ABSTRACT
Political institutions provide sites where participants try to advance their political goals by means consistent with the norms of behavior established in the institution’s written and unwritten procedural rules. Because no one institution facilitates attainment of every possible political goal, participants must select what they will pursue where. The General Assembly is a deliberative body most adapted to elaboration of general norms and standards for member state conduct, but it can also provide an arena where parties to a conflict can appeal to a wider audience. Like other deliberative bodies, the assembly has fairly elaborate rules, a few specified in the UN Charter, others contained in successive versions of the Rules of Procedure,1 and many established by practice.
