The Secretary-General met with H.R.H. Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Secretary-General commended Bahrain for its support to the United Nations and multilateralism. The Secretary-General and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa exchanged views on issues of mutual concern, including the war in Gaza and the increased risk of regional escalation. New York, 24 September 2024

New York, 22 September 2024 – World leaders today adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. This Pact is the culmination of an inclusive, years-long process to adapt international cooperation to the realities of today and the challenges of tomorrow. The most wide-ranging international agreement in many years, covering entirely new areas as well as issues on which agreement has not been possible in decades, the Pact aims above all to ensure that international institutions can deliver in the face of a world that has changed dramatically since they were created. As the Secretary-General has said, “we cannot create a future fit for our grandchildren with a system built by our grandparents.”
 
Overall, the agreement of the Pact is a strong statement of countries’ commitment to the United Nations, the international system and international law.  Leaders set out a clear vision of an international system that can deliver on its promises, is more representative of today’s world and draws on the energy and expertise of governments, civil society and other key partners.
 
“The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations open the door to new opportunities and untapped possibilities,” said the Secretary-General during his remarks at the opening of the Summit of the Future. The President of the General Assembly noted that the Pact would “lay the foundations for a sustainable, just, and peaceful global order – for all peoples and nations.”
 
The Pact covers a broad range of issues including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. Key deliverables in the Pact include:
 
In the area of peace and securityThe most progressive and concrete commitment to Security Council reform since the 1960s, with plans to improve the effectiveness and representativeness of the Council, including by redressing the historical under-representation of Africa as a priority.The first multilateral recommitment to nuclear disarmament in more than a decade, with a clear commitment to the goal of totally eliminating nuclear weapons.Agreement to strengthen international frameworks that govern outer space, including a clear commitment to prevent an arms race in outer space and the need to ensure all countries can benefit from the safe and sustainable exploration of outer space.Steps to avoid the weaponization and misuse of new technologies, such as lethal autonomous weapons, and affirmation that the laws of war should apply to many of these new technologies.  
On sustainable development, climate and financing for developmentThe entire Pact is designed to turbo-charge implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.The most detailed agreement ever at the United Nations on the need for reform of the international financial architecture so that it better represents and serves developing countries, including: Giving developing countries a greater say in how decisions are taken at international financial institutions;Mobilizing more financing from multilateral development banks to help developing countries meet their development needs;Reviewing the sovereign debt architecture to ensure that developing countries can borrow sustainably to invest in their future, with the IMF, UN, G20 and other key players working together;Strengthening the global financial safety net to protect the poorest in the event of financial and economic shocks, through concrete actions by the IMF and Member States;and accelerating measures to address the challenge of climate change, including through delivering more finance to help countries adapt to climate change and invest in renewable energy.    Improving how we measure human progress, going beyond GDP to capturing human and planetary wellbeing and sustainability.A commitment to consider ways to introduce a global minimum level of taxation on high-net-worth individuals.On climate change, confirmation of the need to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 
On digital cooperationThe Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact, is the first comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and AI governance.At the heart of the Compact is a commitment to design, use and govern technology for the benefit of all. This includes commitments by world leaders to: Connect all people, schools and hospitals to the Internet;Anchor digital cooperation in human rights and international law;Make the online space safe for all, especially children, through actions by governments, tech companies and social media;Govern Artificial Intelligence, with a roadmap that includes an International Scientific Panel and a Global Policy Dialogue on AI;Make data more open and accessible, with agreements on open-source data, models, and standards;This is also the first global commitment to data governance, placing it on the UN agenda and requiring countries to take concrete actions by 2030. 
Youth and future generationsThe first ever Declaration on Future Generations, with concrete steps to take account of future generations in our decision-making, including a possible envoy for future generations.A commitment to more meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, especially at the global level. 
Human rights and genderA strengthening of our work on human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.A clear call on the need to protect human rights defenders.Strong signals on the importance of engagement of other stakeholders in global governance, including local and regional governments, civil society, private sector and others. 
There are provisions across the Pact and its annexes for follow-up action, to ensure that the commitments made are implemented.
 
Summit Process
The Summit process and the Pact have been deeply enriched by the contributions of millions of voices and thousands of stakeholders from around the world.

