UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock advocated for a female leader of the United Nations during the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, emphasizing that half the world's population deserves representation and noting that no woman has ever held the Secretary-General position in the organization's 80-year history. Baerbock, who plays a procedural role in the selection process for the successor to outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres, also condemned human rights violations, including the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian forces as a war crime and Israel's destruction of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem. She further highlighted the oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan and elsewhere, calling for a world where women can lead fully equal lives.