Pact for the Future to Transform Global Governance

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Pact for the Future to Transform Global Governance

Rituraj Phukan

The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the ambitious Pact for the Future during the Summit of the Future in New York. The culmination of more than a year of negotiations under the stewardship of Germany and Namibia, the pact is expected to bolster multilateralism for a safer, prosperous and equitable world.

The Summit of the Future brought together over 4000 individuals from Heads of State and Government, observers, IGOs, UN System, civil society and non-governmental organizations. The formal Summit was preceded by the Action Days from 20-21 September, which featured strong commitments to action by all stakeholders, as well as pledges of USD 1.05 billion to advance digital inclusion.

The most comprehensive international agreement in many years, the Pact for the Future has evolved to adapt international cooperation to the realities of today and the challenges of tomorrow. Yet the negotiations were far from unanimous, with Russia introducing a last-minute amendment to thwart the process, with the support of Belarus, Eritrea, Iran, Syria, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The five broad focus areas are sustainable development and financing for development, international peace and security, the digital future, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance. It includes a pledge to accelerate action towards realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement commitments on climate change, addressing root causes of conflicts and hasten commitments on human rights issues.

The pact is a reinforcement of countries’ commitment to the United Nations system and international law. Leaders set out a clear vision of an international system that can deliver on its promises, is more representative of today’s world and draws on the energy and expertise of governments, civil society and other key partners.

In the area of peace and security, the pact represents the most progressive and concrete commitment to Security Council reform since the 1960s, with plans to improve the effectiveness and representativeness of the Council. It is also the first multilateral recommitment to nuclear disarmament in more than a decade, with a clear commitment to the goal of totally eliminating nuclear weapons.

The world leaders will pursue an agreement to strengthen international frameworks that govern outer space, including a clear commitment to prevent an arms race in outer space and the need to ensure all countries can benefit from the safe and sustainable exploration of outer space.

Another area of multilateral negotiations will seek to avoid the weaponization and misuse of new technologies, such as lethal autonomous weapons, and affirmation that the laws of war should apply to many of these new technologies

The Pact for the Future will turbo-charge implementation of the Global Goals, improving measurement of human progress and going beyond conventional methods for human and planetary wellbeing and sustainability. It includes a commitment to consider ways to introduce a global minimum level of taxation on high-net-worth individuals.

On the critical issue of climate change, the pact provides confirmation of the need to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The Pact for the Future is the most comprehensive UN agreement addressing the need for reform of the international financial architecture so that it better represents and serves developing countries. The deliverables include giving developing countries a greater say in how decisions are taken at international financial institutions, mobilizing more financing from multilateral development banks to help developing countries meet their development needs.

Reviewing the sovereign debt architecture to ensure that developing countries can borrow sustainably to invest in their future, strengthening the global financial safety net to protect the poorest in the event of financial and economic shocks, and accelerating measures to address the challenge of climate change, including through delivering more finance to help countries adapt to climate change and invest in renewable energy.

The Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact, is the first comprehensive global framework for regulation of Artificial Intelligence and is founded on the idea that technology should benefit everyone. This includes commitments by world leaders to connect all people, schools and hospitals to the Internet, anchor digital cooperation in human rights and international law, and make the online space safe for all, especially children, through actions by governments, tech companies and social media.

The commitment to govern Artificial Intelligence with a roadmap that includes an International Scientific Panel and a Global Policy Dialogue on AI, make data more open and accessible, with agreements on open-source data, models, and standards is also the first global commitment to data governance, placing it on the UN agenda and requiring countries to take concrete actions by 2030.

The first ever Declaration on Future Generations, with concrete steps to take account of future generations in our decision-making, including a possible envoy for future generations. It is a commitment to more meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, especially at the global level.

The Pact for the Future commits to strengthening of ongoing work on human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and reiterates the need to protect human rights defenders. It also dwells on the importance of engagement of other stakeholders in global governance, including local and regional governments, civil society, private sector and others.

The Summit process and the pact have been deeply enriched by the contributions of thousands of stakeholders from around the world and include provisions for follow-up action to ensure that the commitments made are implemented. The Pact for the Future is a landmark once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate the global community and strengthen the institutions of multilateralism and steer humanity towards a peaceful, progressive and just future for all.

Rituraj Phukan: Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu.

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