BY DERRICK BROZE
The United Nations will meet in September for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, as well as the highly-anticipated "Summit of the Future" where nations will sign the so-called "Pact for the Future". The Pact is expected to call for declaring a "planetary emergency". What does this agreement and its policies mean for the future of individual and national sovereignty?
By the end of September, the United Nations member states may vote to radically alter the UN itself, what some are calling UN 2.0, and the very nature of how nation-states make decisions regarding the future of the planet.
The UN will convene for the 79th session of the General Assembly in New York City starting on September 10th in New York City. The high-level general debate will begin on the 24th of September.
Although the UNGA is an annual meeting, this year's gathering will be unique because of the addition of the Summit o the Future, a UN sponsored event taking place in NYC on the 22nd and 23rd of September. The summit has been in the making since at least 2022. It is the latest attempt by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to "rally the troops", and garner more support for a rapid completion of the Agenda 2030 goals set by the UN in 2015.
Guterres has called for "greater multilateral support for the UN development system and decisive action at the 2024 Summit of the Future".
"I urge you to study the report and implement its proposals," Guterres stated. "This will be a moment of truth, and of reckoning. It must also be a moment of hope - when we unite to turn the tide and kickstart a new drive for SDG achievement."
Our Common Agenda: The Summit for the Future
In June 2020, as the United Nations marked the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the international body, member states released a declaration that included 12 overarching commitments relating to Agenda 2030 and a call for Secretary-General Guterrres to issue his own set of recommendations for achieving the goals. This declaration included statements like "We will leave no one behind" and "We are determined to implement the 2030 Agenda in full and on time. There is no alternative".
In September 2021, the Secretary-General responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, which called for accelerating the implementation of the SDGs and the commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration.
Our Common Agenda also called for a Summit of the Future to "forge a new global consensus on readying ourselves for a future that is rife with risks but also opportunities". The UNGA agreed to hold the Summit on September 22nd and 23rd of this year.
The Common Agenda report called for a "renewal of trust and solidarity at all levels - between peoples, countries and generations". The report also called for a "fundamental rethink" of our political, economic and social systems "so that they deliver more fairly and effectively for everyone". Finally, the report recommended a "renewal of the multilateral system" and stated that the Summit of the Future would be the "defining moment" to set new agreements for these goals.
The UN website dedicated to The Common Agenda states, "Our Common Agenda is an agenda of action, designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements - particularly the 2030 Agenda - and make a tangible difference in people's lives."
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