Seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly

Seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly
14 October 1952 – 14 September 1953 (1952-10-14 – 1953-09-14)
President of the 7th General Assembly, Lester B. Pearson
Host country United Nations
ParticipantsUnited Nations Member States
PresidentLester B. Pearson
Secretary-GeneralTrygve Lie

The seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly convened on 14 October 1952 and concluded on 28 August 1953.[1] It was the first session held in the newly completed United Nations Headquarters in New York City, in Manhattan's East Side.[2][3][4] Lester B. Pearson, then serving as Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs,[5] was elected president of the session.[6]

Overview

The ongoing Korean War, particularly the deadlocked question of repatriating prisoner of war was a major topic.[7][8][9]

On 5 December, the assembly ruled that the apartheid policy of South Africa did not conform to the spirit of the UN Charter and established a commission to study the racial situation in the country.[10] The apartheid issue would go on to be frequently brought up in future sessions. [11][12]

Adopted in the session's closing plenary meeting was the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the first binding international resolution aiming to establish equal opportinies for women to vote in elections or stand as candidates for public office.[13][14][15]

The session also witnessed the resignation of Secretary-General Trygve Lie on 10 November 1952, in order to "keep the peace" amid his deteriorating relationship with the Soviet Union. He had previously wished to resign but had remained in office on account of the Korean War.[16][17][18] Other notable agenda items include self-determination, decolonization,and the economic development of developing nations.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "7th Session (1952–1953) – UN General Assembly Resolutions Tables". UN Research Guides. United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
  2. ↑ "The United Nations Headquarters" (PDF). United Nations Publications / UN Exhibits. United Nations. 2017.
  3. ↑ Hoxie, R. Gordon (1995). "The United Nations at 50 Years". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 25 (4): 787–799. JSTOR 27551512.
  4. ↑ "Early Days of UN General Assembly: Behind the Scenes". UN Photo. United Nations. 12 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "About Lester B. Pearson". The Pearson Centre. The Pearson Centre.
  6. ↑ "President of the General Assembly, Seventh Session – Lester B. Pearson (Canada)". United Nations.
  7. ↑ The New York Times (27 April 1953). "U. N. General Assembly's Major Steps at 7th Session". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ The New York Times (17 August 1953). "U. N. TALKS TO LAST AT LEAST 2 WEEKS: FIRST MEETING TODAY EXPECTED TO TAKE UP RESOLUTION OF BELLIGERENTS IN KOREA". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "Document 748". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Volume XV, Part 2, Korea. Office of the Historian, United States Department of State.
  10. ↑ "The question of race conflict in South Africa resulting from the policies of apartheid of the Government of the Union of South Africa". 5 December 1952.
  11. ↑ Brits, J. P. (2005). "Tiptoeing along the Apartheid Tightrope: The United States, South Africa, and the United Nations in 1952". The International History Review. 27 (4): 754–779. doi:10.1080/07075332.2005.9641079.
  12. ↑ "United Nations and Apartheid Timeline 1946–1994". South African History Online. 21 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "United Nations General Assembly document 1952/148" (PDF). WorldLII.
  14. ↑ "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women". OHCHR. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
  15. ↑ "A Short History of the Commission on the Status of Women" (PDF). UN Women. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. p. 6.
  16. ↑ "RESIGNATION OF MR. TRYGVE LIE". The Cairns Post. 12 November 1952.
  17. ↑ "United Nations: Peace Gesture". TIME.
  18. ↑ Thomas J. Hamilton (11 November 1952). "Lie Decides to Quit His U.N. Post Now to 'Save the Peace'". The New York Times.
  19. ↑ "UN Secretary-General Announces his Intention to Resign". UN Photo. United Nations.
  20. ↑ "7th Session (1952–1953) – UN General Assembly Resolutions Tables". UN Research Guides. United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
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