The former prime minister of Cameroon who assumed leadership of the UN General Assembly has urged divided nations of the globe to unite and take action to address global issues like poverty, armed conflict, and climate change.

The 193-member world body was informed by Philemon Yang that there were concerns over the ability of nations to work together to address these and other urgent issues. But he added: “We must demonstrate that international cooperation remains the most effective tool at our disposal to address the deep and borderless problems we face. ”

The cornerstone of Mr. Yang’s one-year presidency, according to the veteran diplomat who led his West African nation as prime minister from 2009 to 2019, “will be built on the principles of unity in diversity.” He went on to say that throughout his presidency, maintaining peace and security will be “of paramount importance.”

“I will therefore urge the Assembly to intensify its determination to prioritize the resolution of conflicts, including the intractable conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Haiti and Ukraine, as well as to find lasting solutions to the situation in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in Africa ,” Mr. Yang said.

The United Nations, which was established out of the ashes of World War II, has been encouraged by outgoing General Assembly President Dennis Francis to fulfil its goal of preserving world peace and security.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the scale of man-made human suffering that we are witnessing around the world is simply staggering ,” said the former diplomat and ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago , referring to Gaza and other conflicts.

However, Francis cautioned that “on our current trajectory, millions more will face poverty and hunger by 2030.” Millions of people today live in extreme poverty and despair.

The necessity of international cooperation was again emphasised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He declared that the 78th session of the General Assembly, which came to a close on Tuesday morning, had been the warmest year on record in addition to being “a tumultuous year” characterised by ongoing poverty, inequality, injustice, division, violence, and conflict.

“But this session also ends at a time of growing hope and inspiration about what we can achieve if we work together ,” the UN chief said.

Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guterres greeted diplomats at the opening of the 79th session of the Assembly, saying, “Step by step, solution by solution, we can rebuild trust and faith in each other and in what we can achieve through collaboration and solidarity.”

The Secretary-General called the Future Summit on September 22–23, which Mr. Yang will chair. The purpose of the summit is to encourage multilateral action on global issues and reform international organisations established after World War II, such as the United Nations.