Global leaders gathered in New York Sunday for a “Summit of the Future” aimed at addressing 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to climate, amid skepticism over whether the final pact will meet its lofty goals.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres first proposed the meeting in 2021, billing it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reshape human history by rekindling international cooperation.
As an opening act for the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, dozens of heads of state and government are expected to adopt a “Pact for the Future” on Sunday.
But after intense last-minute negotiations, Guterres expressed some frustration, urging nations to show “vision” and “courage,” and calling for “maximum ambition” to strengthen international institutions that struggle to respond effectively to today’s threats.
In the latest version of the text that will be submitted for adoption, leaders pledge to bolster the multilateral system to “keep pace with a changing world” and to “protect the needs and interests of current and future generations” facing “persistent crisis.”
“We believe there is a path to a brighter future for all of humanity,” the document says.
Spanning nearly 30 pages, the pact outlines 56 “actions,” including commitments to multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter and peacekeeping.
It also calls for reforms to international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, along with renewed efforts to combat climate change, promote disarmament, and guide the development of artificial intelligence.
Even though there are some “good ideas,” the text “is not the sort of revolutionary document reforming the whole of multilateralism that Antonio Guterres had originally called for,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
The sentiment is widely shared among diplomats, many of whom express frustration when discussing the ambition and impact of the text, describing it as “lukewarm,” “the lowest common denominator,” and “disappointing.”
“Ideally, you would hope for new ideas, fresh ideas. You know, 2.0 and then some. But when you have 200 countries that all have to agree, you end up with a Christmas tree of everything,” said one diplomat.
After intense negotiations in recent days, Russia still has objections to the final version of the text published on Saturday, a diplomatic source told AFP. While the pact is expected to be adopted, its approval isn’t guaranteed.
The fight against global warming was one of the sticking points in the negotiations, with references to the “transition” away from fossil fuels having disappeared from the draft text weeks ago, before being re-inserted. AFP
