'Look Beyond National Interests', Secretary-General Urges, as General Assembly Opens Eightieth Session

'Look Beyond National Interests', Secretary-General Urges, as General Assembly Opens Eightieth Session

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks to the opening of the General Assembly's eightieth session, in New York today:

Congratulations, once again, on your election, which holds added significance as you become only the fifth woman in history to be elected to this important role.

And I thank the outgoing President - His Excellency Philémon Yang - for so ably guiding this Assembly over the last year.

I pledge my support to you, Madam President, as you take on this important role in an important year - the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations.

You bring a wealth of government and diplomatic experience to this task, including serving as your country's Foreign Minister. And you work to fulfil your inspiring vision - "Better Together" - and address your priority issues of peace, development, reform and transparency.

Eight decades ago, the founders of our organization gathered in San Francisco. Emerging from the fires of a world war, they envisioned something different. A global-problem-solving body that could not only prevent calamities like war, but could forge solutions to other age-old problems haunting humanity - poverty, hunger, illness and inequality.

These efforts, built by the world for the world, and grounded in the values and principles of the United Nations Charter, are what this Assembly is all about.

The United Nations provides the place. The Charter provides the tools. And the Pact for the Future, adopted last September, provided a shot in the arm for the multilateral system and the values that have defined this organization from day one.

The Pact reminds us that, eight decades on, we can and must continue rising above division and working together to make our world a better, more peaceful and prosperous place for all; to heal divisions and end conflicts; to re-commit to the letter and spirit of international law; to summon the resolve to help all countries climb the development ladder and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); to protect our planet and make the shift to renewables - supporting developing countries every step of the way; [and] to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of a digital world.

And through the Declaration on Future Generations, to ensure that the decisions we make today benefit those who will inherit and shape the future tomorrow.

But nothing can happen without this Assembly - all of you - working as one. The Charter is not self-executing. By design, it requires countries looking beyond their national interests and re-building trust and faith in one another, and in what we can accomplish through collaboration and solidarity.

And it requires realizing that, while we cannot solve all the world's problems here, we can unite behind solutions that will ultimately move humanity closer to a better, fairer, more peaceful and equal world for all.

So, as we begin this eightieth session, I call on all Member States to summon the same resolve and spirit of determination that brought delegates to San Francisco in 1945. Let's live up to their vision - and most importantly, to the expectations and hopes of today's people around the world.