President of UN General Assembly calls for order in hall in an unusual manner

Peter Thomson, president of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, on Tuesday banged the gavel several times in an unusual manner in a bid to maintain order in the hall of the 193-member assembly as many delegates milled in aisles and sidelines disturbing the ongoing session.

Thomson asked the UN security officers to show those talking delegates the exit, asking those in the hall to show respect to heads of state who were taking to the podium during the annual high-level debate.

"Delegates, please take your seats, we have a long list of heads of state and heads of government" who were on the list to speak to the General Assembly, he said from the dais behind and above the speakers podium, asking the people who were having a conversation on the edge of the hall to leave in silence so he could bring in the next head of state.

The poker-faced president, who is the UN ambassador of Fiji, chaired for the first time the General Debate of the assembly, the week-long event which kicked off here Tuesday. More than 140 heads of state and government were to speak during the week, Xinhua News reported.

"To those of you who are still talking, I ask you to show respect to the head of state" who was about to speak from the rostrum, he said.

After banging the gavel several times, the president was successful in bringing the ongoing session to order.

According to the original schedule and traditionally as representative of the host country, the United States is listed as the second member state to take the floor at the General Debate.

But this year the tradition was broken: U.S. President Barack Obama was late, so Chad, after Brazil, was the second to speak at the assembly debate. Brazil traditionally takes the first speaker slot because the first speaker scheduled in the early years of the world organization failed to show on time and Brazil filled in.

According to the original list of speakers, Idriss Deby Itno, the president of Chad was the third to address the General Debate.

Source: ANTARA