The UN Pact for the Future: A Modest Boost for Global Governance Reform

Today’s multipolar world faces barriers to international cooperation. Geopolitical rivalries and divergent interests slow or prevent progress on critical global challenges, such as conflict, climate change, public health, migration, and digital governance.

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The UN Pact for the Future: A Modest Boost for Global Governance Reform

Today’s multipolar world faces barriers to international cooperation. Geopolitical rivalries and divergent interests slow or prevent progress on critical global challenges, such as conflict, climate change, public health, migration, and digital governance. A lack of trust between states deepens existing divisions. UN Secretary-General Guterres has repeatedly called for global governance reforms to ensure that our tools and institutions reflect the world of today and tomorrow, not the one that existed in 1945.

In September, after years of preparation, the United Nations adopted a 40-page document titled the Pact for the Future (“the Pact”) at the Summit of the Future in New York[1]. The summit, held under the motto “Multilateral Solutions for a Better World Tomorrow”, marked a significant moment in global cooperation. While the text is politically, rather than legally, binding, the UN has called it the “most comprehensive agreement in many years”. It describes the Pact as “covering entirely new areas and addressing issues where no consensus has been reached for decades”. The EU contributed to the preparatory process. Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, along with partners from the Global South, served as key negotiators.

Through the Pact, UN member states commit to 56 actions aimed at strengthening multilateralism. These actions span critical areas, including sustainable development, peace and security, science and technology, digital cooperation, youth, future generations, human rights, and global governance. Some of the commitments are innovative, such as ensuring that decision-making takes into account the interests of future generations and calling for the UN to play a central role in digital governance.

The Pact renews momentum for multilateralism, which is welcome, but it falls short of the ambitious goals that Secretary-General Guterres set in his Our Common Agenda reform programme three years ago. Guterres envisioned the summit as a platform to forge a new global consensus on our shared future and to outline the steps needed to get there. However, the Pact does not enshrine such a fundamental reform of international governance. One reason is the persistent divide between the Global North and the Global South.

The term Global South refers to a diverse group of countries spanning multiple continents, united by dissatisfaction with an international order they perceive as disproportionately favouring the West. The Pact reflects the strong influence of the Global South by emphasising its two key concerns: the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—which aims to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030—and the demand for greater representation in global governance institutions. These priorities are embedded throughout the text. The Global South wields significant influence, as it represents the majority of the 193 UN member states, including nearly all 134 members of the G77 group.

The continued lack of progress on long-standing UN goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has undoubtedly increased the influence of the Global South in shaping the Pact. In June, the UN reported that only 17% of SDG targets were on track, with nearly half showing minimal or moderate progress and more than a third stagnating or regressing. This is despite Member States reaffirming their commitment to accelerate SDG implementation at a dedicated summit last year. Member states have reiterated this commitment in the Pact for the Future. This raises a critical question: how can citizens trust the UN if it has already repeatedly failed to deliver?

One reason for the UN’s troubles in implementing commitments is war. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports that world military expenditure reached an all-time high of $2,443 billion last year. In contrast, the UN reports that the SDG investment gap in developing countries stands at $4,000 billion per year. It is a tragic irony that the billions spent on weapons are not available for sustainable development and, thus, for human security, which is essential for peace.

The Pact also reflects the lack of a breakthrough in the long-promised better integration of countries that remain underrepresented or absent from global governance structures. While some progress has been made, two examples illustrate that there is still a long way to go:

An unexpected outcome of the Pact negotiations was the agreement on principles for Security Council reform. There is welcome consensus on the need to address the under-representation of Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, as well as the issues of membership categories and the future of the veto, including its scope and use. But the move does not mean that all UN member states wholeheartedly support Security Council reform. It signifies that negotiations will proceed based on these principles.

Moreover, the Pact rightly emphasises the need to improve the representation of underrepresented countries within the international financial system. It stresses that such reforms are essential for enhancing the system’s effectiveness, credibility, and legitimacy. However, it also acknowledges that the governing bodies of the relevant financial institutions, rather than the UN itself, must lead these reforms, as the UN lacks the authority to do so. This stance may disappoint countries from the Global South, as privileged countries with significant voting power in these institutions can resist necessary reforms—something that would be more difficult within the UN framework, where all member states have equal standing.

This leads to another insight: reforming global governance requires a redistribution of power to the Global South from those who benefit from the current international system. Their reluctance to relinquish some of their influence is one of the biggest obstacles to reform. They can cling to their privileges because reform requires their consent.

There is also the harsh reality that the diversity of interests and intense geopolitical tensions around the world make it very difficult to reform multilateralism. “As long as our Security Council keeps getting blocked on all sides due to everyone’s different interests, we will struggle to move forward”, France’s President Macron told the UN General Assembly on multilateralism reform. If Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November, the prospects for multilateral reform will become even more daunting.

As a result, the Pact for the Future inevitably represents the lowest common denominator on which UN Member States can currently agree regarding multilateralism reform. We witness similar challenges in the UN climate agenda, where the search for consensus leads to compromises that risk diluting the necessary ambition.

Founded on multilateral cooperation and prioritising effective multilateralism globally, the EU’s ambitions naturally surpass what the Pact seeks to achieve. Guterres, too, had undoubtedly hoped for more, as he will see the Pact and follow-up initiatives as part of his legacy – especially as his mandate ends at the end of 2026.

In his opening remarks at the Summit of the Future, Guterres described the Pact not as a “breakthrough”, but as a “step change” toward effective multilateral cooperation and a call to action. For multilateralism to thrive, it is crucial that the actions promised in the Pact are realised. All UN member states play a vital role in this process. It is encouraging that Germany, in cooperation with the UN, hosted a major conference in Hamburg on 7-8 October, shortly after the summit. This conference, with 1,600 representatives from politics, science, business, and civil society from over 100 countries, focused on accelerating the implementation of the SDGs. The Pact provides ample space for similar initiatives. In addition to the UN, the EU—both in Brussels and within its Member States—should fully support and closely monitor the Pact’s implementation.

The EU should also draw inspiration from the Pact to reassess and strengthen its relationship with the Global South, recognising these countries as an increasingly influential force in shaping multilateral reforms. To build durable cooperation, the EU must identify shared interests and seek alignment with the Global South on global governance issues. With new leadership soon to take office, the EU should consider updating its now dated 2016 Global Strategy or drafting a new one, positioning itself as a proactive partner in global affairs.

Building on this renewed approach, the EU could undertake focused reflection and outreach to the Global South, aligned with the broader objectives of the Summit of the Future. By actively supporting the Pact’s implementation and maintaining continuous dialogue, the EU can work towards establishing a long-term, constructive partnership with the Global South and other key actors to advance multilateral reforms. However, it must be acknowledged that the context for such efforts will remain exceptionally challenging in the foreseeable future.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future

(Photo credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe)