Despite opposition, UN nations adopt ‘Pact for the Future’ to tackle 21st-century challenges

The United Nations General Assembly approved on Sunday a blueprint to bring the increasingly divided countries together to tackle challenges from climate change and artificial intelligence to raging conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty.

The 42-page “Pact for the Future” – adopted at the opening of the “Summit of the Future” – challenges leaders of the 193 UN member nations to turn promises into real actions in order to make a difference in the lives of the more than 8 billion people on the planet.

Thanking leaders and diplomats for taking the first steps and unlocking the door to a better future, UN Secretary-General Guterres highlighted the need to “bring multilateralism back from the brink”. He challenged the leaders to:

1. Implement the Pact for the Future

2. Prioritise dialogue and negotiations

3. Bring an effective end to the numerous conflicts raging across the globe

4. Reform the UN Security Council

5. Ramp up a transition from fossil fuels

6. Pay attention to young people’s opinions and make them a part of decision-making

Global Digital Compact & Declaration on Future Generations

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At the beginning of the Summit, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin proposed amendments that could have significantly reduced the effectiveness of the “Pact for the Future”. But speaking on behalf of Africa’s 54 nations, the Republic of Congo countered.

The country brought in a motion not to vote on the amendments. That motion got approved to applause. Russia only got support from a handful of countries, such as Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Nicaragua, Sudan, and Syria, according to media reports.

The pact includes 56 actions on issues including eradicating poverty and promoting peace and protecting civilians. Guterres singled out several key provisions in the pact and 2 accompanying annexes: a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.

The Global Digital Compact “includes the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of artificial intelligence,” according to Guterres. The compact commits leaders to establish a panel in the UN to promote scientific understanding of the technology.