The Summit brought together over 4000 individuals from Heads of State and Government, observers, IGOs, UN System, civil society and non-governmental organizations. In a broader push to increase the engagement of diverse actors, the formal Summit was preceded by the Action Days from 20-21 September, which attracted more than 7,000 individuals representing all segments of society. The Action Days featured strong commitments to action by all stakeholders, as well as pledges of USD 1.05 billion to advance digital inclusion.###

 

On 22-23 September, the United Nations will host the Summit of the Future in New York. This unprecedented global event will bring together world leaders to explore the best ways to address the escalating global threats of extreme poverty, hunger, increasing global emissions that lead to catastrophic climate change, health crises, conflicts, and rising displacement. These threats endanger international peace and security and hinder the development prospects of billions of people. The prevailing climate of widespread mistrust, accompanied by unprecedented levels of disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech, including online, further underscores the urgency of this Summit.The Summit aims to advance collective efforts to achieve existing international commitments related to the development agenda and to take concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities. World leaders will approve a package of decisions on fundamental issues such as sustainable development, financing for development, international peace and security, science, technology, innovation, digital cooperation, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance.Since these threats are global in nature and do not respect national borders, effective international cooperation is essential to confront them and leverage the opportunities globalization presents for achieving common goals. The Summit of the Future will strive to achieve this by adapting the global governance system to our rapidly changing world, aiming to create a better world for future generations.For Bahrain, the Summit represents an important opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to a sustainable and better future for its youth, to exercise its voice as a UN member state in advocating for a better, safer, and more sustainable future for every young person in all countries of the world, and to promote its commitment to peaceful coexistence, respect, and religious tolerance, while calling for the same values everywhere.The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the bedrock of international peace and security. I had the opportunity to highlight this once again during my participation in May at the fifth edition of the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum (WEIF), hosted by Bahrain under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, concurrently with the 33rd Arab Summit. I underscored tangible SDG acceleration actions to scale up SDG implementation through initiatives undertaken by governments and non-governmental actors, and how the private sector, in particular, can contribute through entrepreneurship, risk-taking, innovation, and knowledge.Delegates attending the WEIF endorsed the "Manama Declaration," calling on the international community, including stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to achieve the SDGs, with a focus on women, youth, and people with disabilities. The declaration recognized the importance of an integrated approach and the crucial role of financial institutions and active private sector engagement in achieving theSDGs, and called for promoting promising sectors, such as the creative economy known as the "orange economy," and digital transformation, including artificial intelligence.Such recommendations could enrich the discussions at the Summit of the Future. Bahrain is well-positioned to present these ideas as the custodian of the Declaration. Furthermore, Bahrain's role in fostering SDG 17, "Partnerships for the Goals," is evident in the level of international partnerships the Kingdom has established to achieve global objectives. Finally, as a leading nation in innovation and digital transformation, Bahrain is well-prepared to share its best practices, like the Bahrain Digital Innovation Country Profile, completed in 2023 with support from the United Nations. Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship for the SDGs through engagement with youth in schools and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises is another success story worth highlighting. The United Nations is looking forward to Bahrain’s contribution and active involvement in this key gathering for multilateral cooperation. By Khaled El-Mekwad, UN Resident Coordinator in Bahrain

