UN nations endorse a ‘Pact of the Future,’ and the body’s leader says it must be more than talk

UNITED NATIONS — The UN General Assembly on Sunday approved a plan to bring the world’s increasingly divided nations together to tackle the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change and artificial intelligence to escalating conflict and rising inequality and poverty.

The 42-page ‘Pact for the Future’ challenges leaders of the UN’s 193 member states to translate promises into real actions that make a difference in the lives of the world’s more than 8 billion people.

The pact was adopted at the opening of the two-day “Summit of the Future” convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who thanked leaders and diplomats for taking the first steps and opening “the door” to a better future.

“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink of the abyss,” he said. “Now our common destiny is to walk through it. That requires not just agreement, but action.”

The UN chief challenged leaders: Implement the pact. Prioritize dialogue and negotiations. End “wars that are tearing our world apart” from the Middle East to Ukraine to Sudan. Reform the powerful UN Security Council. Accelerate reforms of the international financial system. Accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. Listen to young people and involve them in decision-making.

The fate of the pact remained uncertain until the last moment. There was so much tension that Guterres had prepared three speeches, one for approval, one for rejection and one if there were any ambiguities, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

“Nobody is happy with this pact,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

The summit began with its proposals for amendments that would have significantly weakened the pact. On behalf of the 54 African countries — which opposed the Russian amendments — the Republic of Congo moved a motion not to vote on the amendments. The motion was approved with applause. Russia received support only from Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan and Syria.

General Assembly President Philemon Yang then put the pact to a vote and banged his gavel, indicating that all 193 UN member states had agreed and that this was necessary for approval.

Russia has made great strides in Africa, including in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Central African Republic. The rejection of the amendments by the continent and Mexico, a major Latin American power, was seen by some diplomats and observers as a blow to Moscow.

Yang announced ahead of speeches by world leaders that they would be muted after five minutes — a rare occurrence at the United Nations, where words are the backbone. Among those who continued speaking after their microphones were Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber and Irish President Michael Higgins.

The Pact for the Future states that world leaders are coming together “at a time of profound global transformation” and warns of “increasing catastrophic and existential risks” that could plunge people everywhere “into a future of protracted crisis and collapse.”

Yet, it says, leaders come to the UN at a time of hope and opportunity “to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations through actions under the Pact for the Future.”

The pact includes 56 actions in areas including eradicating poverty, mitigating climate change, achieving gender equality, promoting peace and protecting civilians, and revitalizing the multilateral system to “seize the opportunities of today and tomorrow.”

Secretary-General Guterres highlighted a number of key provisions of the Pact for the Future and its two annexes: a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.

The pact commits world leaders to reform the 15-member Security Council to make it more reflective of today’s world and to correct “historic injustices against Africa,” which has no permanent seat, and to address the underrepresentation of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.

It also represents “the first agreed multilateral support for nuclear disarmament in more than a decade,” Guterres said, and it commits “to steps to prevent an arms race in space and regulate the use of lethal autonomous weapons.”

The Global Digital Compact “includes the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of artificial intelligence,” the UN chief said.

The pact commits leaders to establish an independent international scientific panel at the United Nations to advance scientific understanding of AI and its risks and opportunities. It also commits the UN to initiate a global dialogue on AI governance with all key players.

The pact’s actions also include measures “to mount an immediate and coordinated response to complex shocks,” including pandemics, Guterres said. And it includes “a groundbreaking commitment by governments to listen to young people and involve them in decision-making.”

On human rights, Guterres said: “In the face of rising misogyny and the pushback against women’s reproductive rights, governments have made explicit commitments to removing the legal, social and economic barriers that prevent women and girls from realizing their potential in every area.”