Bangladesh’s top diplomat elected UN General Assembly leader in tight race

Khalilur Rahman elected arsenic the president of the UNGA’s 81st session, garnering 99 votes successful concealed ballot.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st league of the United Nations General Assembly aft defeating Cyprus’s Ambassador Andreas Kakouris successful a intimately contested vote, taking the helm of the world’s astir typical diplomatic assemblage astatine a clip of mounting unit connected the multilateral system.

In the concealed ballot held connected Tuesday, Rahman secured 99 votes, 8 much compared with his rival Kakouris. A full of 190 ballots were cast, with nary invalid votes oregon abstentions.

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The presidency rotates among the UN’s 5 determination groups, and the 81st league falls to the Asia Pacific group. Rahman volition service a one-year word starting connected September 8, the UN said.

His presidency volition coincide with 1 of the astir consequential processes connected the UN calendar: the enactment of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s successor, whose word expires astatine the extremity of this year.

Rahman served arsenic nationalist information advisor and precocious typical connected the Rohingya contented earlier becoming Bangladesh’s overseas curate successful February erstwhile the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won successful the country’s first election since a student-led uprising ousted longtime person Sheikh Hasina successful 2024.

A vocation diplomat, helium joined Bangladesh’s overseas work successful 1979. He besides held elder UN positions successful New York and Geneva, according to UN News.

“The UN volition commence its ninth decennary astatine a clip erstwhile spot successful our organisation is being tested connected aggregate fronts,” helium told diplomats assembled astatine the UNGA arsenic helium accepted the caller role. “Taken together, these challenges thin to undermine the nationalist spot and assurance successful the quality of our organisation to present its promises.”

Outgoing UNGA President Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s overseas minister, highlighted however spot towards multilateralism is nether increasing strain.

The UN is facing “not lone headwinds, but immense pressure”, with statement progressively hard to execute and defence of the UN Charter becoming “a regular necessity”.

“The relation of the president of the General Assembly is nary longer simply procedural,” she said.

Forum for cardinal planetary topics

The General Assembly is the UN’s astir typical body, bringing unneurotic each 193 Member States, each with 1 vote. Its yearly gathering successful September successful New York is the lone UN forum wherever satellite leaders of each countries, tiny and large, tin speak.

While its resolutions are mostly not legally binding, the assemblage serves arsenic the main forum for planetary deliberation connected cardinal topics, from information to quality rights, reflecting planetary opinion.

The UNGA besides makes cardinal decisions for the UN, including appointing the secretary-general connected the proposal of the UN Security Council, electing the non-permanent members of the UNSC and approving the UN budget.

The coming league volition unfastened connected September 8.