Working together to change the world
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is one of the world’s most important gatherings, bringing leaders from 193 countries together to discuss the most pressing global issues. At the 73rd Session of the UNGA in September, President Cyril Ramaphosa participated as South Africa’s Head of State for the first time.
“Making the United Nations (UN) relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies.”
This was the theme under which governments from around the world gathered for the 73rd Session of the UNGA in New York. UNGA President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés outlined seven priority themes for the session, namely to: promote gender equality implement new global initiatives to address migration and refugees highlight innovative thinking around the future of work protect the environment; raise awareness on persons with disabilities, implement the reform of the UN systems and promote peace.
South Africa's participation
South Africa's prominent involvement at the event extended from the opening of the General Debate, to President Ramaphosa's inaugural address as Head of State.
The centerpiece of the Assembly, the annual General Debate, is the occasion for world leaders to discuss the issues making the greatest impacts on their countries. South Africa was honoured to feature strongly at the opening, where a statue of former President Nelson Mandela was unveiled at the historic Nelson Mandela Peace Summit – a high-level meeting held in honour of the centenary of the birth of the iconic leader.
President Ramaphosa took to the stage on 25 September for his first address at the debate,and he immediately took to questioning whether the UN was living up to its ideals of peace and global unity.
“We are bound to ask whether the UN has met the needs of the millions who stand at the gates of hope. We are bound to ask what contribution the UN has made to a more peaceful, more prosperous and more equal world,” he said.
Mandela's legacy
At the Peace Summit, Mandela's legacy was cemented by a political declaration committed to by leaders, to strive for a just, peaceful, prosperous, democratic, fair, equitable and inclusive world. President Ramaphosa said that the declaration, which recognises the period of 2019 to 2028 as the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace, was a landmark commitment.
“This reflects a new and sincere commitment by the world's leaders to comprehensively advance peace and security and resolve all conflicts and wars.To succeed in giving effect to this commitment, the UN must become what billions of people across the world want it to be – a representative and truly democratic global parliament of the people,” he said.
The President added that the UN has been a source of hope for the oppressed, exploited and poor, including those in South Africa.
“During the dark days of colonialism and apartheid, we drew strength, inspiration and encouragement from the UN and its Charter in our quest for self-determination. With the support of the UN, we were able to bring an end to the nightmare of apartheid.”
President Ramaphosa said that South Africa's journey of transformation is progressing well since Mandela led the country to freedom.The President also highlighted several of the most important developments taking place in the country.
“We have started a comprehensive dialogue on the question of land reform, which is guided by our Constitution and the rule of law as we seek ways to ensure that the land is shared among all who work it, as set out in our Freedom Charter. We are reforming our economy and creating an environment that is conducive to investment, and have embarked on an investment drive to attract US$100 billion dollars in the next five years.”
A call for global action
The President said that the gathered leaders are responsible for creating a better world for all.
“It is within our hands, as the leaders assembled here today, to forge a more representative, equal and fair UN that is empowered and equipped to lead the struggle to end poverty, unemployment and inequality in the world.”
President Ramaphosa stressed that the interests of the youth need to be prioritised.
“We are a young world, where more than half the global population is under the age of 30 years. This is even more pronounced on our continent, Africa, where twothirds of its people were not yet born when Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
“This places a responsibility on us, as leaders, not only to put the interests of young people at the
Nearly all countries called for massive action
to mitigate the impacts of climate
change and stressed the need for international cooperation to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development
Goals.
centre of our efforts, but also to empower women and young people to be more prominent in directing the course of global affairs.”
He added that African problems need to be addressed through various measures.
“As the continent with the youngest population in the world, Africa has the potential to be the next great frontier for global growth.
With effective investment in education, improved healthcare, good governance and greater economic integration, Africa has the potential to develop its productive capacity on a scale and at a rate that will lift tens of millions out of poverty.”
Other happenings at the General Debate
The General Debate saw 199 speakers take to the stage, including representatives from all of the UN's member countries.The states had the opportunity to discuss the issues concerning their countries and their hopes for the coming years particularly as to how the UNGA can assist.
Nearly all countries called for massive action to mitigate the impacts of climate change and stressed the need for international cooperation to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to eliminate everything from extreme poverty to hunger, healthcare and education. Additional focus was placed on the issues of gender equality and women's empowerment.
“This UN must show leadership in recognising the talents and contributions of women to human civilisation and progress,” said Mia Amor Mottley, the first woman Prime Minister of Barbados.
African countries in particular called for the reform of the 15-member Security Council, which has legal enforcement status.
It was argued that the Council should be extended to include a wider range of UN member states. Malawi's President Peter Mutharika said that all UN countries should be viewed as equal.
“There are no minorities here ... there are no small nations here. There are only nations in the United Nations,” President Mutharika said.
At the end of the debate, UNGA President Espinosa Garcés said that multilateralism – the alliance of multiple countries in pursuing a common goal – is the only way to address the problems facing humankind.
“If we added together all of the discussions and speeches that took place, we would have a ‘global snapshot' of the state of the world today – of the successes and the most pressing challenges facing our nations, and of the role that falls to this organisation and to multilateralism.”
“The representatives of more than 7.6 million inhabitants of the planet agreed almost unanimously on the irreplaceable role of this
organisation,” she said.“To hear so many times the calls to strengthen multilateralism fills us with satisfaction, and at the same time presents an enormous challenge to ensure that each day this organisation becomes ever more relevant to our peoples,” she added.