A Statement for the Summit of the Future
We, the members of Diplomats without Borders, have been closely following the preparations for the upcoming Summit of the Future and the drafting of a Pact for the Future. We are encouraged by the active involvement of member states in this process, and we applaud the range of global challenges which are being addressed. We do note that, according to the UN Charter, maintaining international peace and security globally is the core mandate of the UN. Hence in today’s world of widespread violence and wars, heads of state and government who convene in the Summit should recommit as members of the UN to this mandate as a priority for multilateral action.
We encourage the heads of state and government from all member states to reconsider and prioritise the list of actions with a view to their greater immediate importance
Our Recommendations
1. Revitalize the UN Charter's Peace Mandate: We urge Summit participants to focus their attention explicitly on the UN Charter provisions for maintaining peace, settling disputes peacefully, and reducing armaments. In pursuit of this, a thorough review should be conducted over the coming 3 years by an international expert group to assess how existing articles can be more effectively applied by member states to resolve political and military conflicts peacefully. Changes are needed to reflect that the membership of the organization has grown from 50 in 1945 to 193 in 2024, and that institutional and attitudinal changes are required to render the UN more effective in the world of the 21st century. Trust in global institutions will only be built if decisive actions follow the Summit. Therefore, we recommend that the UN secretariat be tasked to prepare a roadmap to be considered by the High-level segment of the GA in 2027 and a full commitment by all governments to follow this roadmap is then made.
2. If such a commitment is not obtained by the end of 2027, we recommend that a General Conference of all member states according to Article 109 of the Charter be convened. The founders of the UN wisely foresaw the need for a periodic review and assessment of the UN’s institutional set-up and performance every 10 years, despite which, such a conference has never been held. The time has come to discuss and agree among member states how the UN can be equipped for the challenges of today. Many changes have been introduced pragmatically over the past decades, but some of the more critical ones, such as reforming the Security Council and the relationship between the Council and the GA will demand amendments to the UN Charter. It begs the question whether other changes might also need to be reflected in the UN Charter, such as the protection of planetary resources and the involvement of stakeholders in the work of the UN with regard to disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament.
3. At the same time, recognising that many conflicts arise from deeper root causes, we note that the attainment of the SDGs by 2030 are now estimated to require US $ 4 trillion annually. The need for such a rise was already noted by the UN Secretary-General in his report on "Women, Peace and Security" to the Security Council in September 2023. Peace and Security go hand in hand with development, and we draw attention to the fact that neither can be achieved without due consideration to the status and active involvement of women in these processes. We propose that the Summit establish an expert group in preparation for the upcoming international conference on Financing for Development in Spain in 2025to explore how funds needed for the attainment of the SDGs can be mobilised from public and private resources in all countries.
Only an unbiased return to basics, i.e. to the spirit and the letter of the UN Charter, will reinvigorate global multilateralism with the UN in its centre.
Diplomats Without Borders believes that greater efforts must be made to raise awareness among national governments, diplomats and the global public about the potential of applying the UN Charter provisions to peaceful conflict resolution. Our international network of members stands ready to support such efforts in and by any member state and the UN organisations
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