Annalena Baerbock (C), president of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), strikes the gavel to signal the opening of the 80th session at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was declared open by Annalena Baerbock, the new president of the General Assembly, at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

The theme of the 80th session of the UNGA, which marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, is "Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights."

"The 80th session of the General Assembly is no ordinary session," Baerbock said in her opening remarks at the first plenary meeting of the 80th session.

"80 years. Longer than the average human lifespan. Normally this would be a moment to celebrate, but are we really in a mood for celebration?" the new UNGA president asked.

Parents in Gaza are watching their children starve, Afghan girls are banned from school, women in Darfur are hiding their daughters from being raped, Pacific Islanders are watching seas rise and waves lap against their homes, and 808 million people are still trapped in extreme poverty, she said.

"Instead of celebrating, one might rather ask: where is the United Nations, which was created to save us from hell?" Baerbock asked.

However, the world needs the United Nations, and it remains the only organization capable of bringing together every country in the world, and the only one capable of acting on a truly global scale, she pointed out.

This is the year to adapt, to evolve, and to build the United Nations we need for the next 80 years -- for the lifetimes of our children, said the UNGA president. "It is a moment to show eight billion people why this organization still matters."

Speaking at the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that eight decades ago, the founders of the United Nations gathered in San Francisco, U.S. state of California, and envisioned "something different" -- a global-problem-solving body that could not only prevent calamities like war, but could forge solutions to other age-old problems haunting humanity -- poverty, hunger, illness and inequality.

These efforts, built by the world for the world, and grounded in the values and principles of the UN Charter, are what this Assembly is all about, Guterres said.

"The United Nations provides the place. The Charter provides the tools," stressed the UN chief, adding that the Pact for the Future, adopted last September, provided a shot in the arm for the multilateral system and the values that have defined this organization from day one.

The UN Charter "is not self-executing," Guterres pointed out, adding that by design, it requires countries looking beyond their national interests and re-building trust and faith in one another, and in what the international community can accomplish through collaboration and solidarity.

"And it requires realizing that, while we cannot solve all the world's problems here, we can unite behind solutions that will ultimately move humanity closer to a better, fairer, more peaceful and equal world for all," he said.

A high-level week will kick off on Sept. 22 and run through Sept. 30, during which world leaders will gather to attend the General Debate and a series of conferences, including the High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, the SDG Moment, the High-level Meeting on the 30th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Climate Summit, and the High-level Meeting to Launch the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

Baerbock was sworn in as president of the 80th session at the closing of the 79th UNGA session on Tuesday morning.

Annalena Baerbock, president of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), speaks at the opening of the 80th session at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening of the 80th session at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Philemon Yang, president of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), speaks at the closing meeting of the 79th UNGA session at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]