Somali has been elected Vice President of the 75th session of the United Nationals General Assembly, UNGA which will run for the year 2020 / 2021.
Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir was last week elected President of the session and he takes over from Nigeria’s Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, who was president of the outgoing (74th) session.
Somalia’s permanent envoy to the UN, ambassador Abukar Osman will be occupying the position. It is not the first time the country is holding the top post. Its envoys have previously served in the 18th, 34th and 41st sessions, the Somali Mission at the UN said.
Ambassador Abukar is among 21 Vice Presidents for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. The Vice-Presidents are elected according to a pattern that ensures equitable geographical representation, the UN Library says. Aside Somalia; Togo, Mali, Libya, Eswatini Cameroon are also serving as veeps from the African region.
In the 74th session, four African countries served in vice presidential capacities: Cape Verde, Congo Republic, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. The five permanent members of the Security Council are always represented as veeps – France, Russia, China, the United States and United Kingdom.
About the Ordinary Sessions and its president
The General Assembly meets annually in regular session, intensively from September to December, and resumes in January until all issues on the agenda are addressed – which often is just before the next session starts.
Since the 60th session in 2005, the President-elect of the General Assembly suggests a theme of global concern for the upcoming general debate, based on informal discussions with Member States, the President of the current session of the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General.
Shortly after his/her election, 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.
About the UNGA
The General Assembly is one of the six main organs of the United Nations, the only one in which all Member States have equal representation: one nation, one vote.
All 193 Member States of the United Nations are represented in this unique forum to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, international law, etc.
In September, all the Members meet in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session.
