Beyond the UN, it affects people’s daily lives in many ways. It helps reduce conflicts, grow our economies, and allows us to travel safely around the world. It’s also crucial for tackling big global problems like climate change and unregulated artificial intelligence.
UN staff support a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
What’s next?
Member States often struggle to cope effectively with today’s global threats and challenges, from devastating civil wars and cross-border conflicts to growing economic inequality between and within countries, and the existential threats of unregulated artificial intelligence and climate change.
To make sure that the UN remains fit for purpose as the world’s pre-eminent forum for multilateralism in the decades to come, in 2020 Member States invited the Secretary-General, António Guterres, to develop a vision for stronger global governance, for present and future generations.
Policy reforms in areas from peacekeeping to the international financial architecture, education and youth engagement in policymaking were encapsulated in Our Common Agenda, which covered recommendations for an upgraded UN which in turn fed into the landmark Pact for the Future, which was adopted by world leaders at the Summit for the Future meeting at the United Nations in New York in September 2024.
Call to action by the UN chief
In his first year as Secretary-General, António Guterres said having laws and conventions are not enough.
He urged: “We need stronger commitment to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its centre, with the different institutions and treaties that bring the Charter to life.”
He called for networked multilateralism – with other international and regional organizations – and an inclusive multilateralism that would withstand the tests and threats of today and tomorrow.