73rd session of UN General Assembly begins

The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly opened Tuesday with its new President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, only the fourth women elected to the post in the history of the 193-member UN body, pledging to promote gender equality and supporting the reform process in the world body.

In her first keynote address the General Assembly, Espinosa Garces said that the need for stronger global leadership in the service of multilateralism, to ensure more peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies, would underpin her work.

"Let us proceed together, building a world more equal and free, more sustainable and respectful of nature, and more inclusive and supportive," she said.

Espinosa, who was elected the President of the General Assembly in June, succeeds Miroslav Lajcak.

She is only the fourth woman to hold that position in the history of the world body, and the first woman ever from Latin America and the Caribbean region. Garces joins the small list of female assembly presidents.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, veteran Indian diplomat and sister of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first woman to be elected President of the General Assembly in as early as 1953. Later, Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia was elected president in 1969 and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain in 2006.

In her address, the Assembly President outlined her seven priorities identified in consultation with Member States that will shape the year-long session: promoting gender equality; promoting and implementing the new global compacts on migration and refugees; advocating for decent work; protecting the environment; focusing on rights of persons with disabilities; supporting the UN reform process; and facilitating dialogue.

"I am also prepared to facilitate quick and effective responses of the General Assembly to emergency situations as they arise, she added, noting that "unfortunately, they will arise".

Espinosa Garces also pledged that she will uphold good practices in her Office, ensuring its geographical representation, gender parity, and total transparency in its administrative and financial management.

She assured that she will observe, with absolute responsibility, the Code of Ethics for the President of the General Assembly, and will abide strictly by the precepts of the United Nations Charter and the Assembly's Rules of Procedure.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Espinosa Garces on assuming the office and noting the important issues that lie ahead.

"We need action for peacekeeping, gender parity, financing for the 2030 Agenda [for Sustainable Development], empowerment for the world's young people, urgent steps to end poverty and conflict, and much else," he said, calling on world leaders to come to the high-level week beginning on Monday, ready to be bold and ready to forge solutions for our global challenges.