Historical Organization
UN General Assembly
UN General Assembly
Details
Organization Timeline
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted
📅 10 December 1948The declaration affirmed equal dignity and rights. Hansa Mehta helped secure “all human beings” in Article 1, while grassroots and anticolonial actors pushed to make universal rights meaningful beyond...
UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 194
📅 11 December 1948Resolution 194 (III) addressed refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with neighbours, and compensation. Palestinian refugee organisations subsequently invoked paragraph 11 in...
Arafat addresses the UN General Assembly
📅 13 November 1974Organizations/movement: PLO; UN General Assembly. Action: Arafat presented the Palestinian national case in a General Assembly address. Result: The PLO gained a major international platform. Impact...
The UN reaffirms Palestinian national rights
📅 22 November 1974Organizations/movement: UN General Assembly; PLO. Action: Resolution 3236 reaffirmed self-determination, national independence, sovereignty and return. Result: Palestinian rights were expressly framed...
The PLO receives UN observer status
📅 22 November 1974Organizations/movement: PLO; UN General Assembly. Action: Resolution 3237 invited the PLO to participate as an observer. Result: The organization acquired an ongoing place in UN deliberations....
The UN establishes a committee for Palestinian rights
📅 10 November 1975Organizations/movement: UN General Assembly; CEIRPP. Action: Resolution 3376 created a committee to recommend implementation of Palestinian inalienable rights. Result: A continuing UN institutional...
UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 31/20 on Palestine
📅 16 December 1976The Assembly again affirmed Palestinian rights and called for a just solution. The USSR supported Palestinian self-determination diplomatically, within a wider arena where Palestinian organizations...
CEDAW adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
📅 18 December 1979The Convention created international obligations to eliminate discrimination against women. Feminist movements used it as an accountability tool while challenging exclusions in both international...
UN calls emergency session on Afghanistan
📅 9 January 1980Security Council resolution 462 convened an emergency General Assembly session after disagreement among permanent members blocked action over Afghanistan.
Iran votes to condemn intervention in Afghanistan
📅 14 January 1980Iran voted for General Assembly resolution ES-6/2, which deplored armed intervention in Afghanistan and called for withdrawal of foreign troops.
UN General Assembly calls for Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
📅 14 January 1980Emergency Special Session Resolution ES-6/2 deplored the armed intervention and demanded the immediate, unconditional, and total withdrawal of foreign troops. The vote made Afghan sovereignty a...
UN requests ICJ opinion on separation wall
📅 10 December 2003UN General Assembly requests an advisory opinion on legal consequences of the wall in occupied Palestinian territory.
UN General Assembly vote on US draft resolution condemning Hamas
📅 6 December 2018A US-sponsored General Assembly draft resolution condemning Hamas received a majority but failed to secure the required two-thirds for adoption. The vote reflected international disputes over how to...
UN General Assembly requests ICJ advisory opinion on occupation
📅 30 December 2022The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 77/247 requesting an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the occupied...
ICJ says Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful
📅 19 July 2024In an advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that it must end as rapidly as possible. The...
UN General Assembly asks ICJ for opinion on Israel’s obligations toward the UN
📅 19 December 2024The General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting an urgent advisory opinion from the ICJ on Israel’s obligations concerning the presence and activities of the UN, other international organizations...