UN General Assembly holds its 67th session

(New York) – The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has started its 67th session at the UN Headquarters in New York. Vuk Jeremic, the former Serbian foreign minister who was elected president of the 67th UNGA session on June 8, in an opening address remarked that General Assembly is “the only forum where all (UN) member states come together as sovereign equals to advance the aims of the UN Charter.”
He mentioned that among key issues on its agenda, the General Assembly will address the Millennium Development Goals, climate change and sustainable development, food security, the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of conflicts, disarmament, and United Nations reform, including reform of the Security Council.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said that the General Assembly faces a long and urgent agenda. Ban noted that the world is in a period of unease and that, at a time of rising unemployment, rising inequality, rising temperatures, and rising intolerance, “the United Nations must rise to the moment.”
Following opening week, from Sept. 24, the General Assembly will convene a high-level meeting on the rule of law at the national and international levels, during which UN member states, non- governmental organizations and civil society will work towards strengthening the rule of law.