UN General Assembly opens annual session under Swiss presidency

Sep 14, 2010, 2:45 GMT

New York - The United Nations General Assembly is to open its 65th annual session on Tuesday afternoon with an agenda loaded with social and economic issues and tasks ranging from nuclear disarmament to humanitarian priorities.

The former president of the Swiss Confederation, Joseph Deiss, will assume the leadership of the 192-nation body, a kind of legislature for the world organization. Switzerland won UN membership only in 2002 following years of indecision by its provinces on whether to keep the country's neutrality by staying out of the UN.

Deiss said in July when he was chosen by European members to head the assembly that his challenge will be to uphold the UN mission to protect the dignity, security and well being of all human beings.

While the assembly opens on Tuesday, its work begins only next week with the attendance of world leaders in a series of meetings.

From next Monday through Wednesday, the assembly will re-assess progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which range from ending extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing primary education to all children to reducing infant and maternal deaths.

From September 23 to September 29, heads of state and government delegates will speak on world problems and are expected to recommend measures to improve conditions in their own countries.

The UN Security Council, under Turkey's presidency, will hold on September 23 a session on improving its role on the maintenance of peace and security around the world. It will be attended by heads of state and government. Turkey's President Abdullah Gul will preside.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on the eve of the 65th session that the assembly will try to ensure success of the summit on the MDGs, to be attended by 139 presidents and prime ministers. Other countries will be represented by foreign ministers.

Ban said reviews of the implementation of the MDGs since 2000 showed that the goals can be achieved.

'The MDGs are difficult and ambitious, but doable,' Ban said. 'Many poor countries have made enormous progress. The world as a whole is on-track to reduce poverty by half by 2015 - a tremendous achievement.'

But progress has been uneven across the world, with some African countries falling behind the schedule to reach the targets by 2015. Ban said the global economic management has missed the poor and vulnerable, and resources should be given to those in need.

The world this year has been challenged by severe humanitarian crises caused by earthquakes, floods and armed conflicts, Ban said. Women and children too often became the first victims in conflicts, he said.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process will be re-assessed again by the UN, the European Union, the United States and Russia - known as the quartet - in New York now that the two belligerents have begun direct negotiations to settle their differences.

The assembly's agenda calls for high-level discussion on Haiti, Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The situation in Iraq and upcoming elections in Afghanistan will also be discussed.

Terrorism, religious tolerance, and nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are issues to receive particular attention by governments.