
UN Discusses Future Agreements with Global Governance Implications
Nowadays the United Nations is currently talking about the two important agreements. These agreements could change how organizations and the world work. The approval of these agreements make the UN Secretary- General more powerful as compared to before. Many have the opinion that it could result in a single world government.
However, these talks are very important. The “Pact for the Future” would make the United nation stronger and more influential. However, the “Global Digital Pact” would set new laws and rules for digital technology. It includes artificial intelligence . Furthermore, these rules are for everyone across the globe. These agreements could affect the way that the world works together and also how technology is used worldwide.
The initial drafts of the plans were shared among the government earlier this year. In April the government gave their initial feedback. And the next discussion will finalize all the steps of these agreements. The Pact for the Future aims to ready the UN for the successor of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which concludes in six years.
Back to 2015 when the United Nation set many small and big goals. It includes approximately 17 major goals and 169 small targets. However it is also important to note that none of any goals have been achieved till now. Despite all of this, member countries of the United Nations are planning for the future development. This proactive approach highlights their commitment to ongoing global development despite current challenges.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres has put forward some ideas. According to him, these ideas are important in order to transform the United Nations into a stronger organization, often referred to as “UN 2.0.” Also it is important to note that these changes would make the Secretary General more powerful. He also achieved authority to establish an emergency platform. The purpose of this platform is to empower his office with the ability and resources to coordinate the United Nations response to different crises. It includes, economic downturns, conflicts, climate emergencies, and health crises.
Guterres also suggests building digital infrastructure that includes universal internet access and digital identity programs, aimed at improving healthcare delivery and public services, as well as assessing the impact of public policies in real-time. Additionally, he proposes establishing direct, ongoing relationships between the UN and national legislatures to help shape laws and policies that align with global objectives.
These changes enhance the United Nation development system. It also aims to strengthen the influence of the Secretary General of the United Nation.
This allows the Secretary General to directly influence national policy decisions and utilize the entire UN network to encourage governments to adopt UN-endorsed policies.
Another agreement whose aim is to shape global technology is under processing. Its main purpose is to regulate all technology platforms, including artificial intelligence. While not legally binding, the Compact aims to exert substantial persuasive influence. Its goal is to foster new technologies that are interoperable and available to everyone.
It is also important to control what people say globally. So the aim of these agreements is to stop forwarding some messages while promoting others. These messages include false information, hate speech, and protecting human rights.
Many tech companies are also in favor of stopping harmful content and leaning towards censorship.
These ideas are already part of several UN resolutions, including a recent one supported by the US about artificial intelligence.
In order to develop the different tech companies, they have to work under voluntary rules that are less clear.
The Global Digital Compact aims to make their claims of social responsibility look credible without any real obligations. Interestingly, big tech firms like Meta and Microsoft, which typically stay away from the UN, actively took part in and endorsed the discussions that shaped the initial version of the Global Digital Compact.
These agreements are set to be finalized this summer and approved at the Future Summit scheduled for September during the General Assembly. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has invited Pope Francis to visit the United Nations again to bless the Summit.