Spotlighting examples of persistent inequality around the globe – from skewed banking practices to entrenched poverty to lingering systemic racism – world leaders participating in the final day of the General Assembly’s seventy-first annual debate nevertheless expressed optimism that efforts to promote equitable growth, peace and prosperity would prevail.

The only way to ensure the world was safe from nuclear weapons was to eliminate them entirely, speakers said at a high-level meeting of the General Assembly held to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

While the United Nations had been founded on the belief that States could solve problems collectively, the time had come to move in a new direction, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers underlined the need to embrace a new era of engagement based on common needs, innovative ideas and mutual respect.

With 65 million people displaced and on the move, several European countries discussed myriad ways to deal with the unprecedented phenomenon by defeating terrorism, bringing human traffickers to justice, while others called on Member States to make the better choice between engagement and isolation as the General Assembly continued its annual debate today.

The General Assembly moved into day three of its general debate today with a push to elevate the Palestinian legal and political leadership in the world body so as to allow for their chairing of committees and international groups, the ability to sponsor resolutions, and to proclaim 2017 as the International Year to end the Israeli Occupation.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the opening of the High-Level Segment of the General Assembly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, in New York today:

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development had unprecedented potential to fulfil the aspirations that had motivated the Declaration on the Right to Development, which remained critical to the present day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today, as it convened a high-level meeting to commemorate the Declaration’s thirtieth anniversary.

Focusing on international peace and security, world leaders stressed the need to curb terrorist attacks, end ongoing conflict, resolve the refugee crisis and reform the Security Council, as the General Assembly continued its annual debate today.

World leaders gathered at a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance today committed to concerted action to address the phenomenon, which many warned could lead to significant development backslides and up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if left unchecked.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s address to the General Assembly, in New York today: