Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI has produced a series of video interviews with young staff working for the Permanent Missions to the United Nations and for the Organization.
Nothing has been “ordinary” for Maho Sugihara, Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, since she assumed her current position in June 2020. Soon after arriving in New York in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she faced the difficulty of adapting to the “hybrid” format in which meetings among Member States were held.
Maho emphasizes that participating in tough negotiations during the General Assembly last year made her realize that “the more difficult the negotiation is, the legitimacy of the language we could produce together based on consensus increases.” She hopes that this year’s General Assembly will provide her with more opportunities to meet representatives from various Member States in person.
