Gazing to United Nations Charter as North Star, General Assembly President Opens Session under Theme ‘Better Together’

Gazing to United Nations Charter as North Star, General Assembly President Opens Session under Theme 'Better Together'

Calling the eightieth session of the General Assembly "non-ordinary", the new President, Annalena Baerbock (Germany) urged action over celebration under the theme "Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights".

Questioning whether the anniversary was truly a moment for celebration, she pointed to the starvation of children in Gaza, the banning of Afghan girls from schools, the fear of drone strikes in Kharkov, sexual violence against women in Darfur, rising seas in the Pacific and the 808 million people living in extreme poverty and worried about how to feed their family.

"Instead of celebrating, one might rather ask: Where is the United Nations, which was created to save us from hell? Where is the United Nations as conflict spread, as our planet burns, as human rights are trampled?", she asked. The answer, she declared, "must be clear: We are not giving up. We are here. We see you even when we face setbacks and frustrations."

She stressed that the UN remains the only global organization with political legitimacy and moral authority, citing examples of its tangible impact: "Just last year alone, without UNICEF [United Nations Children's Fund], 26 million children would not have received an education. Without the World Food Programme (WFP), nearly 125 million people would have lacked life-saving food assistance. Without the UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 62 million people would not have received critical aid. Without the World Health Organization (WHO), 70 million people would not have benefited from mental health services. And without ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] almost 5 billion airplane passengers, including all of us, would not have arrived safely at our destination."

Calling this "no ordinary session", she urged Member States to adapt and evolve, "to build the United Nations we need for the next 80 years, for the lifetimes of our children". This process will require courage and power to make sure that the Organization is capable of realizing its core objectives "to deliver on peace, on security, on sustainable development and human rights". That includes implementing the Pact for the Future, advancing the UN80 reform agenda and selecting the next Secretary-General, she said. Warning that these choices will send a powerful message about who we are and whether we truly serve all the peoples of the world, she asked: "One might wonder how in 80 years not one single woman out of 4 billion potential candidates has ever served as the Secretary-General?"

At a "make-or-break moment", she urged Member States to show the will and ambition "to turn promise into action, promise into practice and commitments into measurable progress". Pledging to serve each of the 193 Member States equally, she promised to be impartial and "a bridge-builder" guided by the United Nations Charter. "It will be my North Star," she said, promising to keep her door always open and to ensure every voice is heard, including those too often overlooked.

Applauding her predecessor Philémon Yang (Cameroon) for his "patience, his wisdom and his steady leadership", she urged Member States to embrace the theme of the session - "Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights". "This space, this Hall was created exactly for that purpose: to sort out our differences peacefully together," she stated, noting that difficult times call for collective action to bring relief to the people around the world. This eightieth session is our chance "to make it not break it, to live up to the promises of the Charter for today, for tomorrow and for the next 80 years", she concluded.

In his congratulatory remarks, Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that Ms. Baerbock "is only the fifth woman in history to be elected to this important role". Noting that she has "a wealth of Government and diplomatic experience", including her service as Germany's Foreign Minister, he said this will be critical to fulfill her inspiring vision, "Better Together" and to address her priority issues of peace, development, reform and transparency.

Eight decades ago, he continued, when the founders of the UN gathered in San Francisco, they envisioned a "global-problem-solving body" that could not only prevent calamities like war, but could also forge solutions to poverty, hunger, illness and inequality. The Charter provides the tools to bring this vision to reality, while the Pact for the Future is a timely reminder to work together to heal divisions and recommit to international law. But, "the Charter is not self-executing", he said, adding that by design, it requires countries to look beyond their national interests and rebuild trust in one another.

Calling on all Member States to summon the same resolve and determination that brought delegates to San Francisco in 1945, he said: "While we cannot solve all the world's problems here, we can unite behind solutions that will ultimately move humanity closer to a better, fairer, more peaceful and equal world for all."

In other business, the Assembly appointed Andorra, Botswana, China, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Russian Federation, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, and United States to its Credentials Committee. The Assembly also approved a request from the Chair of the Committee on Conferences on the allocation of conference services for the meetings of the subsidiary organs of the Assembly planned during a regular session of the General Assembly and its Main Committees.