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By Norman Muvavarirwa

On Tuesday, world leaders convened in New York for the 68^th Session of United Nations General Assembly. This year summit is being held under the theme of “Millennium Development Goals and Other Internationally Agreed Development Goals”.

More than 130 heads of state are attending the summit which is the largest contingent in UN history.

Central African Republic is on the UN Agenda where the ongoing crisis has been noted that it is still a concern. This is after the rebel Seleka coalition staged a coup on 24 March this year ousting President Francois Bozize exacerbating the insecurity that had already been rife before the coup.

More than 400 000 thousand people have been displaced and 63 000 are reported to have left the country.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon remarked that there had been a breakdown of law and order in the (CAR) and while millions of people were suffering the UN Humanitarian appeal was “woefully underfunded.”

The UN summit opened with a General Debate ‘The Post 2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Agenda’.

Speaking at the first day of the debate, South African President  Jacob Zuma urged a level playing field for Africa in setting a new global agenda development agenda for the years following and of the current cycle in 2015 warning that now international demands were impeding Africa development.

“We raise the point because it appears that the global economic meltdown has brought about new development that are detrimental to the developing world especially Africa’ said Zuma.

Arguing at the same debate platform, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said that our continent (Africa) stands ready to continue to engage the rest of the world as a partner in formulating a global development agenda that will guarantee peace, security and stability.

Echoing the same sentiments Gabonese President Ali Ben Bongo appealed for international support.

“Africa cannot face all these challenges to peace and security alone” he stated. “Its efforts must receive greater support, because the destabilization of Africa will have implication for other regions”.

The UN Secretary General pronounced that the African people were writing new chapters of dynamism, democracy, and sustained economic growth.

Ban observed that while political progress in Somalia and new framework for hope in Democratic Republic of Congo “are gains to build on” misery and volatility still haunts the Sahel region.

The Syrian conflict is also overshadowing the meeting. UN reports that more than 100 000 people have been killed in Syria and more than 6 million inhabitants have been internally displaced or become refugees.

Ban Ki Moon warned that the fuelling of violence in Syria must stop saying that is the biggest peace, security and humanitarian challenge.

“Let us be clear the use of chemical weapons in Syrians is the only the tip of the iceberg. The suffering in Syria must end.”  added Moon.

“We come together not to preserve the status quo, but to drive our world forward…Let us empower the UN to be more than a first responder or a last resort”, uttered the Secretary General.

The UN officially came into existence on 21 December 1944 after representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International organization to draw up the United Nations Charter.

At this year’s summit, leaders are not meeting in the worn out grandeur of the General Assembly hall which is undergoing a major renovation. The world leaders are gathering for the annual debate in a spacious and modern conference hall that has been equipped with the familiar green marble dais.

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