Multilateralism is neither dead, nor obsolete

On 22-23 September 2024 UN Member States gather in New York to pledge a new beginning in multilateralism and transform global governance by strengthening the UN and making it more inclusive and effective in responding to our common challenges. The Global Cities Hub shares the hope of the President of the UN General Assembly that the Summit of the Future will result in meaningful agreement on “the shape and content of multilateralism for the years to come.”

It is widely recognized that the biggest global challenges have serious local effects. Cities play a key role in efforts to tackle climate change, pandemics, disasters, unemployment, migration, etc. Their voices need to be heard at every level. Local and Regional Governments are at the forefront of offering solutions for the population – be it climate-resilient urban development, nature-positive growth, healthy urban living or social inclusion of future generations. It should be all natural that LRGs are also part of the decision-making processes in the United Nations, because it remains the only universal forum to chart the way forward to a better future leaving no one behind.

Summit of the Future

The Summit of the Future will adopt the Pact for the Future. The Pact will focus on five set of issues: sustainable development and financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation, and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance. UN Member States “will take bold, ambitious, accelerated, just and transformative actions to implement the 2030 Agenda, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind.”

While all issues are important, the GCH considers the transformation of global governance the most significant potential step forward. The Pact for the Future might continue the line of important milestones of the UN, namely the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948), the Declaration on the Right to Development (1986), the Millennium Development Goals (2001) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015). One of the key actions the Member States will probably commit to is strengthening partnerships to deliver on existing commitments and address new and emerging challenges. Global multilateral governance would profit from a more inclusive multistakeholder approach where LRGs have a special status or a dedicated platform to make their point of views known. The current draft says:

” 83. We recognize the importance of the United Nations engagement with national parliaments and relevant stakeholders, while preserving the intergovernmental character of the Organization. The challenges we face require cooperation not only across borders but also across the whole of society. Our efforts must involve Governments as well as parliaments, the United Nations system and other international institutions, local authorities, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, business and the private sector, faith-based organizations, the scientific and academic communities, and all people to ensure an effective response to our common challenges. We decide to:

(a) Ensure that relevant stakeholders can meaningfully participate, in their respective roles and responsibilities, in accordance with relevant rules of procedure, in relevant United Nations processes and that Member States have access to the views and expertise of those partners;

(e) Request the Secretary-General to provide recommendations on how engagement with local and regional authorities could advance the 2030 Agenda, particularly the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals, by the end of the seventy-ninth session for Member States’ consideration;”

4th Forum of Mayors – Cities’ Summit of the Future

One week after the Summit of the Future the 4^th Forum of Mayors will take place in Geneva. The Forum titled “Cities’ Summit of the Future” will discuss the core messages of the Pact for the Future and translate it into necessary local action. The Global Cities Hub will use the Forum to emphasize the impact of Mayors having a voice in the UN by a dedicated meeting with Heads of International Organizations. Mayors around the world will collaboratively draw up an outcome statement, emphasizing the crucial role of Local and Regional Governments in leading the way towards a brighter and more sustainable future for all. The deliberations and outcome of the Forum of Mayors will contribute to the work of UN Secretary-General António Guterres who emphasized the need for “a reformed multilateralism to reflect and address today’s political and economic realities,” and warned that without strong multilateral institutions, multipolarity “could result in even greater geostrategic tensions, chaotic competition and further fragmentation.”