Location: General Assembly Hall

 Attended by: Candace Tang, Alyssa Strasser, Janice H.W. Wong, and Marli Kasdan

By Candace Tang

Image Rights; Euronews.com

The general assembly today began with the tribute to the memory of H.E. Mr. Stoyan Ganev, President of the 47th Session of the General Assembly. As the first Deputy prime minister of Bulgaria, Mr. Ganev served the nation’s first non-communist cabinet, participating in a significant democratic change and leaving deep trace in Bulgarian history. Member States commemorated his contribution to the United Nations and international peace and security.

Commenting on the draft resolution of “Central role of the United Nations system in global governance,” the President of the General Assembly called upon member states to reach agreements on the concluding text of the Special Event to Follow-up on Efforts towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which will be held on the 25th of September. “The United Nations General Assembly was founded not simply to prevent a slide backwards into unconscionable warfare, but also to strengthen the bonds of trust between states and peoples,” said President Vuk Jeremić.

A smooth transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is needed to take the post-2015 agenda to the next page. For the first time, a legislative act adopted by the United Nations grants that intergovernmental groupings such as the G20, “take policy decisions with global implications,” and recognizes the importance of flexible and regular interaction. The resolution attempts to establish a link between the UN and the G20 through informal engagement such as a set of briefings organized by the President of General Assembly. In fact, the resolution invites the representatives of the G20 presidency to take part in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly membership. The Promotion of transparency and coherence as well as enhancing cooperation in global economic governance was again emphasized.

Singapore spoke on behalf of the Global Governance Group, known as the 3G, welcoming the adoption of this resolution. The 3G highlighted the resolution’s elaboration on the universal membership and unquestioned legitimacy of the United Nations. “Global standard setting exercises must take place in formal organizations with universal membership like the United Nations,” stated Mr. Mark Neo, deputy permanent representative of Singapore.

“International economic actions, multilateral and inclusive relations in the world today must be handled at the global level,” proclaimed the delegation of Chile. With full support for the resolution, Chile regarded the draft as a constructive response to central role of the UN in global governance.

The resolution draft is under high expectation from more than 80 member states, in the hope that it will reinforce the General Assembly’s status as a “center for harmonizing the actions of nations” as the President declared. However, in order to advance the efforts of generations to entrench sustainable peace across the globe, further scrutiny of the public is still required. Proper scope must be used to ensure the transparent, equal, and mutually-understanding interactions among member states and the General Assembly.

Edited By; Wayne Dean Doyle