The Assembly’s session lasts a
year, starting in mid-September; the
busy season, during which time most resolutions are adopted, is from September to
December. Special sessions may be requested by the Assembly, at the request of
the Security Council, or at the request of a majority of UN Members.
At the beginning of each regular session in September, the Assembly holds a
two-week general debate at which time heads of State present their views on a wide
range of issues of concern to the international community, from war and terrorism to
disease and poverty. Each year, the General Assembly elects a president who
presides over these meetings as a neutral party that represents the United Nations.
The work of the Assembly is also carried out by its six main committees, the
Human Rights Council, other subsidiary bodies and the UN Secretariat. The six main
committees of the General Assembly are: First Committee (Disarmament and
International Security); Second Committee (Economic and Financial); Third
Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural); Fourth Committee (Special Political
and Decolonization); Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary); and Sixth
Committee (Legal).