Photo/ Horst Rutsch Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain was unanimously elected President of the sixty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly on 8 June 2006, taking over from Jan Eliasson of Sweden when the Assembly opened on 12 September. She is the first female to hold such position since 1969, when Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia was appointed to the presidency, and one of only three women to ever serve as Assembly President-the first was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India in 1953. The new President has had a long and illustrious career in both Bahraini national law and international diplomacy. From 1999 to 2004, she served as Ambassador to France, becoming the first woman to serve in this capacity for her country. A legal pioneer, she was one of the first two women in Bahrain to be admitted to practice law in 1979. She later set up her own law firm. She has since served in numerous capacities in the interest of international justice and diplomacy, including as Vice Chairwoman of the International Bar Association, a permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and a legal advisor to Bahrain's Royal Court. Sheikha Haya's most significant task as General Assembly President will likely involve the appointment of a new Secretary-General, as Kofi Annan's second and final term will expire at the end of December 2006. Customarily, following the Security Council's choice of a UN chief, the Assembly approves the decision. The Assembly President spoke with Horst Rutsch, Pureterrah Witcher and Amy Pont of the UN Chronicle on 1 August 2006.

On priorities for the sixty-first Assembly session

During the past two months, since my election, I stayed in New York and met with many Ambassadors. I completed my meetings with the regional groups yesterday. And I can now say that I understand the point of view of most of the Member States with respect to the issues that will be on our agenda during the sixty-first session.

The question of the reform of the Organization is important to everybody. As is to be expected, every one looks at reform from their own perspective or point of view. I think my role as President of the General Assembly will be to look at all the different views and to try to arrive at compromise outcomes that will be acceptable to everyone. I also believe my first task is to listen and work closely with Member States so that together we can set priorities. Even before the beginning of the sixty-first session, we know that the Assembly will need to continue work on important priority matters that were agreed upon at the 2005 World Summit, many of which have been taken up or implemented during the sixtieth session. These include management and Secretariat reform, fighting international terrorism and reforming the Security Council. We will also have to proceed with the review of mandates, another important issue for Member States. Finding a solution in this difficult area, where there has not been much movement, is going to be critical.

Another challenge will certainly be proper follow-up of the Assembly's High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. In addition, we will consider the report of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence in the areas of environment, development and humanitarian assistance. Finally, we will work to ensure that the bodies established during the 60th session-the Peacebuilding Commission, the Human Rights Council and the Central Emergency Response Fund-function well and live up to expectations.

Reform and the issue of development will therefore be very high on our agenda. Personally I don't believe in too many resolutions or too much talk. I believe in tangible results. I am gratified that Member States have agreed to make the issue of global partnership for development the main theme of this year's general debate. I look forward to hearing many suggestions and recommendations from Member States, as we develop a way forward on many of the issues that still remain. It goes without saying that all these processes can produce more results if the General Assembly looks closely at its own work and becomes more efficient, hence the need to continue to revitalize its work. As you can see, we will have a full plate of important matters that will keep us busy.

On her legal and diplomatic expertise

I feel privileged for having had the opportunity to serve in my previous capacities, and I am also grateful to my Government for the confidence placed and entrusted to me throughout the years that I have served. One thing I have learned over the years is that, while dealing with so many difficult issues, which require closely following established procedures and rules, we should not lose sight of the human dimension of our work. Indeed, first and foremost, we are dealing with people and working to address their expectations and hopes for a safer, more peaceful and more prosperous world. Therefore, in my interaction with colleagues, I will try to ensure that we keep this reality palpable, so that in our common search for workable solutions on the different issues at stake, we focus our attention on achieving balanced and fair outcomes.

I have also learned over the years that enabling different parties to take ownership of issues-letting everybody have a say and a stake in the outcome-is an asset in bringing issues to generally acceptable, successful conclusions, because, after all, isn't this the meaning of multilateralism? Isn't the General Assembly an intergovernmental body in which every member has an equal say, regardless of the size or might of individual States?

On the legacy of her predecessors and how she will build upon it

I wish to emphasize that the President of the General Assembly does not have her or his own agenda, which is not mandated by Member States. In that context, what I would like to emulate from my predecessor, President Jan Eliasson, is his ability to listen to Member States, to grasp and interpret their will, so that progress can be achieved on the different issues under consideration. As my predecessors have so successfully done, I intend also to commit to use the full authority of the Office, to lead and facilitate the General Assembly's work and stand ready to do my utmost to provide my best judgment as to the appropriate course of action for the Assembly to take at the appropriate time. But, in the end, let me emphasize again, I will have no agenda of my own that is different from the will of Member States.

