The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.
The Assembly is empowered to make recommendations to States on international issues within its competence. The Assembly has initiated actions — political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal — which have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world.
The General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues.
In 2008, the GA delivered a statement confirming that international human rights protections include sexual orientation and gender identity and condemning rights abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.