Liberia has been elected as one of several Vice Presidents of the 72^nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with a one-year mandate.

Other Vice Presidents elected to its plenary include: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Chile, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, Madagascar, Morocco, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates Vanuatu and Zimbabwe. Also, serving as Vice Presidents are the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.

According to a dispatch from Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the election of the leadership of the 72^nd Session of the UNGA took place at its headquarters in New York recently.

The General Assembly also elected by acclimation Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, as President of the 72^nd Session of the UNGA.

He was elected in accordance with tradition which follows a system of geographical rotation whereby regional groups put forward a consensus candidate every year – in the present case, the Eastern European States.

Following his election, the new President outlined six priorities, stressing that his first aim is to focus on people. He pledged to bring the UN closer to the world’s citizens and make a real difference in their lives.  The Sustainable Development Goals and climate action are also important priorities, he said, adding that human rights which would guide his work as an overarching principle. He promised to maintain gender and geographical balance.

Mr. Lajčák went on to highlight the importance of prevention and mediation in sustaining peace, and of calling attention to the issue of migration. Emphasizing the importance of quality, he pledged not to launch any initiative that would result in additional burdens, particularly for smaller States, saying he would rather create a streamlined agenda, organized in clusters.

The President emphasized that creating a stronger United Nations able to meet the multitude of expectations placed upon it was a common goal, and to this end, he would facilitate a constructive, informed and open interaction among Member States and with the Secretary-General. He called for greater trust between the United Nations and its members, stressing that he would do the utmost to support progress in the United Nations reform agenda. He also underlined the vital need to bolster the General Assembly’s role and improve its efficiency, and transform the Security Council into a 21^st century entity.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly also selected members to the Bureaus of its six Main Committees.