GA emergency special session

A General Assembly Emergency Special Session (ESS) is convened when the Security Council, owing to the lack of unanimity among its permanent members, fails to act on a matter that appears to threaten international peace and security. The mechanism originates in Resolution 377(V) "Uniting for Peace", adopted by the General Assembly on 3 November 1950 during the Korean War, largely at the initiative of the United States to bypass Soviet vetoes.

Under the procedure, an ESS can be called by:

• A vote of any nine members of the Security Council (a procedural vote, not subject to the veto), or
• A majority of UN member states, typically via a request to the Secretary-General.

The session must be convened within 24 hours of the request. Unlike regular sessions, an ESS focuses on a single agenda item and can recommend collective measures, including the use of armed force, though such recommendations are non-binding.

Ten emergency special sessions have been convened since 1956. Notable examples include the First ESS on the Suez Crisis (1956), which authorized UNEF I, the first UN peacekeeping force; the Sixth ESS on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1980); and the Tenth ESS on Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, first convened in 1997 and repeatedly resumed since. The Eleventh ESS was convened in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after Russia vetoed a Security Council draft; it adopted resolution ES-11/1 demanding withdrawal of Russian forces by 141 votes to 5.

For Model UN purposes, ESS simulations follow standard GA rules of procedure but with a single agenda item and a heightened sense of urgency. Delegates should note that ESS resolutions carry the political weight of broad multilateral consensus but remain recommendatory rather than legally binding under the Charter.