‘Pact for the Future could prevent world from heading off the rails’

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the Pact for the Future opens pathways to new possibilities and opportunities.

UN member states have adopted the pact at the start of the organization’s flagship Summit of the Future, which opened in New York yesterday.

The agreement, which includes a ‘Global Digital Compact’ and a ‘Declaration for Future Generations’ seeks to reshape multilateral institutions to better respond to the complex challenges facing the international community from the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDDs), to reshaping global financial institutions and realigning the Peace and Security Architecture towards greater fairness and equity.

President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the adoption of the pact and urged member states to forge a global consensus on how to implement the solutions embedded therein and ensure that the development divide is bridged.

Addressing the Opening Segment of the Summit of the Future Plenary, Guterres says the agreement could prevent the world from heading off the rails if implemented.

He says, “The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations open pathways to new possibilities and opportunities. On peace and security, they promise a breakthrough on reforms to make the Security Council more reflective of today’s world, addressing the historic under-representation of Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. They lay the foundations for a more agile Peacebuilding Commission, and for a fundamental review of peace operations to make them fit for the conditions they face.”

Guterres says, “They represent the first agreed multilateral support for nuclear disarmament in more than a decade. They recognize the changing nature of conflict and commit to steps to prevent an arms race in outer space and to govern the use of lethal autonomous weapons. They include measures to mount an immediate and coordinated response to complex global shocks. On sustainable development, these agreements represent major progress towards groundbreaking reforms of the international financial architecture.”

He argues that the new pact sets the course for international cooperation that could meet expectations, urging member states to get to work towards a future of peace, dignity and prosperity for all ideals that would be tested on implementation.

It was not all smooth sailing when the pact came up for its consensus adoption due to objections from the Russian Federation backed by six countries that sought to introduce an amendment emphasising the principle of non-interference within the domestic jurisdiction of states by the UN System.

However, a further amendment introduced by the Republic of Congo on behalf of African states that sought no action on the Russian amendment was backed by 143 member states, dismissing the Russian proposal and allowing for the pact to be adopted.

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