NEW YORK — As the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future began Sunday morning, delegates from across the 193 member states adopted the Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations.
“Back From the Brink”
Underscoring the summit is a sense of desperation to save the global governance movement from distrust, lack of credibility, and outdated processes. According to Sunday’s agreed-upon Pact for the Future:
We are deeply concerned by the growing Sustainable Development Goal financing gap facing developing countries. We must close this gap to prevent a lasting sustainable development divide, widening inequality within and between countries and a further erosion of trust in international relations and the multilateral system.
António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, opened the General Assembly Sunday morning:
We are here to bring multilateralism [globalism] back from the brink. I called for this Summit to consider deep reforms to make global institutions more legitimate, fair and effective, based on the values of the UN Charter.”
The Pact for the Future, Guterres made clear,
is about turbocharging the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels, and securing a peaceful and livable future for everyone on our planet.
One of the most ambitious objectives of the summit is to expand and rebuild the United Nations’ powers. The organization sees its current abilities as “outdated” and weak, according to Guterres:
The United Nations Security Council is outdated, and its authority is eroding. Unless its composition and working methods are reformed, it will eventually lose all credibility.
UN 2.0
This expansion to meet their objectives is labeled “UN 2.0.” This includes granting the secretary-general increased decision-making abilities and more 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 UN family, rejuvenated by a forward-thinking culture and empowered by cutting-edge skills for the twenty-first century — to turbocharge our support to people and planet.
Trump Threatens the UN’s Future
While the Summit of the Future seeks to rapidly rebuild trust, legitimacy, and control, the anti-globalist, populist movement across the world continues to push back. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reflected that pro-sovereignty politicians like former President Donald Trump threaten UN funding and success:
UN agencies, programs, and missions receive crucial funding from the United States. The Trump administration sharply reduced funding to some UN agencies, but President Biden has largely reversed those cuts…. The United States remains the largest donor to the United Nations. It contributed more than $18 billion in 2022, accounting for one-third of funding for the body’s collective budget. Despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut funding, President Joe Biden has affirmed the United Nations’ importance to U.S. foreign policy and increased funding to the organization.
Almost six years ago, on September 25, 2018, President Trump addressed the UN Assembly, thundering, “America will always choose independence and cooperation over global governance, control, and domination.”
The Summit of the Future is a developing story. Stay tuned to The New American for on-the-ground coverage of the event from New York City, September 22-23.
