The Summit of the Future is a Gathering of Global Leaders Shaping Tomorrow. The Summit of the Future is a pivotal gathering uniting leaders from across the globe to redefine our path towards a brighter present and a more secure tomorrow.

This unparalleled occasion presents an opportunity to rebuild trust and showcase the power of international collaboration in addressing both current and emerging challenges.

Building upon established frameworks such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Summit of the Future delves into the practical strategies for achieving our shared aspirations.

Where did the Summit of the Future come from?

The proposal for a Summit of the Future originated in the Our Common Agenda report. The report was a response by the UN Secretary-General to a call from Member States for ideas on how better to respond to current and future challenges.

The Common Agenda report called for a renewal of trust and solidarity at all levels – between peoples, countries and generations. It made the case for a fundamental rethink of our political, economic and social systems so that they deliver more fairly and effectively for everyone. It also recommended a corresponding renewal of the multilateral system, with the Summit of the Future as a defining moment to agree on the most critical improvements necessary.

The Summit of the Future (22-23 September 2024) was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance. It would give the opportunity to reaffirm existing commitments, including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system better positioned to impact people’s lives positively.

Summit of the Future: What just happened?

After last-minute wrangling, on 22 September, countries adopted the so-called Pact for the Future – a broad agreement to revamp the multilateral system, which weighs in on everything from peace and security to artificial intelligence and global governance. But what did they really agree to?

For Guterres, it’s a blueprint to salvage trust. “We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” he said in opening the summit.

But that’s a big ask in a world where the West’s double standards on Gaza, its unmet climate finance promises, and its dominance of the imbalanced global financial system – to name a few sticking points – are draining trust in the multilateral system.

While states may haggle over wording, in many ways the fundamental divides are between Global South and Global North, between reform and the status quo, between recognising systemic injustices and maintaining power.

Among the pact’s 56 action points are acknowledgements of the need to rebalance global financial systems, governance, and the UN itself.

The UN is calling it “the most detailed agreement ever” at the world body on the need for reforming the international financial architecture, and “the most progressive and concrete commitment” for Security Council reform.

The pact pledges to “redress the historical injustice against Africa as a priority” at the Security Council, and to examine the widely criticised use of vetoes.

But any international pact will always be a compromise. And critics and civil society groups who tried to feed into multiple revisions of the text say much was left on the cutting room floor.

A few of the many ideas would be floated on the UNGA sidelines: representation through citizens or parliamentary assemblies; new ways of raising funds for public goods that go beyond aid, such as solidarity taxes or the concept of global public investment; extending the reach of international law; and the creation of a global environment agency. And while the pact is also peppered with commitments for gender equality, the UN itself still has never been led by a woman. A campaign for a “fair and inclusive” selection process for the next secretary-general is picking up steam during this UNGA session. The pact encourages countries to nominate women as candidates.

Humanitarianism and the pact: Same as it ever was

Humanitarian aid is not the summit’s focus. Indeed, if the pact’s goals on sustainable development, peace, and transforming global governance were effective, then it would shrink the need for emergency aid in the first place. Still, the commitments covering humanitarian aid appear to describe a system much as it exists today.

One of the 56 action points promises to “ensure that people affected by humanitarian emergencies receive the support they need”. It pledges to “significantly increase financial and other forms of support”, citing “innovative and anticipatory financing” and “strengthening partnerships with international financial institutions” – the kind of language commonly found in existing strategic plans and old G7 statements.

A high-level humanitarian side event before the summit stuck to a similar script. The panel, organised by the UN system’s highest-level humanitarian coordination body,  was billed as a discussion on “how global humanitarian action… contributes to the future of humanity”.

The speakers – overwhelmingly from big institutions and agencies – had familiar talking points: deteriorating aid access; respect for International Humanitarian Law; the importance of localisation commitments made nearly a decade ago, including people in crisis in decision-making; and funding.

”I’m really sorry it all comes back to funding, but it is true,” Rania Dagash-Kamara, an assistant executive director at the World Food Programme, told the conference room.

Summit of the Future Outcome Document

World leaders adopt a Pact for the Future (see here) that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. The Pact covers a broad range of themes including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. But at the end, it is what Aesop the Greek used to say The mountain that laboured and brought forth a mouse or what we hear in the Bible (Proverbs 10:19): In the multitude of words sin is not lacking?

See, Fixing trust, pacts for the future, and who’s missing: A humanitarian lens on UNGA