Former Cameroon Prime Minister Yang Becomes UN President 

The former Cameroonian prime minister assumed the presidency of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Tuesday, urging the world’s divided nations to work together to address global concerns such as climate change, poverty, conflict, and armed violence.

Philemon Yang told the 193-member international organisation that there were concerns about the nations’ capacity to work together to address these and other important issues. However, he continued: “We must demonstrate that international cooperation remains the most effective tool at our disposal to address the deep and borderless problems we face.”

Mr. Yang, a former diplomat who was prime minister of his West African country from 2009 to 2019, stated that the foundation of his one-year administration “will be built on the principles of unity in diversity.” He stated that peace and security would remain “of paramount importance” throughout his leadership.

“I will therefore urge the Assembly to intensify its determination to prioritise the resolution of conflicts, including the intractable conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Haiti and Ukraine, as well as to find lasting solutions to the situation in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in Africa,” Mr. Yang said.

Outgoing General Assembly President Dennis Francis has urged the United Nations, which was created from the ashes of World War II, to live up to its mandate of maintaining international peace and security.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the scale of man-made human suffering that we are witnessing around the world is simply staggering ,” said the former diplomat and ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago , referring to Gaza and other conflicts.

But Francis also warned that millions of people today live in abject poverty and despair and that “on our current trajectory, millions more will face poverty and hunger by 2030. “

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised the importance of international cooperation.

He described the 78th session of the General Assembly, which concluded on Tuesday morning, as “a tumultuous year” defined by persisting poverty, inequality, injustice, division, violence, and war, as well as the hottest year on record.

“But this session also ends at a time of growing hope and inspiration about what we can achieve if we work together,” the United Nations secretary-general remarked.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guterres opened the Assembly’s 79th session, telling diplomats that “step by step, solution by solution, we can rebuild trust and faith in each other and in what we can achieve through collaboration and solidarity.”

Mr. Yang will preside over the next gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly, which will begin with the Secretary-General’s Future Summit on September 22-23 to spur multilateral action on global issues and reform global institutions established after WWII, including the United Nations.

Following the summit, world leaders will convene for their annual conference from September 24 to 30, which will include public speeches and numerous private meetings in which international affairs will be discussed.