UN General Assembly wraps up its 78th session with calls for unity and resolve

The 78th session of the UN General Assembly ended Tuesday, concluding a tumultuous year in international diplomacy and underscoring the need for a collective resolve among nations to confront pressing difficult challenges.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the past year had been marked by ongoing poverty, inequality and conflict, emphasizing that it was also the hottest year on record.

Addressing the session’s final plenary meeting, he highlighted the “hope and inspiration” in what could be achieved if the global community worked as one. He also applauded the leadership of Assembly President Dennis Francis.

“The challenges facing humanity are not insurmountable if we work together,” he said.

Guterres reiterated that the UN, and the multilateral system itself, can only be as effective as member states’ commitment allows.

“As we celebrate the achievements of the 78th General Assembly, let us also look to the 79th as a moment in which the world can deliver the trust, solutions and peace that our world needs.”

Addressing the Assembly for the final time in that capacity, President Dennis Francis, the veteran diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, recalled key achievements of the session and the work of his Presidency.

“We began the session in September with an especially hectic though successful High-Level Week – featuring the SDG Summit and High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, as well as a number of other significant achievements for multilateral diplomacy.”

He highlighted that a key aspect of his work was ensuring the UN’s relevance to its eight billion global constituents, having visited 31 countries and meeting with a wide range of stakeholders – from government leaders to students, women, civil society and displaced families.

“My visits to Haiti, South Sudan, and Ukraine were especially poignant, as these nations are facing conflict, insecurity, and aggression,” he said, stressing that the UN’s efforts in these regions “are truly lifesaving”.

Francis added that though he was unable to meet with Israelis and Palestinians on the ground, in the vicinity of the theatre of ongoing crisis, “developments there remained uppermost in my mind.”

He discussed the crisis with leaders worldwide, including Pope Francis, he added.

He expressed “sincere hope” that ongoing diplomatic efforts would produce a ceasefire, even if temporary, and that “this can somehow lead to a political process towards achieving long-lasting peace for the sake of the peoples of the region”.

The Assembly President concluded his address reminding the delegates that while the challenges confronting the global community were complex, “they are certainly not beyond our capacity to overcome”.

He underscored the importance of unity, urging nations to confront global challenges with all available resources to build a more secure future, reiterating the importance of the United Nations as “one of the greatest forces for good in the world and that we must work hard to sustain its longevity”.

“Let us rise to the occasion. Let us deliver on the promises we have made and let us work together in solidarity to build a future that honours the hopes and dreams of all peoples and truly unites the nations…as the great Nelson Mandela once said, ‘it always seems impossible until it is done’.”

The meeting also saw Philemon Yang, President-elect of the 79th session of the General Assembly, take the oath of the office.

Yang declared he would perform his duties truthfully as Assembly President, acting “in all loyalty, discretion and conscience”.

He committed to always exercising his authority as president in the best interests of the United Nations and in accordance with the UN Charter and code of ethics.

President Dennis Francis then declared the 78th session closed and handed over the iconic gavel to President Yang.

The 79th session of the General Assembly convenes in the afternoon at 3 p.m. (New York time), with the session’s annual high-level general debate taking place from September 24.

More than 130 heads of state/government are taking part in the high-level debate. Pakistan’s delegation will be led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who will address the 193-Assembly on Sept 27.

Also taking place in September are high-level meetings the threats posed by sea level rise (25 September), and elimination of nuclear weapons and antimicrobial resistance on 26 September.