Aspirations and future of next generation are worth fighting for, says outgoing UNGA President Shahid

United Nations General Assembly's outgoing president Abdulla Shahid has said that the aspirations and future of the next generation are worth fighting for as he called on the member states to use the instruments at their disposal to secure global peace and justice.

During the closing ceremony of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session on Monday, Shahid, also the foreign minister of the Maldives, urged those present to “not lose hope and give into cynicism” or “turn our backs on those who look to us at the United Nations for solutions”.

“Let us use the instruments at our disposal to secure global peace and justice...[and] tell the next generation that their aspirations, their futures, their planet, are worth fighting for. We owe it to ourselves, to our peers, to our children, to our grandchildren, to humanity, to choose hope,” Shahid, 60, said.

Shahid in June last year was overwhelmingly elected as President of the 76th session of the 193-member UN General Assembly, garnering 143 votes out of the 191 ballots cast.

He is succeeded by Hungarian diplomat Csaba Korosi who was designated as President-elect of the 77th UNGA in June and started his tenure from Tuesday.

Shahid welcomed Korosi and wished him “the very best” in leading the 77th session.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his address at the closing ceremony said the accomplishments of the global body last year would not have been possible without Shahid.

“Despite the unprecedented times, he gathered member states together in common cause,” he said. Shahid brought “fresh vision to issues like gender equality, climate action and the unique perspective of small island states,” Guterres said.

Like the previous one, this session was marked by a series of deepening challenges, he told the participants, citing rising prices, growing food insecurity and “the gathering shadows of a global recession”.

The UN chief continued, citing “a global pandemic that refused to be defeated – and the emergence of another health emergency in monkeypox – and deadly heat waves, storms, floods and other natural disasters”.

Meanwhile, every day ferocious conflicts continue to put millions of lives in jeopardy.

Guterres gave examples of deepening poverty, inequality that continues to impede recovery and development, and “a morally bankrupt global financial system” that penalises developing countries and blocks their path to sustainable recovery along with a climate emergency “that is – literally – setting our planet on fire”.

As the Assembly worked over last year to address these challenges, he acknowledged Shahid’s steady hand and “enormous skill”.

“His ‘presidency of hope’ delivered exactly that – hope that we can come together and face the challenges before us, in solidarity,” said Guterres, thanking Shahid for his “strong stewardship”.

The Secretary-General said he looked forward to working with Korosi, the new Assembly President, as he carries forward Shahid’s “spirit of cooperation and hope” during the 77th session.

Noting that the road ahead will be “challenging and unpredictable,” he said that “the coming session will continue to test the multilateral system like never before. And it will continue to test cohesion and trust among member states”.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)