Why the 'Pact for the Future' is so important

Last week has been important for the multilateral world-order: The Summit of the Future at United Nations in New York took place from September 22-23 and was preceded by two action days - a platform for the perspectives of different actors from youth, civil society, municipalities, academia, and the private sector.

The Summit of the Future was initiated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. After two years of intensive and inclusive negotiations between UN member states under the joint leadership of Namibia and Germany, the ‘Pact for the Future’ was adopted in a global consensus.

Why is the Pact for the Future so important? The agreement for the first time systematically addresses the needs and rights of future generations. It addresses pressing global issues that have not yet been adequately regulated, particularly on the topics of artificial intelligence and digitization and the reform of the international financial architecture.

The principle of cooperation is currently under pressure worldwide, and the need for international cooperation is questioned in Germany and across Europe; Nationalists in many countries are promoting isolation and making people afraid of the future.

Against this backdrop, the pact, and its commitment to global cooperation as a tool to find solutions for a better future is incredibly important; the Pact for the Future offers hope and perspectives for multilateralism.

The Pact for the Future moreover is an important pillar of the reform agenda of the United Nations. And this reform is most pressing since the UN system and the multilateral order needs to be made fit for the future. Like António Guterres said: “We can't create a future fit for our grandchildren with systems built for our grandparents.” Central components of the pact that has now been adopted are focused to a livable future: The international financial system needs to be reformed so that lower-income countries can better absorb the effects of shocks and invest their financial resources in climate and biodiversity protection, pandemic prevention, and peace. The Pact for the Future envisages the participation and representation of developing countries in financial institutions to be strengthened and a summit of member states with the United Nations and international financial institutions is to take place every two years. Better international cooperation on debt and taxation should lead to more funds being available for sustainable development, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable countries. The outcome document is a comprehensive package of declarations, commitments and demands along the three UN pillars (development, peace and security, human rights). The 61-page document is structured into five chapters with a total of fifty-six measures: Sustainable development & development financing; peace & security; science, technology, innovation & digital cooperation; youth & future generations and transformation of global governance.

The Pact for the Future is supplemented by a global digital pact and a declaration for future generations. With the Global Digital Compact, the United Nations has for the first time drawn up a joint paper on digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), which sets out principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all - and focuses on the human-centered and sustainable development-oriented use of AI. Also, for the first time, the United Nations has taken the needs of future generations into account. Because the decisions we make today will have consequences for ten billion people who will be born in this century, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. To achieve this, strategic foresight and representation of future generations must be improved, for example through the appointment of a UN Special Envoy for Future Generations.

Overall, the Pact for the Future is the most far-reaching international agreement on UN level since years. It covers both new areas (e.g., AI & data governance, the needs of future generations) and topics on which no agreement has been possible for decades (e.g., space governance, affirmation of nuclear disarmament). However, the pact is intended to ensure that the multilateral institutions can effectively fulfill their tasks and are "fit for the future" in a world that has changed dramatically since its founding. The pact therefore includes guiding principles for a Security Council reform with a particular focus on the representation of Africa as well as agreements on the need to reform the international financial architecture with a view to the needs and participation rights of developing countries.

The pact is also explicitly aimed at driving forward the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the 17 SDGs and contains an affirmation of the Paris 1.5° target. We know that the world community is seriously off-track on both agreements. We need to turbo-charge ambitions to reach both the SDGs and the target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.

After conclusion of the Summit for the Future, on Tuesday, September 24, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the UNGA general debate under the motto ?Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations“. In his speech, Guterres warned of a "powder keg that threatens to engulf the world" in view of the current situation and called on the assembled heads of state and government to work together to find solutions.

An entire range of African heads of government took up the needed reform of the Security Council in their speeches. It "does not represent the needs and aspirations of Africa" said Namibia's President H.E. Nangolo Mbumba, and must not remain an "exclusive club of five" according to H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa.

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