The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, described by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as a significant agreement representing “a step toward a more effective, inclusive, and networked multilateralism.”
The pact, which includes an annex on working towards a responsible and sustainable digital future, was adopted without a vote at the start of the two-day summit. The agreement followed approximately nine months of negotiations.
“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” Guterres said at the summit.
He had long advocated for both the summit and the pact, which covers topics including peace and security, global governance, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth, and future generations, representing around 56 broad actions.
UN member states are now committed to its implementation.
Global crises have underscored the need for UN reform and an overhaul of international financial systems. These challenges include ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, lagging efforts to mitigate climate change, widespread national debt issues, and concerns over the unchecked advancement of technology.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin criticized the negotiations and the pact’s adoption.
Russia failed in its attempt to include an amendment, supported by North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, Belarus, and Iran, which would have specified that “the United Nations and its system will not intervene in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”
Main photo: UN Photo/Loey Felipe