Good morning, this is Michelle. In less than 10 days, states will be gathering in New York for a conference meant to give fresh life to a floundering United Nations.
Spurred by chief António Guterres, the Summit of the Future is expected to produce a series of actions to tackle challenges from conflict to artificial intelligence to climate change. But negotiations for an outcome document reveal that states are too caught up in their past and present political deadlocks to think about the future. |
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UN future summit poised to reflect divisions
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UN secretary general António Guterres speaks during the 79th session of the UNGeneral Assembly, Tuesday, 10 Sept 2024. (Keystone/AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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A revealing anecdote underscores the subdued expectations for the future summit set to take place at the UN headquarters in New York on 22 and 23 September. When asked by a UN expert about the upcoming event, the international editor of a leading British newspaper confessed to having no knowledge of this major gathering, which is supposed to reignite faltering multilateralism. “It clearly shows that this summit isn’t on anyone’s radar. And that’s worrying,” the expert noted.
Originally slated for 2023, the conference was postponed due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But now, the global landscape is even more fraught, with over 100 active conflicts worldwide. The UN has struggled to stem the tide of violence in Ukraine and Gaza, while the Security Council remains paralysed by the veto power of its five permanent members. Even at the World Health Organization in Geneva, negotiations for a pandemic treaty are proving highly complex. As one western diplomat put it, “states are no longer seeking consensus”.
Read more on Geneva Solutions.
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