UNITED NATIONS, June 8 (UPI) -- The United Nations has elected a woman to lead the General Assembly for only the third time in its history and the first time since 1969.
The choice of Ambassador Haya Rashed al-Khalifa, from Bahrain, as president of the 61st session, beginning in September, was announced Thursday.
"Throughout her professional life, Ambassador al-Khalifa has been a champion of women's rights in her society and in the court system," said Jan Eliasson, outgoing president of the 60th session. "Here at the United Nations, her election is a significant contribution to gender equality within the organization."
Khalifa served as Bahrain's ambassador to France from 2000 to 2004, as a non-resident ambassador to Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, and as a permanent delegate to the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In Bahrain, she was one of the first two women to practice law.
In her remarks to the General Assembly, Khalifa outlined her priorities.
"The United Nations today faces challenges in many parts of the world which threaten global security and which require collective effort to confront and resolve them," she said. Khalifa spoke specifically about indignities suffered by woman and the continued global threat of terrorism.
"What inspires me is a deep feeling of pain caused by the tragedies all over the world, on both the human and environmental levels," said Khalifa. "On the human level, suffering due to political disputes, wars, terrorism, poverty and malnutrition motivate me. On the environmental level, pollution, global warming, the depletion of natural resources and the extinction of living species drives me to try and make a difference."
