UN Summit of the Future
“Multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow” – that’s the motto of the United Nations Summit of the Future, which will take place in New York on 22 and 23 September 2024 as part of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. The aim of the Summit is to adopt a Pact for the Future that will take up pressing international issues, accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda and prompt reforms of various parts of the UN system.
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The road to the Summit of the Future
In 2020, the UN member states asked the Secretary-General for his recommendations on how to address current and future global challenges, in the form of a “common agenda”. In response, in September 2021, the Secretary-General presented the report Our Common Agenda, which contained, among other things, a proposal for a Summit of the Future.
What issues will the Summit of the Future be looking at?
The Summit of the Future will adopt the “Pact for the Future”, that will comprise of five chapters:
- Sustainable development and financing for development;
- International peace and security;
- Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation;
- Youth and future generations;
- Transforming global governance.
It will also include two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, which need to be agreed in parallel negotiating processes.
The Permanent Representatives of Germany and Namibia to the UN, as co-facilitators of the Pact for the Future, are leading the negotiations that are expected to run until July. The UN Civil Society Conference 2024 (Nairobi, 9-10 May), which is supported by the EU, will provide preliminary discussions and data ahead of the Summit.
Among the questions that the Summit should address are:
- How can the SDGs implementation be accelerated?
- How can the international financial system be shaped more fairly?
- How can the collective security system be adapted to preserve or restore peace now and in the future?
- How can we shape the digital space in a positive way for humankind, preserving human rights and enabling the attainment of the SDGs?
- How can young people be better integrated into global decision-making processes?
- How can the international community safeguard the interests of all people who will come after us?
- How can the United Nations respond in a more structured and coordinated way to significant global shocks and crises?
- How can metrics underpinning political decision-making be better adapted to the complex needs of humans and of the planet?
- How can the United Nations reform internally in order to have a better impact in the world?
- How can space be utilised for the benefit of all states and risks reduced?
The European Union is engaged in preparing for the Summit of the Future
The EU is engaging constructively in the process, listening to the positions of all, and is deeply committed towards building bridges in order to achieve an ambitious and action-oriented outcome Pact for the Future.
