NEW YORK, CMC – On the eve of the end of his tenure as President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to the UN Dennis Francis said he remained “bullish on the UN” despite mounting crises.
“We may not always win in the way we want to win, but the values and principles that the UN abides by, that of resolution of disputes by peaceful means through negotiation and conciliation, means and allows everyone to come here and express their views freely and openly on the important issues of our times,” Francis told reporters on Monday, the day before his one-year reign ends as President of the 78th Session, underscoring the UN’s power to convene 193 countries to discuss their problems and concerns “in a rational, civil manner” in the search for solutions.
“And so, I remain bullish – to use a term used in the financial markets – I’m bullish on the UN,” added Francis, who was a Grand Marshal during the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York on Labor Day.
He said a milestone declaration to accelerate investment in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and three resolutions on the Gaza conflict were among the achievements of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, describing his year at the helm of the UN’s main policy-making body as “an honor of lifetime.”
“This has been a truly eventful session,” said the veteran diplomat, who made “Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability” the watchwords for his presidency.
The UN said Francis’s tenure began with adopting a landmark political declaration at the SDG Summit last September, which the General Assembly endorsed in its first official action of the 78th Session.
Francis said adoption brought “urgency to our efforts to fulfill the SDGs.”
The UN noted that separate High-Level Meetings on three health-related issues – pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, boosting universal health coverage, and stamping out tuberculosis – also ended with political declarations.
“The High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development led to a resounding consensus on the need to reform the global financial architecture – to match our Sustainable Development ambitions for 2030 with the necessary resources for implementation,” Francis said.
The UN said the General Assembly commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December with an informal plenary meeting and award ceremony for UN Human Rights Prize recipients.
In April, Francis convened the Assembly’s first-ever Sustainability Week, which focused on issues such as tourism, transport, infrastructure, and energy. A flagship event on debt sustainability highlighted the concerns of countries in special situations.
The UN said the week was devoted to building momentum for the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in May in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Summit of the Future, which begins next week in New York, catapulting global efforts to achieve sustainable development.
“Throughout, we were reminded of the central responsibility to build sustainable peace, the lynchpin of success on any other pillar of the UN’s work,” Francis said.
He added that, following the horrifying escalation of violence in the Middle East, the General Assembly took bold action to resume its 10th Emergency Session.
In line with the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, which the Assembly adopted in 1950, the veteran diplomat said the body could convene an “emergency special session” within 24 hours should the Security Council “fail to exercise its primary responsibility” for maintaining international peace and security.
Francis said the Assembly adopted three important resolutions in this regard: The first called for the protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, while the second demanded an immediate ceasefire and that all parties comply with their international organizations, as well as the release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian access.
The third resolution determined that the State of Palestine is qualified for UN membership and recommended that the Security Council consider the matter favorably.
“These demands by the Assembly represent the will of the international community, and – as I have routinely said on several occasions – I reiterate these demands, forthrightly, here today. It is time for the violence in Gaza to stop,” Francis said.
He also expressed pride in his administration’s work on gender and youth, including re-establishing the Advisory Board on Gender Equality and frequent engagement with young people at UN Headquarters in New York or elsewhere.
The UN said the outgoing Assembly president also pointed to another significant achievement during his administration: raising greater awareness of the threat posed by sea-level rise.
He said Heads of State and Government will discuss the issue later this month “with a view to giving specific directions for future work.”
When asked his views on the UN’s ability to be a key player, given challenges such as the Middle East crisis, the war in Ukraine, and the climate emergency, Francis responded: “I’m optimistic about the future of the UN for several reasons because there is no other organization on this planet like the UN that has the capacity or the commitment to do what the UN does.
and then 