Udovenko elected president of U.N. General Assembly (09/21/97)

Udovenko elected president of U.N. General Assembly

by Irene Jarosewich

UNITED NATIONS - Ukraine's foreign affairs minister, Hennadii Udovenko, was unanimously elected by acclamation to be the president of the 52nd session of the U.N. General Assembly on the session's opening day, September 16, to serve a term of one year.

During his 20-minute inaugural address, Mr. Udovenko acknowledged the privilege that had been given Ukraine and stated that he felt it is "symbolic that a representative of a renewed democracy, which is living through a period of fundamental social, economic and political reform, has become president of the General Assembly at a time when the issue of United Nations reforms tops its agenda."

Among the most controversial issues that face the assembly representatives are the ways in which U.N. structures should be reformed, including expansion of the Security Council, breaking the continuing stalemate over non-payment of arrears (overdue monies) by a dozen countries and the restoration of fiscal stability to the international organization.

As head of the General Assembly, Mr. Udovenko will oversee the daily work of six permanent assembly committees, and of the assembly body composed of 185 representatives. Already there are more than 160 agenda items scheduled for consideration by the General Assembly, including approval of the U.N. annual budget, a process fraught with conflict in the past. Last year's agenda included 168 items.

Each session meets from September through December, with the spring and summer months reserved for special or emergency sessions. In addition to his responsibilities as head of the assembly, Mr. Udovenko will remain in his post as Ukraine's foreign affairs minister, continuing a precedent established by earlier General Assembly presidents.

The 185 members-states of the United Nations are informally divided into five regional blocs - Africa; Asia; Eastern Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; Western Europe, the U.S. and Canada - and presidency of the General Assembly is rotated annually between regional blocs in the above order. Mr. Udovenko was the sole candidate put forth by the Eastern European bloc for approval by the full assembly.

The General Assembly, the primary deliberative organ of the U.N., is often referred to as a world parliament. It is one of the six organs of the U.N. and the others include the Secretariat (the organization's administrative and executive body headed by the secretary-general), the Security Council (which carries primary responsibility for dealing with issues of world security), the International Court of Justice (often referred to as the world court and located in the Netherlands), the Economic and Social Council (encompassing U.N. agencies such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the U.N. High Commission for Refugees) and the Trusteeship Council (which originally administered territories of former colonies, however, since 1994 has met only in extraordinary sessions).

A critical time at the U.N.

The geopolitical changes of the last 10 years are forcing changes in long-established international organizations, such as NATO, the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund. As the premier international organization, the U.N. also is facing the need to change its priorities and structures. One of the most controversial issues that will arise during Mr. Udovenko's term is the expansion of the 15-member Security Council. Currently the council has five permanent members - the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom - and 10 rotating seats. Proposals to expand the council range from adding one more seat to adding five; any change must be approved by the General Assembly.

The outgoing president of the 51st session of the assembly, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, in his departing remarks claimed that though reform of the Security Council remains a "tantalizing prospect ... unanimity on this politically loaded issue would never be possible."

In his remarks Mr. Udovenko offered a more hopeful scenario, stating that "this session of the General Assembly has all the prerequisites to become a watershed session. ... We have a chance to revitalize this universal organization ... and mark the beginning of a new era in the history" of the U.N.

Then, citing French writer and philosopher La Rochefoucauld, Mr. Udovenko continued that "sometimes we have more power than will, and very often we consider things to be impossible in order to excuse ourselves for not acting in accordance with our abilities."

Reaction to Udovenko's election

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who met with Mr. Udovenko on September 12, praised the selection of Mr. Udovenko by the Eastern Europe bloc, citing the diplomat's experience and knowledge of U.N. procedures as factors that should ensure the success of the session.

Anatolii Zlenko, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said he considers the election of Mr. Udovenko as president of the General Assembly to be "a great foreign policy achievement of our state." He added, "This event should be considered in the same league as the signing of the NATO-Ukraine partnership charter and the Kyiv summit of Ukraine and the European Union."

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who met in Kyiv with Foreign Affairs Minister Udovenko, said of the election: " This is a great honor for Ukraine and for the foreign minister personally. He's been a figure on the stage here in Ukraine. Now he will be a figure on the world stage." Mr. Richardson was in Kyiv on August 20 to discuss matters that will be on the agenda of this session of the General Assembly, which he characterized as "especially important as the U.N. attempts to strengthen its organization, financial base and key bodies."

Mr. Udovenko is a career diplomat, having served as Ukraine's foreign minister since 1994, ambassador to Poland from 1992 to 1994. He has served at the U.N. in several capacities, in both New York and Geneva, in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. He first joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in 1959. Mr. Udovenko was born in 1931 in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine.

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