From September 2011 to September 2012,
Ambassador Nasser Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar presided over the 66th session
of the “world’s parliament” – the United Nations General Assembly. It was a
critical moment in international affairs as the UN responded to a range of
global challenges, from the world financial crisis to the Arab Spring. In A
Year at the Helm of the General Assembly, Al-Nasser presents a high-level
look inside the organization, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, its
successes and struggles. He recounts dramatic moments, such as replacing the
Libyan delegation, and a tireless schedule of overseas travel, including joint
visits with the Secretary-General to Libya and Somalia. His work takes him from
major international summits such as the Conference on Sustainable Development
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Rio+20) to the European Parliament, which he was the
first General Assembly President to address, to academic institutions from
Oxford to Moscow to Morocco.
Al-Nasser
structures the book as he did his 66th session, around four main
themes or “pillars:” mediation, UN reform, natural disaster prevention and
response, and sustainable development.He offers a wide range of recommendations to intergovernmental
institutions, to states, to the public sector, and to individuals. Al-Nasser was determined to leave behind
a General Assembly that the people of the world could look up to and depend on.
This volume is a testament to all that he accomplished in that regard, and a
unique resource for those interested in knowing more about the world’s most
representative body at a crucial moment in history.
