UN Future Summit approves pact to redesign multilateral system

New York.- World leaders adopted by consensus on Sunday the Pact for the Future, which aims to redesign the multilateral system and direct humanity towards a new course to fulfill existing commitments and resolve long-term challenges.

The pact includes a commitment to carry out 57 actions in different areas, ranging from promoting sustainable development to putting young people at the centre of change, including human rights, science and their interrelations.

“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” said the UN Secretary-General at the opening of the meeting, which continues on Monday and is attended by dozens of heads of state and government, as well as other important world leaders.

Reforms

The Pact commits to the reform of international institutions, from the United Nations itself to the current global financial architecture.

In the case of the United Nations, world leaders want to restructure the Security Council and strengthen the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

In the current global financial architecture, the Pact plans to call for changes in the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the multilateral development banks and the World Trade Organization itself.

Actions and objectives

Yesterday, the heads of state and government committed to a total of 57 “actions” to achieve their intentions.

These actions are divided into different areas ranging from promoting sustainable development to placing young people at the centre of change, including human rights, science and their interrelations.

These actions are aimed at achieving five objectives:

• Eliminate all digital divides and accelerate progress on all Sustainable Development Goals
• Expanding inclusion in the digital economy and its benefits for all
• Foster an inclusive, open and safe digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
• Promote data governance approaches that are accountable, equitable and interoperable
• Improving international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

Global Digital Compact

One of the most notable issues of the Summit was one of the agreements attached to the Pact for the Future. This is the Global Digital Compact, which is the first truly global agreement on the international regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and is based on the idea that technology should benefit everyone.

The agreement outlines commitments to ensure that digital technologies contribute to sustainable development and human rights, while addressing risks such as digital divides, cybersecurity and misuse of technology.

The Pact aims to bridge the digital divide and ensure that AI technologies are used responsibly, fostering global cooperation on both AI capabilities and security threats. Governments are also committed to forming an impartial Global Scientific Panel on AI and launching an international conversation on AI governance within the UN.

Reservations

The Pact was adopted by consensus, although seven States, led by Russia, expressed reservations that they wanted to express in an amendment that was not accepted. However, they did not oppose the adoption of the text.