During his last minutes as a president of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft said, “Throughout this session, I sought to instill greater transparency in everything we do – and I am delighted to see that many of the steps I have advanced relating to the integrity, transparency, and accountability of my own office have now been codified in the GA Revitalization resolution adopted earlier this morning – and I look forward to witnessing the first ever taking of an oath of office by an incoming president in just a few moments.”
In a formal ceremony, H.E. Peter Thomson of the Republic of Fiji took oath as the new president of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Preceding the oath, outgoing President of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly Lykketoft handed over the gavel, which symbolically initiated Thomson as the official president of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.
This year, the emphasis of the of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly is to ensure the implementation of the new global development goals adopted by its 193 member states in 2015.
During his oath of office, the president of the 71st session of the General Assembly, Thomson declared, “The 70th session launched the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and for integrity’s sake the 71st must be the year we witness the wheels turning on the implementation of all 17 SDGs.”
According to the UN News Centre, on January 1, 2016, the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development officially came into force. Over the next 15 years, with the aim of achieving the SDGs, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
As the new president of the General Assembly, Thomson will focus on maintaining the integration of the 2030 Agenda among the nations. He remarked, “But make no mistake, the great majority of humankind has yet to learn of the agenda; it has yet to embrace the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, that if successfully implemented will bring an end to poverty and secure a sustainable place for humanity on this planet.”
He also declared that the link between sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights has never been more explicit. “I regret the evidence of widespread lack of empathy for people on the move, many of whom are fleeing from conflict, persecution, or climate change. It is time to turn down the rhetoric of intolerance and ratchet up a collective response based on our common humanity,” he said.
One of the highlights of his speech was the inclusion of his five and seven-year-old granddaughters. He invited both to share the stage with him. He remarked that they will be full adults by the end of the new development agenda in 2030. He also asked to the audience, “What kind of world will we have bequeathed them and all their brothers and sisters around the world, your own grandchildren and children, born and yet to be born?”
“The 71st session will only be fulfilling,” he said, “if at its end we can be assured real progress is underway on each of the goals, that our faith and hope in progress is not misplaced, and that a better world will be at hand when the year 2030 rolls around.”
After the new General Assembly president’s speech, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared, “You will serve as a bridge between my administration and the next… You will have my full support, and that of my team, in ensuring a seamless transition.”
“The assembly will be called upon to address many threats, and to show its solidarity with people facing injustice,” he added. “People also look to this body not just to react to problems, but to work proactively and preventively to better the human condition.”
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