The new ECOSOC President, Lachezara Stoeva from Bulgaria, banged the gavel for the first time on Monday with a vow to transform the world into “a better place for the people of today and tomorrow”.
Ms. Stoeva said in her opening statement that she was “honoured and humbled” to have been elected to lead one of the principal organs of the UN, while noting that the upcoming session will be “especially challenging for the world”.
In addition to COVID recovery, she highlighted the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has “triggered massive food insecurity, energy shortages, and financial crises”.
The new ECOSOC chief elaborated on initiatives to assist in overcoming “the crises that have engulfed our societies”.
Setting her agenda
As ECOSOC President, Ms. Stoeva’s said her first priority was to ensure that the Council and the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) which is the climax of its work each year, provides “solid, evidence-based, innovative and actionable policy guidance” to curb and address the pandemic’s impacts on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Secondly, she aims to help bridge the “great finance divide” that has sharply curtailed the ability of many developing nations to recover.
Her third priority is to ensure preparations advance for the SDG Summit taking place in September 2023, by building momentum and reviving “the passion that characterized the elaboration and implementation of the SDGs”, which were agreed upon in 2015.
Fourth, she aims to build on the success of this year’s Humanitarian Affairs Segment to “support and reinforce” the UN and its humanitarian partners in addressing “profound humanitarian challenges” worldwide.
Fifth, Ms. Stoeva aims to follow up on the recommendations made to ECOSOC in the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda blueprint for action, while her sixth priority will be to provide better access to youth, civil society, and others.
The final priority, she said, would be to implement the recommendations adopted by the General Assembly in June 2021 for reforming the work of ECOSOC and the HLPF.
Ms. Stoeva assumed her duties as Bulgaria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in February last year and has served as ECOSOC Vice-President responsible for the Management Segment, where she successfully led the Council’s review of the Functional Commissions and Expert Bodies.
