Good morning.
We are just days away from The Summit of The Future and the opening of the General Debate.
Discussions on the outcome of the Summit are in the final stretch.
I will not go into the details, but I have one overriding message today: an appeal to Member States for a spirit of compromise.
Show the world what we can do, when we work together.
Why is this so critical?
The Summit of The Future was born out of a cold, hard fact: international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them.
We see out-of-control geo-political divisions and runaway conflicts – not least in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and beyond.
Runaway climate change. Runaway inequalities and debt. Runaway development of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence – without guidance or guardrails.
And our institutions simply can’t keep up.
Crises are interacting and feeding off each other – for example, as digital technologies spread climate disinformation that deepens distrust and fuels polarization.
Global institutions and frameworks are today totally inadequate to deal with these complex and even existential challenges.
And it’s no great surprise. Those institutions were born in a bygone era for a bygone world.
So many of the challenges that we face today were not on the radar 80 years ago when our multilateral institutions were born.
Our founders understood that times would change.
They understood that the values that underpin our global institutions are timeless – but the institutions themselves cannot be frozen in time.
The architecture of global problem-solving was never meant to be preserved in amber.
The peacebuilders of the 1940s could not have predicted the changes that have swept over humanity over the past eight decades:
The independence movements and breathtaking economic and geopolitical rise of many developing countries.
The catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Space exploration in all its dimensions.
The internet, smartphones and social media – all boosted by Artificial Intelligence.
Like our founders, we cannot know precisely what the future holds.
But we don’t need a crystal ball to see that 21st century challenges require problem-solving mechanisms that are more effective, networked and inclusive;
That serious power imbalances in global institutions must be adjusted and updated;
And that our institutions must draw on the expertise and representation of all of humanity.
Change will not happen overnight. But it can start today.
And when we look at the work that was already done in preparation for The Summit of The Future, we see potential breakthroughs on a number of important fronts.
The strongest language on Security Council reform in a generation – and the most concrete step towards Council enlargement since 1963.
The first set of governance measures for new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in all their applications -- with the UN at its centre.
A major advance in reform of the International Financial Architecture with the most significant language yet strengthening the role of developing countries.
A step change in financing the Sustainable Development Goals and a commitment to advance our SDG Stimulus, multiplying the resources available to developing countries.
The list goes on.
It would be tragic if all of this would be lost.
I hope Member States will do everything possible to get the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations over the finish line.
We can’t create a future fit for our grandchildren with systems built for our grandparents.
The Summit of The Future is an essential first step towards making global institutions more legitimate, effective, and fit for the world of today and tomorrow.
It cannot fail.
I urge Member States to seize this opportunity.
Thank you.
