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World leaders at the UN headquarters in New York adopted the Pact for the Future by consensus. (Photo: Bloomberg)
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a “Pact for the Future” on Sunday, designed to address 21st century challenges including climate change, conflict, and human rights.
World leaders at the UN headquarters in New York adopted the Pact for the Future by consensus – with a small group of seven countries led by Russia holding out, having failed to pass a last-minute amendment.
“The Pact for the Future has been adopted by member countries by consensus at UN Headquarters in New York. The adoption will help pave the way for greater international cooperation for our common future,” the UN official account posted on social media platform X.
The Pact covers a broad range of themes including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance.
Two annexes of the pact, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations were also adopted by the UN members.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who organised the ‘Summit of the Future’ described the pact as a landmark agreement that is a “step-change towards more effective, inclusive, networked multilateralism.”
“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” Guterres said.
In his address, Guterres said he called for the Summit of Future “because 21st-century challenges require 21st-century solutions” and “we need tough decisions to get back on track.”
Stating that the world is going through a time of turbulence and transition, Guterres said: “We cannot wait for perfect conditions.”
“We must take the first decisive steps towards updating and reforming international cooperation to make it more networked, fair and inclusive now, and today, thanks to your efforts, we have,” said the UN Secretary General.
In the adopted version of the pact, the leaders pledged to strengthen 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.”
The pact outlines 56 “actions,” including commitments to multilateralism and 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.
The Pact of the Future contains an annexe on the Global Digital Compact a worldwide agreement on the international regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
The Global Digital Compact outlines principles for an open and human-centered digital future, while the Declaration on Future Generations calls for recognizing the rights of future generations in decision-making processes.
“The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations open the door to new opportunities and untapped possibilities,” said the Secretary-General during his remarks at the opening of the Summit of the Future.
The President of the General Assembly Philemon Yang noted that the Pact would “lay the foundations for a sustainable, just, and peaceful global order – for all peoples and nations.”
Russia has criticised the pact stating that the countries that were not satisfied with the agreement had not been given the opportunity for further negotiations.
“Regrettably, there is nothing good that today the United Nations adopted a Pact for the Future. The United Nations had infringed upon its own principles to pander to a group of delegations from the ‘beautiful garden,’ who have usurped the talks from the very beginning. And the majority from the ‘jungle,’ like a herd, could not find courage enough to protest and defend their rights. This is they who will bear responsibility for the consequences,” Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on his X account as cited by TASS.
Russia introduced an amendment emphasizing the “principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states” and urging the UN to avoid duplicating efforts. Russia’s objections were backed by Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua and Syria as per a report in the Voice of America.
Immediately after the Russian announcement, the Democratic Republic of the Congo submitted a motion to reject Russia’s move, which was accepted by a majority of 143 votes in the UN General Assembly.
In his remarks at the Opening of the ‘Summit of the Future’ Gutteress said, “Conflicts are raging and multiplying, from the Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan, with no end in sight. Our collective security system is threatened by geopolitical divides, nuclear posturing, and the development of new weapons and theatres of war. Resources that could bring opportunities and hope are invested in death and destruction.”
He further said that the “United Nations Security Council is outdated, and its authority is eroding. Unless its composition and working methods are reformed, it will eventually lose all credibility.
First Published: Sep 23 2024 | 7:25 AM IST