Distinguished members of the media,I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS – Save Our Seas – on rising sea levels.A worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril.Global average sea levels are rising at rates unprecedented in the past 3,000 years.The ocean is overflowing.The changes here in the Pacific region are visible since my last visit.And around the world, rising seas have unparallelled power to cause havoc to coastal cities and ravage coastal economies.The reason is clear: greenhouse gases – overwhelmingly generated by burning fossil fuels – are cooking our planet.And the sea is taking the heat – literally.It has absorbed more than 90 percent of global heating in the past fifty years.Water expands as it gets hotter.And glaciers and ice sheets are melting into the sea – adding to its volume.In other words – more water is taking up more space.Two papers released today by the United Nations throw the situation into sharp relief:The World Meteorological Organization’s report on the State of the Climate in the South West Pacific;And the UN Climate Action Team’s new report summarizing the science: Surging seas in a warming world.Taken together, they show that changes to the ocean are accelerating, with devastating impacts.Month after month, sea temperatures shatter records.Marine heatwaves are more intense and longer-lasting – doubling its frequency since 1980.And rising seas are amplifying the frequency and severity of storm surges and coastal flooding.These floods swamp coastal communities. Ruin fisheries. Damage crops. And contaminate fresh water.All this puts Pacific Islands in grave danger.Today’s reports confirm that relative sea levels in the Southwestern Pacific have risen even more than the global average – in some locations, by more than double the global increase in the past thirty years.Ocean temperatures are increasing at up to three times the rate worldwide.And Pacific islands are uniquely exposed.This is a region with an average elevation just one to two meters above sea level;Where around 90 percent of people live within 5 kilometers of the coast;And where half the infrastructure is within 500 metres of the sea.Without drastic cuts in emissions, the Pacific Islands can expect at least 15 centimeters of additional sea level rise by mid-century, and more than 30 days per year of coastal flooding in some places.Distinguished members of the media,Today’s reports show that the average rate of sea level rise has more than doubled since the 1990s.But a doubling in speed shows that the phenomenon is accelerating in an unusual and uncontrolled way.Global-mean sea level has already risen over 10cm since 1993. It is as I said worse in the Pacific, with some locations exceeding 15cm.Emerging science suggests that a two-degree temperature rise could potentially lead to the loss of almost all the Greenland ice sheet, and much of the West Antarctica ice sheet.This would mean condemning future generations to unstoppable sea level rise up to 20 meters – over a period of millennia.But at three degrees of warming – our current trajectory – the rise in sea level would happen much more quickly – over centuries.That spells disaster: wide-ranging and brutal impacts, coming far thicker and faster than we can adapt to them – destroying entire coastal communities.Can you imagine the impact on this beautiful capital city of Nuku’alofa?But what happens in Tonga did not start in Tonga, and it doesn’t end here.Surging seas are coming for us all – together with the devastation of fishing, tourism, and the Blue Economy.Across the world, around a billion people live in coastal areas, from low-lying islands to megacities; from tropical agricultural deltas to Arctic communities.Coastal megacities including Dhaka, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Lagos and Shanghai are threatened by our swelling ocean.Rising seas will increase the frequency of extreme events like coastal floods.If global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees, that frequency could increase from once in 100 years to once in five years by the end of this century.Without new adaptation and protection measures, economic damage from coastal flooding could amount to trillions of dollars.Around 1 meter of future sea level rise is already locked in. But its future scale, pace, and impact are not.That depends on decisions we take now.Global leaders must step up:To drastically slash global emissions;To lead a fast and fair phase-out of fossil fuels;And to massively boost climate adaptation investments, to protect people from present and future risks.Only by limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius do we have a fighting chance of preventing the irreversible collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets – and the catastrophes that accompany them.That means cutting global emissions by 43 percent compared to 2019 levels by 2030, and 60 percent by 2035.We need governments to honour the promise made at COP28 – and deliver new national climate action plans – or Nationally Determined Contributions – by next year.And these must be aligned with the 1.5 degree limit, and cover all emissions and the whole economy.They must put the world on track to phase out fossil fuels fast and fairly – including ending new coal projects and new oil and gas expansion now.And they must keep the promises made at COP28 to triple renewables capacity, double energy efficiency and end deforestation by 2030.The G20 – the biggest emitters, with the greatest capacity and responsibility to lead – must be out in front.And the world must massively increase finance and support for vulnerable countries.We need a surge in funds to deal with the surging seas.At COP29, countries must agree to boost innovative financing and a strong new finance goal.And developed countries must deliver on their finance commitments – including the commitment to double adaptation funding to at least $40 billion a year by 2025.And we need significant contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund as a step towards climate justice – in support of vulnerable countries like the Pacific Islands: And the same applies to the Pacific initiatives that were announced once again during this Summit of the Pacific funds to protect the Pacific Islands.Finally, we need to protect every person on Earth with an early warning system by 2027.That means building up countries’ data capacities to improve decision-making on adaptation and coastal planning.Dear members of the media,The world must look to the Pacific and listen to science.This is a crazy situation:Rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making.A crisis that will soon swell to an almost unimaginable scale, with no lifeboat to take us back to safety.But if we save the Pacific, we also save ourselves.The world must act, and answer the SOS before it is too late.And I thank you. * * *