The 72nd session of the of the United Nations General Assembly was opened on Tuesday by President of the General Assembly, Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák. In his opening address, he stated that his appointment as President was a great honour, and that the UN has many global issues to solve.
"Conflict persists as an ugly reality of our world. Civilians, not soldiers, are paying the highest price. Schools and hospitals, not military barracks, are the targets of attacks. I must also talk today about over 65 million people leaving their homes because they are forced to, not because they want to. I have to use my speech today to address other major challenges, including persistent poverty, growing inequalities, indiscriminate terrorist attacks, and [the] worsening effects of Climate Change. These are global challenges. Every country is coping with at least one, but they are also individual in nature; touching the lives of each person,"stated Lajčák.
Shortly afterwards, the podium was given to Slovak President Andrej Kiska, who gave a speech targeting global poverty and the response of UN member states to humanitarian disasters.
"Every single minute, while I speak here, twelve children die of hunger. More than one hundred are born to extreme poverty. Dozens die from preventable diseases. Diseases which we have been able to cure for decades and it is our responsibility, of the people in this room, to do everything in our power to help them. The challenges we face often do not require difficult strategies or an unexpected amount of money; they need just dedication and true leadership on both sides. For those who help, to give up on ignorance or selfishness, and for those who receive the help, to put the people in the first place,"stated President Kiska.
Other key topics being discussed at this UN General Assembly are North Korea's development of Weapons of Mass Destruction, fighting sexual exploitation, the signing of the first agreement on the elimination of nuclear weapons, and finding strategies to manage migration.
