68th Session of the UN General Assembly Began in New York

Theme of the session: The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) started on 17 September 2013 its 68th session at the UN Headquarters in New York, with setting a new development agenda beyond 2015 as its priority.

President of the 68th session - UN ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda John Ashe opened the assembly with a speech that introduced the themes of the year and the issues to be focused on, including human rights, the rule of law and how to work towards and ensure stable and peaceful societies ensuring accessible institutions of justice and reducing violence.

The Assembly is set to the backdrop of the eight Millennium Development Goals (covering poverty, women's rights, the environment, child mortality, primary education, HIV/AIDS, development and maternal health) which were set in 2000 with the goal to achieve them by the end of 2015.

President of the 68th session John Ashe called this year's Assembly pivotal as member states work in the face of the looming deadline. The goals will be discussed in three high-level talks and three thematic debates in order for leaders to offer ideas on how to achieve them and define them post-2015.

The General Assembly is the UN's largest committee in which all 193 member states have equal representation. UN General Assembly meets annually to address a set number of issues and current crisis of the world.