On the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, member states pledged to strengthen global governance for present and future generations. They requested that the Secretary-General report back with recommendations to respond to current and future challenges. That report, Our Common Agenda, issued a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and address gaps in global governance. It called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new globalconsensus on readying ourselves for a future rife with risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly resolved to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024 in New York. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is being negotiated now by member states. A Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations will be annexed to the Pact.
The Pact for the Future will focus on 5 areas:
1) sustainable development and financing for development,
2) international peace and security,
3) science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation,
4) youth and future generations,
5) transforming global governance.
In 2023, 11 Policy Briefs containing the Secretary-General’s proposals on what needs to change were published. These included an international financial system that works for everyone and reflects the economic needs and political realities of today, and an updated collective security system that can better prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in traditional and new domains. They aimed to open conversations and present provocative ideas, which could and should be complemented by other stakeholders' inputs, when being considered by Member States.
Human rights and gender will be cross-cutting issues in the Pact. Yet, in a briefing at the UN in Geneva, Mr. Guy Ryder (former director of the International Labour Organisation and now Under-Secretary-General for Policy) conceded that NGO’s and civil society will need to keep an eye on these issues. Although the Summit is an intergovernmental meeting, civil society groups have been invited to participate by several member states. Out of about 500 proposals a Zero Draft Agenda was released in January. A UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi on 9-10 May will coordinate civil society input.
At briefings in Geneva questions are often asked about the accountability of the UN with respect to the delays of the SDGs etc. Consistently the reply is: The UN is not a world government; it is a platform for discussion and planning. It is up to the states, as well as the NGO’s and civil society, to implement the policies agreed upon. If one thinks this through, it is about voting for those governments we want to represent us at the UN. Or, voting for and supporting people of goodwill who stand for cooperation, compassion and sharing, rather than separation, hate and selfishness.
World Goodwill’s Cycle of Conferences Initiative will focus on the Civil Society Conference in May and the Summit of the Future in September.
