Brett D. Schaefer
Each September, world leaders travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Debate. While the speeches garner the most attention, more substantive work is conducted in side meetings and high-level meetings where governments finalize and agree to various statements and agreements.REF The resulting political statements are generally non-binding, but they serve as member state endorsements of the agendas, which are then interpreted as instructions to the United Nations system and used to guide budgetary and policy plans. On September 22–23, 2024, the 79th session of the General Assembly will feature the Summit of the Future at which governments are expected to endorse the Pact for the Future, which includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.REF
Proposed by Secretary-General António Guterres, the Summit of the Future aims to “reinvigorate the structures and the trust necessary for effective global governance.”REF The scope of this effort is extraordinary: for example, a huge development aid “stimulus;” increased climate finance; endorsement of government censorship of misinformation and disinformation; establishment of rules and norms governing the use of artificial intelligence; and negotiation of legally binding instruments on autonomous weapons, arms in outer space, and plastic pollution. Predictably, the text is replete with affirmations of the leading role of the United Nations in addressing these issues and requests for the Secretary-General to develop plans to implement the commitments outlined in the Pact.
In short, the Pact for the Future is an overt effort by the Secretary-General to affirm that the United Nations should be the primary venue for addressing international development, international peace and security, and emerging technologies and innovations under its global governance. It is clear why the Secretary-General would have an interest in bolstering the power and influence of the United Nations. It is far less clear why governments would be so inclined given the organization’s failure to address the very responsibilities that the Pact would charge it with resolving. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/report/the-us-must-oppose-the-un-pact-the-future