H.E Philémon Yang of Cameroon elected as President of the 79th Session of UN General Assembly
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On 6 June 2024, Former Prime Minister of Cameroon H.E Mr. Philemon Yang was elected “by acclamation” as president of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly. His term of office will begin in September 2024 and will run for a period of one year. While expressing gratitude to the state.
Yang expressed his “sincere gratitude” to the member states for the support and announced his presidency theme as “Unity and diversity for advancing peace, sustainable development and human dignity, everywhere and for all.”
Exitited about his election by acclamation, the current president Dennis Francis had this to say about the Philemon, “As Prime Minister of his country, the Republic of Cameroon, and as Chairperson of the Panel of Eminent Africans of the African Union, as well as in his various roles including involvement at the UN, His Excellency Philemon Yang demonstrated unwavering dedication to the principles of peace, sustainable development, and human dignity,”
He was elected by delegates in the General Assembly during which, the Bureaus of the six Main Committees, as well the five non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two-year term were equally chosen.
António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General while congratulating the president elect, noted that his election come at a time when the world need him as the world is facing challenges like conflicts, climate change, rife poverty and inequalities and growing mistrust and division. He equally stated that Mr. Yang has a wealth of experience representing his country at the highest levels. African countries like Cameroon are bursting with potential, he said, calling on the international community to rally around them and support developing countries worldwide. While uniting member states to collaborate with him, he promised to work closely with him.
During the elections, the Assembly equally elected the following Vice-Presidents of its plenary: Algeria, Angola, Austria, Barbados, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Moldova, Senegal, Thailand, Tonga, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Those elected join the five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States — which serve annually as Assembly Vice-Presidents. The representative of the United States dissociated from the election of Venezuela as Vice-President.
Following the meeting, consecutive meetings of the Assembly’s six Main Committees were held to elect their respective Bureaus by acclamation.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) elected Maritza Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) as Chair; El Hadj Lehbib Mohamedou (Mauritania), Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Al-Thani (Qatar) and Vivica Munkner (Germany) as Vice-Chairs; and Pēteris Filipsons (Latvia) as Rapporteur.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) elected Muhammad Abdul Muhith (Bangladesh) as Chair; David Anyaegbu (Nigeria), Ivana Vejic (Croatia) and Gudrun Thorbjoernsdottir (Iceland) as Vice-Chairs; and Stefany Romero Veiga (Uruguay) as Rapporteur.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) elected Zéphyrin Maniratanga (Burundi) as Chair; Nur Azura Abd Karim (Malaysia), Ekaterine Lortkipanidze (Georgia) and Mayra Lisseth Sorto Rosales (El Salvador) as Vice-Chairs; and Mark Reichwein (Netherlands) as Rapporteur.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) elected Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes (Latvia) as Chair; Sheikh Jassim Abdulaziz J. A. Al-Thani (Qatar), Carmen Rosa Rios (Bolivia) and Hussein Hirji (Canada) as Vice-Chairs; and Makarabo Moloeli (Lesotho) as Rapporteur.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) elected Egriselda Aracely González López (El Salvador) as Chair; Surat Suwannikkha (Thailand), Szymon Mateusz Pekala (Poland) and Johanna Bischof (Austria) as Vice-Chairs; and Elaye-Djibril Yacin Abdillahi (Djibouti) as Rapporteur.
The Sixth Committee (Legal) elected Rui Vinhas (Portugal) as Chair; Ammar Mohammed Mahmoud Mohammed (Sudan), Matúš Košuth (Slovakia) and Ligia Lorena Flores Soto (El Salvador) as Vice-Chairs; and Yong-Ern Nathaniel Khng (Singapore) as Rapporteur.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