This house is for all humanity-not for the interest of only one State or another. We may sometimes fail politically, or on some security issues, but we provide great support in the area of development and humanitarian aid to millions of people in developing countries, especially in Africa. And sometimes we do succeed in providing assistance in the political and in the peace and security arena. So we have to strengthen the Organization.

I am President only for one year-this is a very short period-so time is very important to me. I don't want to lose time merely having discussions. We have to concentrate and find solutions, reach concrete results. I would hope that I would be able to help bring the Organization one or two steps forward, as Mr. Eliasson and all my predecessors have done before me, so that whoever comes after me can continue and build on what has been achieved.

On the Millennium Summit and reform of the United Nations

You have mentioned Security Council reform and disarmament-these are two extremely delicate topics. They have been the subjects of continued, difficult and intense deliberations and review by the General Assembly, and the international community as a whole. We all have noted, indeed, the absence of even a reference to disarmament and non-proliferation in the 2005 World Summit outcome document, not because the issue was not discussed. As you may recall, the matter was thoroughly discussed in the lead-up to the Summit, but Member States could not reach a common ground. However, this does not mean at all that this matter has become obsolete; on the contrary, we need to enhance our efforts to give the issue all the necessary attention it deserves.

With regard to Security Council reform, we have to give credit to our leaders who unanimously agreed to call for its early reform, which they consider an essential aspect of the overall reform of the United Nations. As reflected during the rich and constructive debate that took place at the plenary level of the Assembly's sixtieth session, it is my understanding that Member States will not be satisfied to maintain the status quo. We can, therefore, expect some concrete steps on this front, too. It is hard to predict when this might happen, but there certainly is clear movement in that direction. Of course, any concrete progress on Security Council reform would further enhance the credibility of the Organization and strengthen its role. This is an objective that we should all actively pursue to make the United Nations more relevant and more effective, so that it can more readily and effectively respond to the many demands and expectations of our global and complex world.

Besides its role in the maintenance of peace and security, the United Nations, of course, would become even more relevant if it continues to devote the utmost attention to addressing the plight of millions and millions of people living in abject poverty. Hence, the need to mobilize more resources for development and to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including fighting rampant diseases and preventing malnutrition, and rising to the whole gamut of challenges associated with poverty. And we should not forget human rights. Together with its focus on development, and peace and security, the United Nations should also continue to devote its energy to the promotion and protection of human rights. The newly established Human Rights Council has an opportunity to make a difference in this regard.

I have noticed that there is a lot of mistrust among Member States. I found this very clear, especially in the issue of the mandates. So there is a real need to restore confidence.

On General Assembly revitalization

During its sixty-year history, the Assembly has become too focused on debate-with little or no follow-up. There must be a system in place to monitor the post-debate state of affairs. When the Assembly takes decisions, there must be follow-up, to see to what extent the decisions are implemented. We cannot enforce our decisions, but we have to follow up, or otherwise there will be no meaningful role for the General Assembly.

According to the UN Charter, the Assembly is a legislative body, without executive power. And over the years it has tended to be regarded as having more of a ceremonial role. However, recently this appears to have begun to change, and I hope that with the sixty-first session, the Assembly will continue to play a leadership role in the Organization. This will allow it to devote more energy to the fight against poverty and to move forward with the implementation of our development agenda, in particular the issue of partnership for development. Now that the strategy for counter-terrorism has been adopted, it is also my hope that we can begin to complete our deliberation on all relevant aspects of the fight against international terrorism. Finally, I hope we will be able to make progress on the reform of the Security Council.

It is only the collective will of Member States that can lead to the revitalization of the role of the General Assembly and to the resolution of many of these other significant issues. I believe revitalization of the Assembly is very important for this Organization, as this will make it more relevant to the needs of all the people of the world whom it serves. I come here as President of the Assembly-a woman, from a developing country-because of the universality of the membership of this body, which allows equal participation for all nations, great or small.

On the importance of ODA for the implementation of the MDGs by 2015

I cannot overemphasize the importance of the official development assistance (ODA) commitments. As you know, many donor countries in the lead up to the 2005 World Summit set timetables that would enable them to reach the 0.7-per-cent target of gross domestic product for ODA. It is also noteworthy that the sixtieth session passed a resolution in June 2006, which sets forth the means and mechanism for follow-up on development work, including on the MDGs. This is significant and very encouraging.

