United Nations General Assembly

The General Assembly is the United Nations' main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ, the only UN body in which all member states, 193 today, sit with equal voting weight; it approves the UN budget, elects the Security Council's non-permanent members, recommends the Secretary-General's appointment, and adopts non-binding resolutions on matters within the Charter's scope. Established as one of the UN's six principal organs under the Charter, in force from 24 October 1945, it held its first session on 10 January 1946 at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, London, with delegates from 51 founding nations; Belgium's Paul-Henri Spaak was elected its first President, and its first resolution, adopted 24 January 1946, addressed the peaceful use of atomic energy. The Assembly moved to its permanent home at UN Headquarters in New York in 1952, where it now meets from September to December each year (the main part of its session), and again from January as required (the resumed part).