UN assembly elects Germany's ex-foreign minister as next president after Russia demands secret vote
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly elected Germany's former foreign minister Annalena Baerbock to be the next head of the 193-member world body in a secret-ballot vote demanded by Russia.
Baerbock got 167 votes, almost double the 88 votes needed to win, while high-ranking German diplomat Helga Schmid received seven votes as a write-in and 14 countries abstained. Germany had nominated Schmid for the assembly presidency but replaced her with Baerbock after she lost her job as the country's foreign affairs chief in the recent election. The decision drew some criticism in Germany.
When Baerbock appeared before the assembly to discuss her candidacy on May 15, Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky lashed into her, saying: "Ms. Baerbock has repeatedly proved her incompetence, extreme bias and lack of understanding of the basic principles of diplomacy."
Polyansky accused her of having pursued an "anti-Russia policy," which he said gave Russia reason to doubt that as General Assembly president she would be "able to act in the interests of peace and dialogue."
Baerbock brushed off Russia's request for a secret ballot. "I am grateful … the overwhelming majority of member states have voted in favor of my candidacy and I'm looking forward to work with all member states together in these challenging times," she said.
Baerbock will replace current assembly president Philemon Yang , a former prime minister of Cameroon, at the start of the 80 th session in September. She will preside over the annual gathering of world leaders in late September and anniversary events marking the founding of the United Nations in 1945.
The one-year presidency of the General Assembly rotates by region. The assembly, which is the UN's most representative body, has taken the spotlight in reacting to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. That's because any action by the UN Security Council has been blocked by the veto power of Russia on Ukraine and the United States on Gaza.
Baerbock said in her acceptance speech that the theme of her presidency will be "Better Together," stressing that the world is "walking on a tightrope of uncertainty" in very challenging times. The birth of the United Nations among the ashes of World War II "reminds us: We have lived through difficult times before," she said. "And it is up to us to take up these challenges."
Baerbock pointed to more than 120 armed conflicts around the world today as another reminder that the UN's primary mission − "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" − remains unaccomplished.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Baerback will take the presidency as the world faces not only "conflicts, climate catastrophe, poverty and inequality" but divisions and mistrust. "Aid and development funding are drying up, and our institutions and structures still reflect the world of yesterday, not a vision of tomorrow," he said. "This is a moment for us to unite, to forge common solutions and to take action to confront these challenges."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
26 minutes ago
- France 24
As the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation names a new chief, suspicions swirl over who funds it
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new director after its previous leader quit, just days before the NGO began operating as the only provider of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. American evangelical Christian leader Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore was on Tuesday named the GHF's new chairperson after the resignation in late May of Jake Wood, who cited concerns that the operation did not adhere to 'humanitarian principles'. Moore has previously voiced support for US President Donald Trump 's idea that the US should take over the Palestinian enclave. 'The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future,' he wrote on X, where he also criticised the UN food distribution program, which normally runs 408 centres in Gaza, for enabling Hamas to control supplies. Moore's appointment comes amid daily reports of deadly attacks on Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in and near GHF aid distribution centres since they opened last week. "Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. The GHF aid distribution model was "a recipe for disaster – which is exactly what is going on', he added. $100 million donation The UN and aid groups have refused to work with the GHF – backed by the US and Israel – because they say it is not a neutral operation. But little is known about how the newly formed NGO is run or who funds it. In October 2024, the GHF hired US consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group to design and run its business operations. The consultancy firm on Friday terminated its contract with GHF and placed one of the senior partners leading the project on leave pending an internal review, the Washington Post reported. Anonymous sources speaking to the Post said it would be difficult for the foundation to continue to function without the consultancy group 'actually making the wheels turn' on the ground. While the GHF has almost no digital footprint, a memo released in May to potential donors details key board members and the involvement of two US private security firms, UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions. The memo says the NGO has since February 2025 been registered in Switzerland, where investigators are now leading an enquiry into whether its operations are illegal. But a New York Times report, which claims the GHF is an Israeli brainchild conceived during the first few weeks of the war, found a group named the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was also registered in Delaware. The organisation does not reveal where its funding comes from, except for saying in a statement released in May that it had received a donation of over $100 million from an unnamed Western country. Shell companies In Israel, rumours swirled that the anonymous benefactor was actually the Israeli state, covertly using taxpayer money to fund the project. 'Is the State of Israel behind two shell companies established in Switzerland and the United States, GHF and SRS, to organise and finance humanitarian aid in Gaza?' Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid asked in parliament on May 26. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's spokesperson denied the accusation. But former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli media outlet Haaretz he was convinced that Israel's defence ministry and its intelligence arm, Mossad, were funding the NGO. 'As someone who knows these systems well, it's clear to me when I see such a construction,' he said. 'You have a foundation that appeared out of nowhere, and a company operating without a background or experience." "We're talking about costs in the hundreds of millions to maintain hundreds of armed Americans with combat experience and to provide food,' he added. More recently, the Israeli military seems to have claimed some ownership of the GHF. In a video released on June 1, IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin says soldiers were responsible for opening the centres. 'Fear and deep suspicion' The GHF says that it has given out more than seven million meals from three 'secure' distribution sites since it started operations in the enclave a week ago. But its centres were closed on Wednesday as the group pressed the Israeli military to improve security. This left Gaza's population of 1.2 million, which the UN says now faces the risk of famine, with no access to essential food or medical supplies. 'Basically, the Israeli-backed aid distribution plan, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has taken a day off,' FRANCE 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky said while reporting from Jerusalem. Meanwhile, an Israeli military spokesperson on Wednesday warned civilians in Gaza against moving on roads leading to GHF sites, deeming them "combat zones". Since opening its centres in Gaza there have been near-daily reports of Israeli attacks killing dozens of Palestinians in proximity to the distribution sites and widespread chaos inside. Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs as crowds jostled for aid. Conditions at the centres and the difficulty for Palestinians to access them has raised 'fear and deep suspicion' among critics that they are part of a wider Israeli plan to force Palestinian displacement, Arwa Damon, founder of non-profit aid organisation INARA, told FRANCE 24. 'It is exactly how you do not organise aid distribution,' Damon said. 'You do not force people to walk through danger zones, where they are at risk of getting shot, and only provide them with four locations where they can pick up this much-needed assistance. You don't force the population to walk six or seven hours to pick up a food parcel.'
