UN assembly's first muslim woman leader vows reform

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 12 (Reuters) The UN General Assembly's first Muslim woman president took office today vowing to put UN reform and battling world poverty at the top of her agenda.

Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain told the first meeting of the assembly's 61st session her religion would not affect her leadership of the 192-nation body but her gender would.

''Over half the world's population, namely women, typically have less access to health care, employment, decision-making and property ownership,'' she told the assembly.

''This disparity needs to be addressed so that women and men can enjoy the same opportunities, the same rights and the same responsibilities in all aspects of life.'' The world's needy look to the United Nations to help them and the organisation must show them it still deserves their trust, as it did when it was founded 60 years ago, she said.

Haya was chosen by acclamation in June to succeed Jan Eliasson, who returned to his job as Swedish foreign minister in Stockholm on Monday. His job is at stake in elections next week that could bring down the current government.

Bahrain's first female diplomat and one of the first two Bahraini women to practice law in her country, she used her legal career to advance women's rights under Sharia law in Islamic family courts before winning the assembly presidency.

In her opening remarks, Haya said she also hoped to press on with efforts to reach agreement on the text of a draft ''comprehensive convention on international terrorism'' stalled since 1996 by disputes over the treaty's breadth and how to define terrorism.

Arab states have pushed for the definition of terrorism to exclude groups such as the Palestinians living under foreign occupation or pursuing national liberation movements, leading to an impasse in the negotiations.

But Haya, asked about the blockage by reporters, said that no cause, including a struggle for national liberation, could justify the killing of civilians.

''Nobody can accept that the killing of human beings is acceptable,'' she told reporters. ''It is the rule of law all over the world.'' REUTERS VJ RAI0230