[Final] Voting on Resolutions
Today we had the Combined General Assembly Plenary sessions where all the committees came together to vote on resolutions that had been passed in their respective committees. Having the entire group together was pretty amazing, with buzzing activity throughout the hall.
The first resolution came from the Third Committee, which basically asserted that if the State of Israel did not recognize Palestine as a State in 2 years, the UN would. It passed with 44 in favor, 29 opposed, and 31 abstaining (Niger was in favor).
The second resolution dealt with explicitly defining what were considered as 'small arms.' It passed with 54 in favor, 21 opposed, and 23 abstaining (Niger was in favor).
The their resolution surrounded criminal accountability of UN officials; it barely passed with 39 in favor, 37 opposed, and 17 abstaining (Niger abstained, but was in favor of it).
The final resolution dealt with global partnerships on environmental issues and passed with 57 in favor, 7 opposed, and 16 abstaining (Niger was in favor). After it passed, a delegate from Uganda vehemently expounded that it was 'an abomination' for the UN body to have passed the resolution having only discussed it for about 10 minutes.
My favorite part of the process is the 'roll call vote.' Instead of all in favor raising their placards at once, all opposed at once, and all abstaining at once, roll call votes require each country to announce their vote by calling it out as their country name is called. This process builds accountability for votes, allowing all to know exactly how each delegation voted. I still have my records and sheets recording all roll call votes, which look very official.
Today's session, although chaotic and busy, was a culmination of the UN body and gave us a better understanding of the way the actual UN works.
The first resolution came from the Third Committee, which basically asserted that if the State of Israel did not recognize Palestine as a State in 2 years, the UN would. It passed with 44 in favor, 29 opposed, and 31 abstaining (Niger was in favor).
The second resolution dealt with explicitly defining what were considered as 'small arms.' It passed with 54 in favor, 21 opposed, and 23 abstaining (Niger was in favor).
The their resolution surrounded criminal accountability of UN officials; it barely passed with 39 in favor, 37 opposed, and 17 abstaining (Niger abstained, but was in favor of it).
The final resolution dealt with global partnerships on environmental issues and passed with 57 in favor, 7 opposed, and 16 abstaining (Niger was in favor). After it passed, a delegate from Uganda vehemently expounded that it was 'an abomination' for the UN body to have passed the resolution having only discussed it for about 10 minutes.
My favorite part of the process is the 'roll call vote.' Instead of all in favor raising their placards at once, all opposed at once, and all abstaining at once, roll call votes require each country to announce their vote by calling it out as their country name is called. This process builds accountability for votes, allowing all to know exactly how each delegation voted. I still have my records and sheets recording all roll call votes, which look very official.
Today's session, although chaotic and busy, was a culmination of the UN body and gave us a better understanding of the way the actual UN works.
Labels: Homa
posted by Homa Hassan | 2:34 AM
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