France 24
28 minutes ago
- France 24
Irish university to cut links with Israel over Gaza war
The university's board informed students by email that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever "institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel". The recommendations would be "enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law", said the email sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell, and seen by AFP. The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days last year in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza. Among the taskforce's recommendations approved by the board were pledges to divest "from all companies headquartered in Israel" and to "enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms" and "no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities". The university also said that it would "enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities". Trinity has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities: Bar Ilan University, an agreement that ends in July 2026, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, the university told AFP in an email. The board also said that the university "should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation". It "should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations," it added. Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza. Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland. In May 2024, Dublin joined several other European countries in recognising Palestine as a "sovereign and independent state". It then joined South Africa in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza -- charges angrily denied by Israeli leaders. In December, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the country's embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's "extreme anti-Israel policies". The University of Geneva also announced Wednesday that it has ended its partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem following student protests, saying it no longer reflected the institution's "strategic priorities".
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Left Party MP expelled from German parliament over Palestine t-shirt
Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber. "We have agreed and these are the clear rules of the House," Klöckner said, "that neither stickers nor any other form of denomination on T-shirts play a role." She continued, "I have asked Ms. Köktürk to change her sweater - and we did not make that public - but you apparently refuse. I would then ask you to leave the meeting. Please do so." This is not the first time Köktürk has attracted attention in parliament. On her very first day as an MP, she appeared in the Bundestag wearing a scarf resembling a Palestinian keffiyeh, prompting members of the conservative CDU to call for an official ban on such symbols. Köktürk later took to X to respond to the incident, writing: "Germany will continue to supply weapons to Israel. Not a word about over 50,000 dead and injured children. I am being asked by Mrs. Klöckner to leave the plenary hall because my shirt says 'Palestine.' You have all failed so badly." While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair. Past incidents suggest the issue is not limited to any one party or political leaning. In 2017, a 13-year-old girl visiting the Bundestag on a school trip was asked at security to zip up her "Refugees Welcome" sweatshirt to conceal the slogan. And in 2009, a student was stopped for wearing a T-shirt reading "Make love, not war." More recently, MP Marcel Bauer was twice expelled from the plenary chamber for refusing to remove a black beret, which was deemed inappropriate. Both Klöckner and Bundestag Vice President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) ordered him to follow the parliament's dress norms or leave. These recurring incidents reflect an ongoing debate in German politics over how far personal expression and political symbolism should be allowed within the halls of parliament. The EU steel sector was on high alert on Wednesday following the implementation of 50% US tariffs on steel and aluminium, a move that might divert global steel imports formerly heading to the US towards the EU. "With the doubling of US blanket tariffs on steel to 50% without exceptions, we expect massive deflection of the 27 million tonnes of steel previously destined for the US towards the European market,' director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) Axel Eggert warned in a statement. 'We are being flooded by cheap foreign steel,' he added, 'without swift action, we will not just be underwater — we will drown.' Kerstin Maria Rippel, the chief executive of the German Steel Federation said the 50% tariffs marked 'a new level of escalation' in the EU-US trade conflict. 'A 50-percent tariff on steel exports is a massive burden on our industry, as it will increase pressure on an economy already in crisis and will impact our steel sector in multiple ways,' Rippel said. On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which the White House shared on X, claiming that the rise of tariffs on steel and aluminium would 'provide greater support' to US industries, and would 'eliminate the national security threat' posed by imported steel and aluminium. Last March, Trump had re-established tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were initially imposed in 2018 and 2020 under his first mandate. The steel sector has already been struggling with Chinese overcapacities flooding the EU market, but since the US imposed tariffs across the globe the bloc is facing overcapacities from multiple countries. Import penetration in the EU is up to 30% in 2025 in a context of depressed demand, Eggert claimed. In Brussels, the pressure has intensified following Trump's increased tariffs at a time when the EU seeks to negotiate a resolution to its trade dispute with the US. 'The 50% tariffs have clearly not helped the negotiations at all,' said one EU diplomat. On Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič acknowledged in an X post that the two sides 'are advancing in the right direction at pace', and are 'staying in close contact to maintain the momentum', following his meeting with his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer in Paris on the sidelines of an OECD trade ministerial. But quizzed by journalists later in the day, Šefčovič said he 'strongly' regretted Trump's latest 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, adding: 'It doesn't help, especially as we are making progress.' A group of EU high-level experts, including Tomás Baert, trade advisor to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has been in Washington since Monday to negotiate the technical details that could help the EU and the US break the deadlock. Besides the 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU is also facing a 25% tariff on cars and a 10% levy on all other imports. The US also has launched several investigations into pharma, semiconductors and aircrafts that could lead to further tariffs. Trump has further threatened to impose a 50% tariff on all EU goods as of 9 July if the negotiations fail to meet his expectations. The US and the EU exchanged proposals two weeks ago, but both sides have dismissed the other's offers. The EU offered a deal of zero-for-zero tariffs on all industrial goods and purchase of strategic products such as US energy, tech and agri-products, whereas the US expected the EU to review some of its regulations.
