From climate crisis to human rights: UN adopts new 'Pact for the Future'

The United Nations has adopted a "Pact for the Future" aimed at addressing sprawling 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to the climate crisis and human rights, despite last-minute objections from a group of countries.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organised the "Summit of the Future" on Sunday, had billed it as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to reshape human history by rekindling international cooperation.

As an opening act for the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, dozens of heads of state and government gathered for the signing of the text.

In the adopted version, leaders pledged to bolster the multilateral system to "keep pace with a changing world" and to "protect the needs and interests of current and future generations" facing "persistent crisis."

"We believe there is a path to a brighter future for all of humanity," the document says.

The pact outlines 56 "actions," including commitments to multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter and peacekeeping.

It also calls for reforms to international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, along with renewed efforts to combat the climate crisis, promote disarmament, and guide the development of artificial intelligence.

Objections

The adoption of the text faced a brief delay when Russia's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Vershinin, introduced an amendment emphasising the "principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states" and urging the UN to avoid duplicating efforts.

Russia's objections were backed by allies Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua and Syria, but its amendment was overwhelmingly dismissed in a motion to take no action.

During the negotiations phase, Guterres had urged nations to show "vision" and "courage," calling for "maximum ambition" to strengthen international institutions that struggle to respond effectively to today's threats.

But while there are some "good ideas," the text "is not the sort of revolutionary document reforming the whole of multilateralism that Antonio Guterres had originally called for," Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said.

That sentiment was widely shared among diplomats, many of whom expressed frustration when discussing the ambition and impact of the text, describing it as "lukewarm," "the lowest common denominator," and "disappointing."

"Ideally, you would hope for new ideas, fresh ideas," said one diplomat.

The fight against global warming was one of the sticking points in the negotiations, with references to the "transition" away from fossil fuels having disappeared from the draft text weeks ago, before being re-inserted.

Despite the criticism, it is still "an opportunity to affirm our collective commitment to multilateralism, even in the difficult current geopolitical context," another diplomat said, emphasising the need to rebuild trust between the Global North and South.