The Summit of the Future was both revolutionary and wildly insufficient. It embodied the most comprehensive effort to reform the UN and to challenge our outdated and unjust global international order in decades, or perhaps ever; yet, at the same time, it failed to deliver a clear vision of the future that we want, or to provide a binding roadmap on how to get there.
So, was it a success?
The Summit of the Future did not happen in a vacuum. It took place in our age of division, with conflicts raging, climate negotiations stalling and inequality persisting. We had an opportunity post-Covid to build back better but instead, as stated by the UN secretary general, we are stuck in “a purgatory of polarisation”.
Despite this, a Pact for the Future, a Declaration on Future Generations and a Digital Global Compact were adopted on Sunday morning. Multilateralism was brought “back from the brink” and the UN was taken off life support. This was not a given and it was no small feat. Up until the last minute all was to play for.
In the final minutes Russia sought to include an amendment that was widely agreed would have weakened the Pact. Fortunately, the Africa Group, led by the Republic of the Congo, provided the leadership and diplomatic skill required to effectively quash the amendment in its tracks.
The Pact that was adopted may not provide the clear vision and ambition that so many of us crave – but it does provide fertile soil and has sowed the seeds for change.
The Pact recognises how unfit and outdated our global systems are and commits to creating a more just and equitable system for all. It commits to:
- Enabling greater representation within the Security Council, especially for Africa.
- Making the international financial architecture more equitable by giving ‘developing countries’ greater decision-making power, addressing the debt crisis and increasing the flow of development funds.
- Driving forward action on climate change and reaching commitments made under the Paris Agreement.
- Better accounting for the needs of future generations and exploring the possibility for an Envoy for Future Generations
- Considering how to strengthen the international response to complex global shocks
- Strengthening action on early warning with improved data systems and acceleration of the Early Warnings for All Initiative
- Reviewing the UN peace architecture
The Pact may have fallen short on multiple fronts, losing out to national interest and geo-political tensions. But it provided a platform and started a conversation in the mainstream about how the rules of the game must change.
Words must now turn into action. For this we need political will – and this has to be nurtured and worked for. We will also need everyone, an all of society approach. The powerful civil society and youth that brought energy and vision to the Summit have a central role to play.
This journey has only just begun.
Blog by Sophie Rigg, GNDR’s Regional Representative for Europe and Policy Advisor