On Saturday, September 30th, the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly came to a close. Leaders from around the world gathered to attend the GA’s High-Level Week to deliberate on critical international issues. During the general debate on Tuesday, several pressing issues were discussed, including the ongoing crisis in Gaza, the war between Ukraine and Russia, climate change, sea-level rises, managing artificial intelligence, and the need for reform in the UN Security Council.
At the 78th session of the General Assembly, the Sustainable Development Goals received particular attention since 2023 marked the halfway point in the U.N. achieving its 2030 Common Agenda. In a report made by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, only 17% of the SGD targets are on track, with half showing minimal or moderate progress, and over one-third having returned to a less developed state.
As stated by the second United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, “The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.” And, as outlined in its charter, the UN’s duty is to “settle international disputes by peaceful means.”
Multilateral cooperation has many layers, and the United Nations battles many constraints in its initiatives to support other nations. The invitation and consent of member states are the only ways that the UN can provide humanitarian aid. The United Nations can only assist countries whose leaders have expressed the need for their help; they’re not dictators of world peace.
Nonetheless, the UN has the opportunity to be a catalyst in providing ways to maintain international order, but there’s been controversy about the UN’s ability to properly respond when there is a need for multilateral cooperation. In response, Antonio Guterres passed a bill to host The Summit of the Future, a “high-level event, bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how the UN can deliver a better present and safeguard for the future.” (UN.org)
On September 21st, the Summit of the Future Action Day was held at the United Nations Headquarters. The program consisted of three primary sessions: A sustainable, digital, and peaceful future for all. These sessions started and finished at the same time, so attendees were instructed to prioritize the sessions that stood out to them the most.
I was able to attend two sessions at each meeting. Following the summit’s opening ceremony, I participated in the Digital Future for All meeting held in the ECOSOC Chamber. The purpose of this session was to lay the groundwork for how digital technologies may promote an online environment where everyone can prosper and build a more inclusive future. The Secretary-General’s Envoy in Technology, Amandeep Sing Gill, stated that “our future is digital, and we’ve worked to ensure it’s open, safe, and secure.” This meeting highlighted the Digital Global Compact, one of the outcome documents included in the Pact of the Future.
Shortly before session one of the digital meetings was over, I made my way toward A Peaceful Future for All. Of all the sessions, this one stood out to me the most because it highlighted the need for intergenerational voices in sustaining women’s and girls’ peace efforts. The goal of this session was to dismantle the structures of patriarchal dominance and its negative impact on the lives of women. This session focused primarily on raising awareness for Afghani women and how young female voices can encourage member nations to begin integrating more female voices in political decision-making.
I finished my day by attending the Sustainable Future for All meeting. The final two sessions of this meeting centered on multi-stakeholder partnerships and techniques for reconstructing financial development that can expedite the 2030 agenda and SDG goals. ”When we talk—none of us would have a future without the other—thus looking at the global financial architecture is important,” said Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning and Economic Development of Egypt.
Due to the number of events I could fit on my agenda, I was unable to attend other activities happening on Saturday outside of the three primary meetings, such as the various side events and the UN’s media booth.
