The 80th session of the UN General Assembly has begun

The session began with a minute of silence, and Baerbock delivered his first speech as President of the 80th UN General Assembly.

Pointing to the events in Gaza, Afghanistan and Sudan, Baerbock said, "Instead of celebrating (the opening), some might ask, 'Where is the UN that was established to save us from hell?' Our answer is clear: we are here and we are not giving up."

Baerbock stated that they will come together for the people of the world despite the setbacks and disappointments in diplomacy at the UN, and that they will continue to defend UN principles under all circumstances.

Baerbock said that the world would not be better off without the UN and that there was no alternative to the UN in the areas of need, adding, "The UN remains the only organization that can bring all the countries in the world together."

Stating that the UN will continue to work on its fundamental goals of peace, security, sustainability, development and human rights in the new era, Baerbock pledged to serve all 193 member countries and organizations of the UN General Assembly without discrimination in this regard.

"Let's act in accordance with the expectations and hopes of today's people"

In his speech, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Baerbock, who was elected as the fifth female General Assembly President in history, and said that she would bring her diplomatic experience as former German Foreign Minister to her position.

Recalling that the UN's founders first gathered in San Francisco 80 years ago to prevent disasters such as war , as well as to solve human problems such as poverty, hunger, disease and inequality, Guterres said, "The UN provides the place, and the UN Charter provides the necessary tools."

Underlining that the UN Charter is useless without unity in the General Assembly, Guterres said, "The UN Charter, by its very design, requires countries to look beyond their national interests and rebuild trust and confidence in what we can achieve through cooperation and solidarity."

The Secretary-General concluded by saying, "As we begin this 80th session, I call on all Member States to demonstrate the same spirit of determination and perseverance that brought the delegates to San Francisco in 1945. Let us act in accordance with their vision and, most importantly, with the expectations and hopes of today's people around the world."