As the General Assembly entered the fourth day of its general debate today, world leaders once again called to the fore the threats posed by climate change and unilateralism and their impact on international peace and security, while also highlighting several successful transitions from conflict to peace as proof that diplomacy and multilateralism are effective and offer a hopeful sign for the future.
As the General Assembly entered the third day of its general debate, African leaders underscored their countries’ efforts towards greater democracy and sustainable development, with calls for expanded multilateral cooperation and Security Council reforms.
Tackling a wide range of international concerns ranging from the long‑term consequences of colonialism and climate change to increasing inequality and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, nearly 40 Heads of State and Government recalled the lessons of history and spoke of challenges, initiatives and progress, as the General Assembly general debate entered its second day.
With the world suffering from a bad case of “trust deficit disorder”, its leaders must not only advance the welfare of their people, but also promote a reformed, reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system, Secretary-General António Guterres said today as the General Assembly opened its seventy-third general debate.
Unanimously adopting a political declaration at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, nearly 100 Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Member States and representatives of civil society today committed to redoubling efforts to build a just, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and fair world, as they paid tribute to the late South African President’s celebrated qualities and service to humanity.
Acting on the recommendation of its General Committee, the General Assembly adopted the work programme and agenda for its seventy-third session today, deciding to include the item “Situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”, and for the second consecutive year, the item “The Responsibility to Protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.
Paying homage to the late Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who passed away on 18 August, Member States, colleagues and family convened in the General Assembly today to remember him as a child of Africa, the first and only United Nations chief to rise through the ranks of the Secretariat, and a leader who steered the Organization during some of its most troubling times.
On 5 June, the United Nations General Assembly elected María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Foreign Minister of Ecuador, President of its seventy-third session — only the fourth woman to hold that position in the world body’s history and the first since 2006.
Commencing the seventy-third session of the General Assembly today, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), the organ’s fourth woman President in the Organization’s 73 years, said she is assuming her role with a “profound sense of responsibility” and a sense of urgency to go beyond a political agenda.
Concluding the General Assembly’s seventy-second session today, the outgoing President spotlighted salient trends emerging over recent years — ranging from more robust support for conflict prevention efforts to intensifying attacks on multilateralism — before handing the gavel to the President-elect of the seventy‑third session.
