Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will be the first woman to open the annual UN General Assembly session, and the first day will also feature a speech by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, whose country chairs the Group of 77. The UN General Assembly comprises 193 member countries, and the participation of heads of state in the plenary session will last until September 30, recessing on Saturdays and Sundays. 
Regarding Latin America, the General Assembly´s official agenda includes the situations in Haiti and Central America, the U.S. blockade against Cuba, and the question of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.
 
Also on the list is a speech by U.S. President Barack Obama, France´s Nicolas Sarkozy, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, among others.
 
The forum´s main theme is "The role of mediation in the settlement of dispute by peaceful means" and will focus on the new state of South Sudan, created in mid-2011 after a national referendum that determined the division of Sudan.
 
As in previous years, speeches are expected to refer to the economic, financial and food crisis affecting the world; climate change and other key issues of the international situation.
 
These include the issue of Libya, where NATO military forces are supporting groups opposed to the government of Muammar Gaddafi, and the Middle East crisis, focused on the decision of the Palestine National Authority to ask the UN for recognition of a new Palestinian state.