Pact of the Future proves political will to restore confidence in multilateralism

The UN Summit of the Future led to the adoption of a Pact of the Future that lays down a firm foundation on which to bring the workings of the UN institutions into line with the needs of our time. The text may not be as groundbreaking as initially expected, but it is still an important step in renewing confidence in multilateralism.

In July 2024, we reported extensively on the UN Summit of the Future that was set to take place in September. This summit would formulate a response to the Global South's growing dissatisfaction with the functioning of UN agencies and international financial institutions.

Increasing polarisation

The idea behind this originated on the occasion of the UN's 75^th anniversary back in 2020, while the coronavirus pandemic was still fully under way. Dissatisfaction with the unequal handling of the pandemic and the growing backlog of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prompted UN member states to call for a reform of global governance, so that it could better provide for current and future generations. UN Secretary General António Guterres' response to that was Our common agenda in September 2021. The Summit of the Future was one of the results of that.

The negotiations for the Pact of the Future took place in an extremely difficult geopolitical context. Indeed, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the conflict in Gaza in 2023 resulted in increasing polarisation.

Pact of the Future

Initially, it was thought that the Summit of the Future would deliver quite revolutionary changes, however expectations were soon tempered. Many opinion makers feared that the event would be a flop. But in the end, the Summit of the Future did manage to agree on a Pact of the Future.

The EU played an important role during its preparation. Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden also acted as co-facilitators for the Pact of the Future, the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact, respectively.

While the resulting pact was not as groundbreaking as initially hoped, it nevertheless lays down a firm foundation for adapting the UN institutions to the current context.

UN Security Council

In fact, it formulates a clear call to reform the UN Security Council so that the various countries (and groups of countries) feel better represented there. In that regard, priority is given to the historical underrepresentation of Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. The use, by of the permanent members of the Security Council, of their power of veto should also be limited.

Peace & Security

Additional topics include nuclear disarmament and the formulation of international rules and regulations applicable to cosmic space. The misuse of new technologies for the development of weapons must also be prevented.

The pact also notes that nowadays, we need to look at conflicts through a different lens.  Indeed, the use of disinformation and cyberattacks has made conflicts much more complex, which is why we need to put more effort into prevention.

The deployment of peacekeeping operations – the blue helmets are a trademark of UN involvement – also needs to be reassessed in the context of a rapidly changing conflict environment.

SDGs

One of the main goals of the summit was to revitalise the SDGs, and it did exactly that. The renewed commitment was much needed, seeing that up to the present time, only 17% of SDG targets are on track. In that regard, the pact reaffirms existing commitments around climate and the environment. For developing countries, these were extremely important elements.

The World Bank and the IMF

The Pact of the Future also provides an impetus to reform international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF. This would give developing countries a bigger say in decision-making. In addition, multilateral development banks would mobilise more funding to assist developing countries with their development needs. The ‘debt architecture’ would also be revised so that developing countries can invest in their future in a more sustainable way.

Human rights

Although this topic was not addressed as a separate chapter, the Pact for the Future does contain many references to human rights, a topic that has traditionally been a major focus for Belgium and the EU.

While the EU did not get everything it wanted, the pact does contain important action points on gender equality, the empowerment of women and the need to protect human rights defenders. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is also to receive increased funding.

Statement on Future Generations

In addition to the Pact for the Future, a Statement on Future Generations also emerged in the form of an addendum. All decisions being made today will have an impact on future generations – and that is an aspect to which even greater consideration will be given. Young people themselves were given ample opportunities to speak, not only during the action days preceding the Summit of the Future itself, but also during the opening speeches.

Global Digital Compact

An additional addendum to the pact is the Global Digital Compact, a comprehensive framework on the subject of digital collaboration and the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). Amongst other topics, this makes reference to Internet security and safety, especially for children, combating disinformation and making data more available.

Follow-up

The Pact did not come about without suffering setbacks, however. Up to the very last minute, attempts were being made to water down the text. But in the end, a reasonably progressive pact was approved.

UN Secretary General Guterres put it this way: “We have opened the door. It is now up to all of us to step through it. Let’s go to work.” This firm foundation must now be developed and turned into concrete measures. The follow-up will therefore be crucial. Part of that follow-up will consist of a conference on development finance and a social development summit in 2025. And the upcoming climate summit COP29 will build on commitments around climate.

Multilateralism is not dead

The mere fact that agreement was reached on a Pact of the Future shows that there is still sufficient political will to restore confidence in multilateralism. Multilateralism is not dead!

Together with the EU, Belgium has already made a firm commitment to achieving the most ambitious result possible. Multilateralism is in our DNA, partly because our country realises how dependent we are on foreign countries. For example, our National Security Strategy of 2022  fully recognises how important foreign policy is to our own security. Foreign and domestic security are becoming increasingly intertwined. International institutions that are working effectively and an international rule of law are therefore in our own interests.

Our country will also continue its efforts to help fulfil the commitments in the Pact of the Future. Together with the EU, we have already shown ourselves to be a constructive partner towards the Global South at the Summit of the Future and we want to maintain that momentum.