond to statements made by the Netherlands in its general debate speech before the Assembly. The Netherlands, in its speech, praised advances in international criminal law, while also denouncing the fact that individuals with International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants, such as President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, were allowed to move freely in ICC partner states.
Sudan responded by stating that the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that a State that is not a party to a treaty is not bound by that treaty's provisions. In this case, Sudan was not a signatory of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and, as such, was not bound by its provisions. It also praised Resolution Assembly/AU/13(XIII) of the African Union (AU) which gave AU Member States the legal grounds to not cooperate with the ICC in regards to the arrest and surrender of individuals, and further reserved the right of the AU to make any decisions that may be deemed necessary in order to preserve and safeguard the dignity, sovereignty and integrity of the continent. Finally, it called the statements by the Netherlands unacceptable and accused it of interfering in the internal affairs of Sudan.
27 September 2010 Morning Session – Vice-president Lenín Moreno Garcés – Vice-president Mompati Merafhe – Vice-president Mohamed Waheed Hassan – Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda – Vice-president Ali Osman Mohamed Taha – Prime Minister Orette Bruce Golding – Prime Minister Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak – Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama – Prime Minister Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili – Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi – Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonella Mularoni – Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi – Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor – Minister for Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner – Minister for Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci – Minister for Foreign Affairs Ruslan Kazakbaev – Minister for Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa – Minister for Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla – Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam
Afternoon Session – Prime Minister Michael Somare – Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar – Prime Minister Winston Baldwin Spencer – Head of Government Jaume Bartumeu Cassany – Prime Minister Edward Natapei – Prime Minister Tillman Thomas – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar – Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor – Minister for Foreign Affairs Zalmai Rassoul – Minister for Foreign Affairs Samuel Santos López – Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka – Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin – Minister for Foreign Affairs Mamadou Tangara – Minister for Foreign Affairs Manuel Salvador dos Ramos – Minister for Foreign Affairs Antoine Gambi – Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Mohamed Bolkiah – Minister for Foreign Affairs Oldemiro Marques Balói – Minister of State Bhim Bahadur Rawal – Minister of State Kalombo Mwansa
28 September 2010 Morning Session – Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg – Minister for Foreign Affairs Abu Bakr al-Qirbi – Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Liberman – Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong – Minister for Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette – Minister for Foreign Affairs Nyan Win – Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo – Walid Muallem