The negotiation of the development resolution confirmed the importance attached to the MDGs as concrete and achievable benchmarks that will help us measure progress towards improving people's lives. The European Union countries have made strides in the direction of reaching the 0.7-per-cent ODA target and have actually set verifiable timetables to this end, which is a very commendable commitment. Even those countries that have not set such clear timetables are devoting more and more resources to ODA. I hope the continuation of these very positive measures will enable the international community to pursue in a more consistent manner the implementation of the MDGs. I understand the concerns of some Member States about the 0.7-per-cent ODA target. Though we may have no power to enforce adherence to this target, I would hope that Member States would honour their commitment. At the same time, I fully understand that donor Governments are accountable to their legislative bodies on how their contributions are spent. For this reason, it is important to have in place an acceptable international system of accountability for the management of these funds.

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We must attain our goals by 2015-though the road to success will be very difficult. I was recently listening to a talk given by the head of the UN Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Mr. Anwarul Chowdhury, who explained that by 2015, according to recent data, poverty will potentially increase rather than decline. This is worrisome, indeed. We, therefore, have to do our utmost to find a way to implement our development plan from now to 2015.

On international law and the relevance of the UN Charter in upholding universal principles of justice

The United Nations is a body of 192 Member States, each of which, regardless of cultural, religious or historical background, has agreed to abide by the Organization's Charter. Along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the whole body of UN treaties, the Charter provides a solid set of principles and values that inspire and guide our work both at the national and international levels. One of the strengths of the UN Charter is principally its affirmation of the principle of sovereign equality of all Members States-small or big, wealthy or not. The preamble of the Charter also cites the establishment of "conditions under which justice … can be maintained" as one of the four principal reasons that gave impetus to the creation of the United Nations. And, in Article 1, the Charter states that one of the purposes of the Organization is the settlement of disputes "by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law", while Article 2 calls on Member States to "settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, justice and security are not endangered". As you know, one of the six main organs of the United Nations created by the Charter is the International Court of Justice. So you can see that the notion of justice is deeply enshrined in the UN Charter.

On the advancement of gender equality and education

We all know that the overall condition of women around the world is far from being fully satisfactory. Far too many women today are still victims of all sorts of discrimination. This is why world leaders in the 2005 Summit outcome document committed themselves to reversing this negative trend. We should spare no time, energy or resources in working to improve the condition of women, wherever they live. This is a matter that is continually on the agenda of the General Assembly and needs renewed focus and attention. I will be personally ready to engage with Member States on ensuring the implementation of our commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.

When it comes to gender equality, the United Nations must work within societies or communities, as well as with Governments. The work of non-governmental organizations in this area is very important. These are the people who work closely with communities and explain to women what their rights are. As a result of international pressure on this issue, today in many developing countries, Governments are trying to promote the notion of gender equality. However, in many societies, there is still a gap between government policy and the degree of public acceptance of gender equality. For example, there are four countries in the Gulf region that have given women the right to vote and to become parliament members; however, during elections no one elects women. Some religious people even say that it is not good to elect women. Still, I have hope that this will change with time and as understanding deepens.

A key to gender equality is education, not only of women but of men as well. It is my opinion that there are two kinds of poverty. One is material poverty, which deprives a human being of such basic necessities as food, shelter, water, etc. And there is poverty of the mind. It is very important to take note of this, because someone who is poor in mind can easily adopt very dangerous ideas. It is important, therefore, to ensure quality of education, because education is not merely about reading and writing. It's a way of thinking, it's philosophy, it's how you develop ideas. In the absence of quality education, you see violence of all kinds. This is why it is very important to ensure a quality education for all children, both girls and boys.

On the role of culture and religion in shaping her views on the rule of law

Around the world, there are various kinds of cultural taboos-these are sometimes part of national law or local religion. When I was a young woman, I was very curious. I wanted to know why everyone was saying these things about women, that they could not do this or that. Why must a woman always give a reason for anything she does, but men could do anything without giving any reason?

When I was in school, a teacher told me that no woman could leave her house without her husband's permission; otherwise, the angels would condemn her. I asked the teacher, "Must a man also ask his wife's permission so that the angels will not condemn him?" The response was, "No, no, it does not work that way."

I wanted to know what was behind these taboos. This is the reason why I wanted to study law. In studying law, you are able to see what lies behind the reasons given for various social practices. A background in law gives you the ability to see things more clearly, to realize that there is nothing black or white. And it gives you a method for finding answers to difficult questions and solutions in difficult situations.