UNGA president outlines priorities for new session

UNITED NATIONS - The 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will focus on such issues as advancing the UN80 reform agenda, guiding the selection of the next UN secretary-general, and regaining momentum on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said UNGA President Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.

"Better together," part of the theme of the 80th UNGA session, reflects the reality that no single nation, regardless of its size, might or wealth, can "confront the challenges that we face all alone", Baerbock told journalists at a press briefing ahead of the High-level Week of the UNGA scheduled to kick off next week.

"We have to work together. Better together," she stressed.

The United Nations "was born in a moment of deep fracture, perhaps one of the darkest in human history", but "it brought us the UN Charter," she said, noting that the UN Charter "is the north star that guides our work and reminds us of what we want to accomplish together".

Baerbock underscored that it is now the time to reflect and rebuild -- to adapt and evolve for a United Nations that will carry through the next 80 years; to show 8 billion people why the world body still matters; to respond to the desperate calls for peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Haiti; and to take meaningful action on collective challenges, such as climate change, inequality and rapid technological advancements.

"Our task is to ensure that the UN stands strong for the next 80 years," said the UNGA president.

"The processes this year must be our focus," which include advancing the UN80 reform agenda, ensuring that the United Nations becomes more effective and can deliver on its promises; guiding the selection of the next UN chief, "the face and voice of this Organization;" building on the Pact for the Future and ensuring its implementation; and regaining momentum on the SDGs, she said.

Next week's General Debate is an opportunity for dialogue and diplomacy, and for debate to sort out differences, and the High-level Week events are also key opportunities, said Baerbock.

She listed a series of meetings to be held during the week, including a conference to commemorate the United Nations' 80th anniversary, a conference on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution, and high-level meetings marking the 30th anniversaries of both the Fourth World Conference on Women and the World Programme of Action for Youth.

"Eight decades of progress and setbacks, of achievement and failure, of renewal and resolve, have brought us here," she said.

"Now we need the will, and the ambition, to turn promise into action, commitments into progress, and hope into reality," said the UNGA president.