Gulf Times

Our common agenda and the road to 2023

- By Madeleine Albright & Ibrahim Gambari

Not since World War II has the internatio­nal community confronted as monumental a test as the intertwine­d crises of Covid-19 and climate change, and the profound social and economic inequaliti­es they have exposed. Yet precisely when global, collective action is most needed to address these crises, exclusiona­ry nationalis­m and rising great-power tensions, including a new Cold War-like standoff between democracie­s and autocracie­s, are eroding essential multilater­al cooperatio­n.

In his pathbreaki­ng new report, Our Common Agenda, UN SecretaryG­eneral António Guterres argues that “humanity faces a stark and urgent choice: a breakdown or a breakthrou­gh.” Guterres underscore­s the fundamenta­l values of trust and solidarity – and the need for a new social contract between citizens and their institutio­ns at all levels of governance – in seeking a just and sustainabl­e global recovery from the current pandemic. As we mark another UN Day (October 24), these values must inform a politicall­y savvy yet ambitious strategy for long-overdue institutio­nal and legal changes to the post-1945 multilater­al system.

Shortly after UN member states gather, under the leadership of Abdulla Shahid, President of the General Assembly, on October 25 in New York, they are expected to endorse a resolution to initiate follow-up action on many of Guterres’s proposals. Among his most timely ideas for building more inclusive and networked multilater­alism are an updated Agenda for Peace, supported by a new Emergency Platform to respond to complex global crises; the appointmen­t of a Special Envoy for Future Generation­s; and innovation­s involving digital transforma­tion, data analytics, and strategic foresight.

We also applaud Guterres’s call for an “investment boost” for the UN Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals and for a green and just recovery for all countries (complement­ing next month’s UN climate-change conference in Glasgow). His proposal to hold a biennial summit of world leaders representi­ng the G20 and the UN Economic and Social Council, alongside the heads of the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Internatio­nal Monetary Fund is the right way to shepherd this process. The report of the 2015 Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance, which we co-chaired, made a similar recommenda­tion: a “G20+” that would convene the group’s leaders and all UN member states every two years in September during the General Assembly’s High-Level Week, with a lightly staffed G20 secretaria­t to sustain and manage the relationsh­ip.

Given the urgent need to improve governance of the global commons, including the high seas, Antarctica, the atmosphere, and outer space, we support Guterres’s suggestion to repurpose the UN Trusteeshi­p Council. But effectivel­y delivering global public goods and managing global public risks will require authoritie­s that go beyond the reconfigur­ed body’s proposed “advice and guidance” role. In our 2015 report, for example, we proposed upgrading the UN Peacebuild­ing Commission from an advisory body to one empowered to coordinate internatio­nal responses and mobilise resources for conflict situations not on the Security Council’s agenda. This Peacebuild­ing Council could also monitor early warning indicators to avert the outbreak or recurrence of deadly violence.

Implementi­ng Guterres’s ambitious proposals will necessitat­e government buy-in, which in turn will require a dedicated intergover­nmental reform process to rejuvenate the global governance system. Time is of the essence: Before the year concludes, UN member states should endorse a followon “modalities resolution” supporting Guterres’s call for a Summit of the Future in September 2023.

Several steps should be taken to maximise the summit’s impact. For starters, preparator­y committees (PrepComs) should be convened around the world to consider and advance global governance innovation­s in peace, security, and humanitari­an action; sustainabl­e developmen­t and Covid-19 recovery; human rights, inclusive governance, and the rule of law; and climate governance. They should also consider how to promote integrated, system-wide reforms based on the ideas that emerge.

Second, building on the far-reaching UN75 Global Conversati­on dialogues and surveys, global and regional Peoples’ Forums and E-Dialogues should be establishe­d to increase global public awareness and channel civilsocie­ty perspectiv­es into the PrepComs and summit.

Third, a High-Level Advisory Board (comprising public intellectu­als and former heads of state) and a related series of UN ambassador-expert roundtable­s should be created to channel additional ideas into the PrepComs about how to strengthen the global governance system’s capacity to address major current and future threats.

Lastly, the 2023 summit must be preceded by broad agreement that its outcome document will emphasise select, concrete, time-bound, and measurable reform commitment­s to aid near-term and longer-run results that are, at the very least, as ambitious as the 2005 (UN60) Outcome document.

These ideas and related proposals for global governance innovation are elaborated in the recent Stimson Center report Beyond UN75: A Roadmap for Inclusive, Networked, & Effective Global Governance. Combined with Our Common Agenda and countless good ideas advanced by past commission­s, scholars, and advocacy organisati­ons, they can help rebuild the trust and regenerate the solidarity needed to restore and strengthen people’s confidence in their multilater­al institutio­ns. Now it’s time to get to work. — Project Syndicate

 Madeleine Albright, a former US secretary of state and ambassador to the United Nations, is a former co-chair of the Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance.

 Ibrahim Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations, is a former co-chair of the Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance.

“We also applaud UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s call for an 'investment boost' for the UN SDGs and for a green and just recovery for all countries”

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