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Reform High on the Agenda as Outgoing and Incoming GA Presidents Address Assembly
Features
by Jonas von Freiesleben On Monday, 17 September 2007, the 61st session of the General Assembly formally ended and on the following day, Tuesday 18 September 2007, the 62nd session of the General Assembly officially opened. Among other issues, both GA Presidents addressed ongoing reform efforts. As the outgoing President of the General Assembly, H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, lowered her gavel for the last time this Monday, it not only marked the formal closing of the 61st session of the General Assembly, but also the end of term for the first Arab woman in office. A year ago, she had made reform of the Security Council, Mandate Review, and System-wide Coherence among some of her key priorities for the year. Now, before passing on the honor to her successor, H. E. Sgrjan Kerim of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Sheikha Haya seized the moment in her concluding remarks to reflect on her stint. “General Assembly revitalization has been a priority this session. As well as adopting a new Resolution, we have renewed and broadened our engagement with Civil Society, NGOs and the private sector. Another essential component necessary to strengthen the General Assembly is to enhance the leadership role of the President of the General Assembly. This role of the President is contingent, not only on his/her political and diplomatic skills, but it is also based on the support the Office of the President receives from the Secretariat of the United Nations. It is critical therefore to strengthen the Office in proportion to the growing responsibilities of the President." Sheikha Haya also touched upon the recent developments within Security Council reform, noting that the status quo is simply no longer acceptable. “During the next session, I hope the membership will, on the basis of the progress we made and on the positions and proposals of Member States, have the courage to begin discussions on meaningful intergovernmental negotiations. In the 21st Century, the world demands a more representative, legitimate and effective Security Council.” The outgoing President also used the opportunity to praise the recent attempts to strengthen peacekeeping and peacebuilding, especially with a view to improve the effectiveness of the Peacebuilding Commission; to finalize consultations that have recommended concrete options to strengthen International Environmental Governance; to give the staff of the organization an effective system to settle disputes and administer justice; and to strengthen its oversight by creating an Audit and Oversight Advisory Committee. But Sheikha Haya added that further steps need to be taken on other reform issues. “The consultations on System-wide Coherence have made some progress. They [the General Assembly] have demonstrated that on substance we are less divided than on the process itself. However, this impasse is not sustainable. We need to take concrete action – since any further delays will only prolong the suffering of the poorest on this planet. On gender equality, the opportunity is now squarely before you, and I hope the proper decisions will be taken.” She ended her speech by thanking the Assembly members for their support during the past year and welcomed her successor, the president-elect of the 62nd session of the General Assembly, Mr. Kerim. The incoming president is “an accomplished academic, a captain of industry, and an experienced diplomat. He is also a great believer in the United Nations.” At the invitation of Sheikha Haya, Mr. Kerim, a former foreign minister and UN ambassador with international experience in academia, took the podium and received the presidential gavel from Secretary-General H.E. Ban Ki-moon. The following day, on Tuesday, 18 September 2007, Mr. Kerim officially opened the 62nd session of the General Assembly. In doing so, he urged the 192 Member States to come together in solving the problems of the world. “More than ever before, global challenges demand multilateral solution. The United Nations is the appropriate multilateral forum to take action. This is why the revitalization of this General Assembly deserves our highest attention. To revitalize this House is also to renew our faith in each other, our common values and destiny. True revitalization will only happen if together we address, amongst others, the five priority issues that, in consultation with you, I have identified: climate change; financing for development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals; countering terrorism; and the reform agenda – to renewing the management, effectiveness and coherence of this organisation.” The incoming President stressed that modernizing the management of the organization, as well as implementing greater coherence across the system, would enable the United Nations to better deliver results on the above priorities. “If we want the United Nations to play its full role, we will have to do more and do it more effectively - both operationally at the country-level, and management at Headquarters.” In addition, Mr. Kerim called for concrete action to be taken on Security Council reform. “We also need the courage to move to a new stage leading to concrete results on Security Council reform.” Earlier, speaking to reporters at the United Nations, he said that since he was elected in May, he has been holding consultations with the Membership and various political groupings on all of these issues in a bid to spark progress. The 62nd session of the General Assembly will formally end on 15 September 2008
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