UNITED NATIONS, Sep 12 (IPS) – Everyone in this world is entitled to 15 minutes of fame, is a legendary quote wrongly attributed to American pop icon Andy Warhol.
Over the years, the United Nations has established its own 15-minute rule for world leaders addressing the UN General Assembly.
And this year is no exception, as the UN prepares to host more than 150 world leaders during the high-level segment of the 78th session of the General Assembly, which begins on September 19.
In a message to ambassadors and heads of missions in New York, Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that, in line with existing practice during the general debate, a voluntary time limit of 15 minutes must be observed and the list of speakers is drawn up on the basis of a 15-minute statement from each delegation.”
But as tradition and protocol require, it is the member states, including political leaders and ambassadors, who reign supreme at the United Nations, and not the Secretary General or senior UN officials.
And no president of the General Assembly, the UN’s highest policy-making body, has the right to interrupt or curtail the right of a president or prime minister to speak uninterruptedly – at his or her own pace.
In a bygone era, the UN installed a light on the speaker’s podium that kept flashing when a head of state or government exceeded the fifteen-minute limit.
President Ranesinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka, apparently warned about this, took out his handkerchief, covered the flashing light and continued speaking.
The following year, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, known for his long-winded speeches, performed the same stunt with dramatic flair as he waved the handkerchief as delegates cheered him and greeted his gesture with loud laughter.
The two political leaders temporarily outsmarted the UN bureaucracy.
The all-time records for delivering speeches at the General Assembly are still held by Castro, Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, Sékou Touré of Guinea, Muammar al-Qadhafi of Libya and President Surkano of Indonesia.
The longest speech was delivered by Castro at the 872nd Plenary Session of the General Assembly on September 26, 1960. According to the archives at the UN Dag Hammarskjold Library, the recorded time was a record 269 minutes.
Other lengthy speeches at the General Assembly included:
- • Sékou Touré, President of Guinea, 144 minutes of October 10, 1960; • Nikita Khrushchev – USSR – Chairman of the Council of Ministers, 140 minutes on September 23, 1960; •Dr. Sukarno, President of Indonesia, 121 minutes on September 30, 1960; and • Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 96 minutes on September 23, 2009.
The flamboyant Gaddafi made a rare historic visit to the UN in September 2009, accompanied by political fanfare – and his usual team of female bodyguards.
In its report, the London Guardian said he “took his 15 minutes of fame at the UN building in New York and ran with it. He ran it so fast that he extended it to an hour and forty minutes, six times longer than his allotted time, much to the dismay of the UN organizers.”
“Gaddafi lived up to his reputation for eccentricity, bloodthirstiness and extreme verbiage,” said the Guardian, “as he tore up a copy of the UN Charter before startled delegates and accused the Security Council of being an al-Qaeda organization. This terrorist organization called for the trial of (US President) George Bush and (British Prime Minister) Tony Blair for the Iraq War, demanded $7.7 trillion in compensation for the ravages of colonialism in Africa, and wonders whether swine flu is a biological weapon created in a military laboratory.”
Yet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest statement ever made at the UN came from Krishna Menon of India. His statement to the Security Council took place during three meetings in January 1957, lasting more than eight hours.
According to AsiaNet, Menon, “one of the finest statesmen India has ever produced,” delivered that marathon speech, blasting Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
The transcript of the speech ran to 160 pages.
During the speech, Menon collapsed midway and had to be revived. But he returned to the Council Chamber and continued to attack Pakistan for another hour.
But in recent years there have been no such dramatic moments in either the Security Council or the General Assembly.
At most international conferences, the host country has the privilege of being the first speaker on the first day.
However, a long tradition gives pride of place to Brazil, followed by the US as the second speaker for the opening day; this time it would be President Joe Biden.
During an official visit to Brasilia, I asked one of the high-ranking Brazilian officials about the origins of the tradition. And he told me: “Even we don’t understand why we remain the number one speaker”
According to a published report, most countries at the time were reluctant to be the first to address the House. At the time, Brazil was the only country that voluntarily wanted to speak first.
Some say the tradition dates back to 1947, when Brazil’s top diplomat Oswaldo Aranha chaired the Assembly’s first special session.
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© Inter Press Service (2023) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service