Describing Security Council reform as "extremely important", outgoing President of the General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa has said the UN is not an organisation "written in stone" and its working methods must be revitalised and improved to make it a contemporary, 21st century body.
Espinosa, only the fourth woman President of the General Assembly in its 73-year old history, said reform has to be the word of the day because we have to believe that the UN is an institution that wants to be better everyday to deliver better for the people we serve.
"UN Security Council reform and revitalisation of the General Assembly are extremely important," Espinosa said in her last press conference here Monday as President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly.
The 74th session of the General Assembly opens Tuesday and Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande of Nigeria will be the president of the 193-member UN body for one year.
"We are not like a written-in-stone organisation from 75 years ago. We have to be a contemporary, 21st century organization, while sticking to the founding principles of the UN, but to see that everyday we can do something that transforms and improves the way we work and deliver on all fronts - the Secretariat, UN agencies and programs, the General Assembly, the Security Council" and all other organs of the UN, she said.
Espinosa stressed that the world body has constantly renew and reform itself.
She added that there are several pending issues before the UN, significantly the need to continue working seriously on the revitalisation of the General Assembly, to streamline and improve its working methods, accountability mechanisms and transparency at the Assembly.
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"It is so important that we get our act together and we deliver better on the work we do everyday," she said.
Espinosa also noted that reform of the UN, "a very ambitious and profound reform", under the leadership of the Secretary General is crucial.
"As member states, we need to have more ownership of the reform process."
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