Poverty, AIDS, education, the environment and human rights have been identified as priorities by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, who has been elected by acclamation to a second five year term by the General Assembly.
He told journalists after his re-election that he would be seeking to implement the "very solid agenda" outlined by the Millennium Summit of world leaders at UN headquarters last September.
"Beginning this September I will provide the member-states with the first report on that agenda, and we will produce annual reports for the member-states indicating where we are succeeding and where we are failing and why, and where they need to do more," he said.
Mr Annan was the only candidate for the position and the 189-member General Assembly showed its approval with a standing ovation, two days after he was unanimously renominated by the 15-member Security Council. "I labour under a constant sense of obligation - to you, the member-states of the organisation, to all the world's peoples, whom you represent, and in particular to my fellow-Africans whom you have honoured in my person today," Mr Annan told the assembly after the vote.
Speaking to journalists, he was asked if he saw any similarities between himself and a previous secretary-general, the late Dag Hammarskjold, to whom he had referred earlier in the day.
After some hesitation, Mr Annan replied: "If there is a similarity I believe that we both believe firmly in the principles of the Charter. We both believe in this organisation and what it stands for.
"We both believe that there is an obligation to speak and stand out for the weak and to have a certain understanding and compassion for the human condition. But it is not enough to recognise that: you should not stop there but go out and do something about it, and encourage others to join you in trying to make a difference."