NEW YORK — The United Nations Future Summit kicked off on Sunday morning with representatives from 193 member states adopting a Pact for the Future, a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.
“Escape from the crisis”
At the heart of the summit is a desperate attempt to save the global governance movement from mistrust, lack of credibility and outdated processes. According to the “Pact for the Future” agreed on Sunday:
We are deeply concerned about the widening Sustainable Development Goals financing gap facing developing countries, which must be closed to prevent sustainable development gaps being perpetuated, inequalities increasing within and among countries, and further eroding trust in international relations and the multilateral system.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the General Assembly on Sunday morning.
“We are here to save multilateralism from peril. I have called on this Summit to consider fundamental reforms to make our world institutions more legitimate, fair and effective, based on the values of the UN Charter.”
Speaking about the Pact for the Future, Guterres said:
Our goal is to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, speed up a just transition away from fossil fuels, and ensure a peaceful and livable future for all people on the planet.
One of the summit's most ambitious goals is to expand and reshape the mandate of the United Nations, which Mr Guterres says sees its current capabilities as “outdated” and weak.
The UN Security Council is outdated and its authority is declining. Unless its composition and methods of operation are reformed, it will eventually lose all credibility.
United Nations 2.0
This expansion to achieve these objectives has been dubbed “UN 2.0.” It includes giving the Secretary-General greater decision-making powers and authority during “public health emergencies,” according to the UN website.
Halfway through the 2030 Agenda, the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is not too late to change course, if we all rethink, refocus and recharge. “UN 2.0” encapsulates the Secretary-General's vision of a modern United Nations family, energized by a positive culture and strengthened by cutting-edge 21st century skills, to accelerate our support for people and the planet.
Trump threatens future of UN
While the Future Summit is rapidly rebuilding trust, legitimacy, and control, anti-globalist and populist movements around the world continue to fight back, with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) noting that pro-sovereignty politicians like former President Donald Trump threaten the UN's funding and success.
UN agencies, programs and missions receive significant funding from the United States. The Trump administration significantly cut funding to some UN agencies, but President Biden has largely reversed these cuts…. The United States remains the largest donor to the UN, contributing more than $18 billion in 2022, accounting for one-third of the UN's entire budget. Despite President Donald Trump's efforts to cut funding, President Joe Biden has increased funding for the UN, affirming the importance of the UN in US foreign policy.
Nearly six years ago, on September 25, 2018, President Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly and forcefully declared, “America will always choose independence and cooperation over global governance, control or domination.”
The “Future Summit” is a story in the making: Check out The New American for local coverage of the event, which takes place in New York City on September 22-23.
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