What is the UN “Pact for the Future”?
What is the Pact for the Future?
The Pact for the Future is a “landmark declaration” by the UN aimed at fostering action for a better world for future generations. Adopted by the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA), the pact emphasizes the urgency of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fulfilling commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Key elements of the pact include:
Addressing Root Causes of Conflicts: The pact aims to tackle the underlying factors contributing to global conflicts.
Human Rights Commitments: It accelerates commitments to human rights, particularly women’s rights.
Global Digital Impact: An annex document focuses on regulating artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure its responsible use.
Declaration on Future Generations: This document advocates for national and international decision-making that prioritizes the well-being of future generations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the need to revive multilateralism, stating, “Now it is our common destiny to walk through it. That demands not just agreement, but action.”
The pact covers a wide array of topics, each with varying levels of ambition. Different UN forums and agencies will oversee follow-up actions. According to Richard Gowan, UN director at the Crisis Group, some proposals are specific, like reviewing UN peacekeeping operations, while others, such as commitments to nuclear disarmament, are more aspirational than actionable.
Does the Pact Spell Out How It Will Improve the World?
Not really. Like many UN resolutions, the Pact for the Future features ambitious goals and commitments but lacks concrete, realistic steps for implementation.
The document asserts that nations will end hunger, eliminate food insecurity, address global financing gaps, commit to a fair multilateral trading system, achieve gender equality, protect the environment, and support those affected by humanitarian emergencies. However, it offers no specific strategies for how the UN and its member states will achieve these objectives.
Amid ongoing conflicts such as the war in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war, the pact reaffirms the UN’s commitment to support the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Yet, given that Israel has made it clear it will not allow the UN court to impact its military actions, the pact does not clarify how the UN plans to enforce its rules.
The pact also promises to revitalize commitments related to the disarmament of nuclear and biological weapons, renew trust in global institutions, and promote human rights, including the fight against racism and xenophobia. However, these remain largely rhetorical commitments without actionable plans.
Addressing concerns about representation in the UN Security Council (UNSC), the document pledges to prioritize rectifying historical injustices against Africa and improving representation for other regions. Still, it does not outline how the UN will expedite the necessary reforms that the Global South has long demanded.
While the pact aims to accelerate reforms of the international financial system and enhance cooperation on issues like space exploration, it fails to provide details on how to achieve these goals. Many countries involved in the space race are also permanent UNSC members, which complicates potential reforms.
As with many UN resolutions that go unheeded, the pact commits to strengthening the UNSC’s response and revitalizing the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and other bodies, yet again, without specific methods for achieving these improvements.
According to Richard Gowan, many UN members believe that reforming the UNSC is crucial in light of recent conflicts, but reaching an agreement will be challenging. He noted that while developing countries had a greater role in shaping this pact than in past processes, the U.S. maintained its firm stance on issues like the international financial system.
Overall, while the pact may not fully address the urgent challenges of the global polycrisis, it represents a diplomatic effort in a difficult environment, which some see as a positive outcome.
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