UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Tuesday paid tribute to two of its previous presidents who died recently.

The General Assembly, which is currently in its 72nd session, mourned the death of Dante Maria Caputo of Argentina, president of the 43rd session of the assembly (1988), and Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, president of the 54th session (1999).

Miroslav Lajcak, the current General Assembly president, noted the great contributions of the two to a global endeavor to maintain peace, uphold human rights and promote justice and social progress.

"While we mourn their passing, we can preserve their legacy through our actions and commitment to the course of multilateralism and the Untied Nations," said Lajcak in a speech read on his behalf by a vice president of the General Assembly at a plenary meeting.

The UN General Assembly is a major organ of the United Nations, and the only one in which all member states have equal representation. It approves the budget of the United Nations, elects the nonpermanent members of the Security Council, members of the UN Human Rights Council, judges of the International Court of Justice, and makes recommendations in the form of General Assembly resolutions.

The General Assembly president is elected annually by UN member states.