Once elected, I will be called upon to serve as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations for one year, from September 2024 to September 2025.
What are my vision, my agenda, my duty and my style? These are the very first questions that Member States and even the general public will expect me to shed light on, in line with the Assembly’s requirements.
My Vision
The theme of my mandate will be “Unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone, everywhere”, which, I believe, covers the three pillars of United Nations action.
Indeed, my reading of the current international context and its likely evolution is that the challenges of a digitalized twenty-first century characterized by tremendous progress in science and technology, in particular information and communications technology, are becoming increasingly complex and globalized.
These challenges stem from human activity or natural disasters. Examples include active or low-intensity conflicts in various parts of the world, geopolitical tensions, international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, economic upheaval and uncertainty, inequalities, epidemics, pandemics, refugees and displaced persons, migratory flows, climate change, which is threatening the survival and very existence of some States, deforestation, desertification, hunger, the digital divide and a frantic arms race, including in outer space.
I believe we have the tools to deal with all these issues, as affirmed by the Heads of State and Government in the declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations. What we lack is the political will to act, to use these tools for the well-being of all. Currently, there remains a lingering mistrust, along with double standards and an inward-looking attitude on the part of States. Increasingly, positions are being taken and things are being done not in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, but rather selectively and based on partisan interests.
Yet no country, no matter how powerful, can singlehandedly address the current challenges of globalization and interdependence. I note with interest the existence, affirmation and even creation of various groupings and centres of power in the world. However, I believe that this dynamic falls short of the potential or even the true capacity for action of the United Nations.
The General Assembly, the highest and most representative deliberative body at the global level, is thus becoming the only place where States, on the basis of sovereign equality and in all their diversity of opinion, meet to seek joint solutions to these problems. It is the forum par excellence for the free expression of this diversity of beliefs, opinions, interests, approaches, solutions and the ways and means of implementation.
It is the place where, thanks to the general debate, the voices of peoples and nations, in all their distinctiveness, are heard through their representatives on all issues of concern to humankind, be they peace, security, disarmament, economic, financial, social and humanitarian issues, administrative and budgetary questions, human rights, the rule of law, the development and dissemination of international law, decolonization, space, seas and oceans, peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations, and reforms that have a critical impact on the future of humanity. The General Assembly reflects the richness of the world’s peoples and nations.
It is also an important forum for dialogue and consultation, where nations large and small harmonize their views on all these issues to achieve common goals; hence the appeal for unity, coming together and solidarity, for consensus in fact, during deliberations and exchanges within its various bodies, transcending differences and divergent and wavering opinions.
In summary, this is my vision of this august chamber, as conceived by the founding fathers, as a forum for the free expression of opinion, as a great drum that gives a voice to nations and peoples in all their diversity, and as a great “palaver tree” under which, after much discussion, views are harmonized to reach common goals. It is through this lens that I would like my action to be viewed during my term.
My agenda and my duty
To that end, and as a guideline, it should be underscored that Member States have themselves defined the following eight major areas or priorities to be addressed by the General Assembly: promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Assembly and United Nations conferences; maintenance of international peace and security: development in Africa; promotion of human rights; effective coordination of humanitarian assistance; promotion of justice and international law; disarmament; and drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Member States have also adopted plans to promote action in that regard, most recently the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including measures to evaluate its implementation. The Heads of State and Government declared in the document commemorating the Organization’s seventy-fifth anniversary that the 2030 Agenda is their “road map and its implementation a necessity for their survival”. Notably, the watchwords of the 2030 Agenda, which applies to everyone, everywhere in the world, concern protecting the planet, human survival, poverty eradication, shared prosperity and leaving no one behind.
They also established specific programmes and frameworks for countries in special situations, such as least developed countries (with the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, the strengthening of the resources and functions of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, and the relaunch of the Board of Advisers for those countries); landlocked developing countries (with a new Kigali programme planned in June 2024); small island developing States, some of which are struggling to survive (with the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway to be reviewed in May 2024 at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda) and middle-income countries (with coordinated and enhanced follow-up by the entire United Nations development system of the measures envisaged by the General Assembly). All of these programmes aim to achieve sustainable development, the main indicator of which is poverty eradication.
With reference to Africa specifically, which constitutes one of the eight priorities of the United Nations, the General Assembly supported Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, drawn up by Africa itself, with its priority programmes and projects, as a powerful tool for the continent’s development in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area. In this regard, there is a strategic partnership between the continent and the United Nations and a position of Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa, who is responsible for monitoring implementation of the commitments made by the partners of Africa.
To preserve peace, promote sustainable development and protect the planet, the international community should ensure that the objectives jointly set by Member States in all these programmes are achieved.
During my term, I will stress the need for faster action on the measures to be taken by the General Assembly to ensure the effective implementation of mutual commitments. The means of implementation, in particular in terms of finance, science and technology, are therefore of the utmost urgency.
