Cameroonian Magistrate, Philemon Yang, has been elected to chair the upcoming United Nations’ General Assembly (UN GA) session.
The former Prime Minister of Cameroon was elected on Thursday 6 June 2024 in New York, by acclamation. He will chair the 79th session of the UN GA which gets underway in September.
The President-elect high-lighted his theme for the 79th session as “unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for everyone everywhere”.
The 79th session of the General Assembly will convene on 10 September, with the body’s high-level general debate starting on 24 September 2024.
Conflicts that continue to rage, deepening climate catastrophe, poverty and inequality, mistrust and division, the Sustainable Development Goals, just to name a few, will characterise discussions when the plenary sits in September.
Yang is a seasoned Diplomat with a track record of experience. He served as Prime Minister, Head of Government of Cameroon between 2009 and 2019. During that time, he represented President Paul Biya at various important high-level regional and international meetings.
Yang served for 14 years (1984-2004) as Cameroon’s High Commissioner to Canada, coupled with the post of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Reason why he has led Cameroonian delegations to high-level economic summits in Washington D.C., London, New Delhi, and several other capitals. Currently, is the Grand Chancellor of National Orders at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon.
On the African Continent, he has taken part in various sessions of the African Union (AU) Conference of Heads of State and Government. Yang has held the position of Chairperson of the Panel of Eminent Africans of the AU since February 2020. This panel is, among other things, responsible for examining candidacies for important positions within the AU, such as those of AU Commissioners.
As far as UN activities are concerned, Yang was Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. He is committed to humanitarian issues, respect for human rights and dignity, the rule of law, respect for nature and the environment, the fight against climate change, and the reform and renewal of the UN.
Born on 14 June 1947 in Jikejem-Oku in the North West region of Cameroon, Ambassador Philemon Yang is a Cameroonian politician, and a magistrate by training.