In addition to the above-mentioned programmes, it should be noted that a number of activities and processes that were initiated by my predecessors will be continued during my presidency, either in terms of further consideration or measures for their implementation. In that connection, I should like to mention, inter alia, the reform of the Security Council, the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, the social summit in 2025, the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, and the fourth high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. I would also like to mention the draft declaration and the preparations for celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations and, above all, the follow-up measures to A Pact for the Future that will be adopted during the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly at the Summit of the Future, which are likely to have an impact on our common future. I undertake to give careful follow-up to these issues, including by appointing the right co-facilitators.
On another level, there are hotbeds of tension and active or low-intensity conflicts in various regions of the world. In this particular regard, the General Assembly has a duty to play its full part by making the necessary efforts in the areas of prevention, de-escalation, confidence-building measures and action-oriented resolutions and decisions, and by further strengthening the Peacebuilding Commission, Office and Fund.
Concerning the revitalization of the work of the Assembly itself, with a view to strengthening its authority, I will continue the work of my predecessors, ensuring that the co-facilitators and the working group appointed for this purpose deepen and accelerate discussion of the innovative ideas put forward by Member States. I will ensure that the Assembly’s voice is heard, whenever necessary, by Member States or at specific international meetings on issues of grave concern.
During my term, I will also ensure that the Assembly remains constantly attuned to events around the world, by activating its role, in line with the relevant procedures, either to take up issues vetoed by the Security Council or because a situation relating to a conflict, natural disaster or epidemic warrants its attention.
Throughout my term, I will hold consultations and maintain contact with the various regional or functional groups, in order to discuss their specific concerns or interests and any action that the Assembly may take.
During my term, the members of my Office and the co-facilitators will be drawn from different countries, taking into account parity between women and men, the usual equitable geographical distribution, competence and integrity.
I will give the necessary priority to programmes for the advancement of Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent, persons with disabilities and all vulnerable people.
Regarding young people, I will maintain the priority accorded to them under the newly created Youth Office in the United Nations Secretariat, to which the Assembly has allocated resources for its effective functioning under the 2024 budget. I will resume the youth fellowship programme launched by my predecessors.
On another level, as prescribed by the Assembly, I will attach great importance to cooperation with the high-level leaders of the principal organs such as the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Secretary-General, while adhering to the established schedule of our meetings, for the harmonious functioning of our “common home”.
I will emphasize multilingualism and multiculturalism, the bedrocks of cultural diversity, which reflect the richness of the peoples and nations of the world.
I will accord special importance to interfaith and intercultural dialogue and to combating extremism and hate speech.
On the subject of partnership, I will emphasize cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in efforts to promote peace, sustainable development and human dignity. I will also ensure, in accordance with the rules established or to be improved by Member States, that the partnership with civil society, non-governmental organizations and academic circles is strengthened, and that they are consulted, participate in and contribute to the work of the Assembly whenever necessary.
In the second half of my term, I may also, as needed and depending on the themes agreed upon by the parties, lead informal interactive conversations with Member States or the above-mentioned partners on matters of interest or concern, following the well-known African tradition of discussion under the “palaver tree”.
My style and my call
Throughout my term, I will be guided by the following principles and considerations:
- Strict adherence to the oath that I will take before the General Assembly prior to assuming office
- Availability and an open ear for all Member States and other partners
- Complete transparency, intellectual and moral probity, impartiality, objectivity and punctuality in the performance of my duties
- Compliance with the rules of procedure in the conduct of business
Firmness, but also flexibility, as needed, in overseeing consultations to achieve the goals set
In conclusion, if I were asked to sum up my presidency in a few words, I would say this: beyond our diversity and our differences, let us take action and work together to promote peace, end war and encourage harmony of hearts and minds; let us strive to make faster progress towards sustainable development, shared prosperity and harmony with nature and the environment, whose resources must be used moderately, judiciously and wisely, while taking corrective and transitional measures for the sake of present and future generations; and let us strive to promote human dignity everywhere and for everyone.
Let us take action, let us strive to strengthen multilateralism based on a solid foundation anchored in the purposes, principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Together, let us heed history’s clarion call for humanism. It is a rare call that is made to only one generation, the source of the future, in the course of a century!
If the Member States were to honour me by electing me as President of the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly, it would be a great tribute to the unity and solidarity of the Group of African States, to which the rotating presidency falls, and which has spared no effort to come up with a single candidate from the African continent. It would also be a great honour for my country, Cameroon, a former trust territory of the United Nations, in recognition of the maturity of its diplomacy at the international level. Above all, it would be a glowing tribute to the President, Mr. Paul Biya, for his insightful views, expressed regularly from the rostrum of the General Assembly. Lastly, for me, it would be an honour, or better still a duty, to serve the entire international community with humility and honesty, in the wake of history’s call.
