Taking Forward the Pact for the Future: Assessing Progress & The Road Ahead Two Years before the 2028 High-Level Review

Hi, colleagues. We're going to ask you to take your seats and settle in as we get started today. 20, so you've been given the five minutes buffer and we're about to get started. Welcome to this event, Taking Forward the Pact for the Future: Assessing Progress and the Road Ahead, two years before the 2028 High Level Review. If that's the wrong event that you were supposed to be at, congratulations on walking into what will be a fantastic 75 minutes of stock taking, knowledge sharing and strategising towards the 2028 high level review of the pact for the future. My name is Nadara Yousuf. I serve as co-chair of Coalition for the UN. We need a network of some 7000 NGOs around the world working on United Nations reform and also have the pleasure of serving as senior advisor of the Global Governance Innovation Network. We're a network of about 200 research institutions also working on global governance reform. So it'll be a common theme throughout the session today. If you haven't heard of the pact for the future before, Or, if you need a reminder of what was achieved in 2024, TLDR, in other words, long story short, 193 countries agreed on their vision for the future of multilateralism. Think about that for a moment and what was achieved. We managed to get the P5, US, China, Russia, France, UK, the G77, various other regional blocks, all to agree on a common vision for what the future of multilateralism needs to be. That was what was achieved in 2024. And then member states said, we need to make sure that we're doing this. And so we need to have a high level review of the Pact for the Future in 2028. We're at the midpoint between that. And so that's what this session is about, taking stock of what's been done and what we need to do towards the review in 2028. So we'll be asking questions like, What needs to be remembered amongst the most important achievements and legacy building innovations flowing from the 2024 summit to the future? In the current geopolitical climate and ahead of the forthcoming Secretary General transition, what practical multi-stakeholder approaches do we need for the pact? What specific milestones should we be working towards? And What should we be doing in the two remaining years ahead? In order to help me answer these questions, help us answer these questions, we have a fantastic duo panel session. We will be first joined by member state representatives. We have Ambassador Brian Wallace, permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, Excellency Stefan Loofven, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the High-Level Advisory Board for Effective Multilateralism. multilateralism. Dr. Katharina Stasch, Director General, Ministry of Economic Development, Germany. Patel Galot, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations. Ambassador Martin Bille Herman will be joining us shortly. EEAS Deputy Political Director and Managing Director, Multilateral Relations, Human Rights and Democracy, long title, for the European Union. And Sebastian who is the Director General of Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia. And we will also shortly have Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Nigerian Foreign Minister. Could we give our panel a quick round of applause? And shortly after that, we will have a second panel of experts who I will introduce at that time in order to preserve suspense. And finally, I have my wonderful co-moderator and partner in crime, Dr. Richard Ponzio, Director of the Global Governance, Justice and Security Program at the Stimson Center and Co-Director of the Global Governance Innovation Network. Richard, over to you.

Thank you, Nadar. It's a pleasure to be here in New York, High Level Week, and many people coming in through UN Web TV today. Let's jump right in with Ambassador Wallace. We have a first round of questions, we'll hope to get a second. We would like to ask you about the challenges ahead, specifically for small states like Jamaica and others that you interact with on a regular basis, the SIDS, the issues that they face to implement the Pact for the Future, our focus of today's discussion. At the same time, people know Ambassador Wallace as the leader of the follow-on agenda on reform, the UN80 Initiative, and also having championed the Declaration on Future Generations at the time leading into the Summit of the Future. What would you say are some of the specific reforms or initiatives that you hope to see in the run-up of two critical years to go?

Thank you so much, Richard, and Nodara and colleagues. It's great to be here with you. Thanks to GGI and C4UN for convening such a timely discussion. I'm going to give you a very short answer, and then I'm going to talk a little bit more about it. But I think essentially what we need is to take the lessons from UN processes that we've seen in the past, those that have worked and those that have not. Those that don't work are the ones where we agree something and then leave it on a shelf, and there is no mechanism to implement. I think for us to see some success, measurable success, from implementation of the Pact for the Future, we will need to have an ongoing process, similar to what civil society is doing, but an intergovernmental process that requires regular reporting and provision of feedback, so that member states are prepared for 2028 to bring the solutions, to bring the analysis that they have done for implementation and to bring the results of their implementation. But it was only two years ago that we adopted this Pact for the Future and its annexes. And having co-facilitated the declaration with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, there is immense potential of the Pact that must be realized. I am encouraged by the momentum that has been maintained post-adoption through dialogues like this one. and various accountability trackers that have been established. And we know that while some progress has been made, much remains to be done in order to demonstrate meaningful progress by 2028. Now, the hard truth is that many member states continue to face significant challenges with implementation. For small states, we operate with tight fiscal constraints. And so we find it difficult to mobilize the necessary public resources. and support from our development partners can often be quite fragmented. One of the other challenges that we face is our vulnerability to climate-related and other shocks. These things have a mega impact on us because of our size, scale, and the frequency of these events in relation to us. And so they detract from long-term priorities because we have constantly to be addressing immediate needs and crisis responses. We had the situation just last year with Hurricane Melissa. But I can tell you, using Jamaica's example, one of the things that we have done with a crisis is to make it into an opportunity to really implement anticipatory decision-making, to plug in the data, the analysis that is now available to make longer-term decisions on our rebuilding effort. So the new infrastructure that we're putting in place will be climate smart in a way that we would not have been able to do except for the opportunity presented in this crisis. So having a robust UN Resident Coordinator system as well, which integrates country teams, can ensure that the UN can effectively equip small states with the critical anticipatory tools that we don't have the capacity to provide for ourselves. So even though this aspect of the UN80 reform is not necessarily seen as an implementation of the Pact per se, it is nonetheless inextricably linked to better delivery and stronger impact. So as we look towards the 2028 review, Member States must be urged to accelerate implementation and demonstrate how that progress is being made. And as I mentioned, establishing a structured process ahead of the high-level review can help countries prepare, share early best practices, and stimulate greater national and technical attention to the Pact. So perhaps consideration could be given to establishing a Pact implementation working group in the General Assembly. to drive implementation as we approach the 2028 review. At the end of the day, all of us must take ownership, establish our relevant accountability frameworks, and drive momentum for Pact implementation to 2028 and beyond. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ambassador, for, as you always do, providing solutions and not just identifying the crisis. However, speaking of crisis, I want to ask someone who has thought a lot about this, especially in the context of the High-Level Advisory Board for Effective Multilateralism. Many, Prime Minister Lofven, have written about the present polycrisis and the multilateral system faces, quote unquote, the crisis of global governance. In response, how can progress over the next two years in the run-up to the 2028 high-level review of the pact help to restore confidence and public trust towards the United Nations writ large?

Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you also to the coalition, of course, the Stimson Center and the Permanent Mission of Namibia for convening this very timely discussion. The Pact for the Future was adopted at a moment of profound geopolitical division. So securing the agreement, I might say, under those conditions was itself quite an important achievement. But the context has not become easier. On the contrary, fragmentation has deepened, respect for common rules has become more selective, and the space for collective action has narrowed. So the pact must therefore be advanced under much more difficult conditions than those in which it was negotiated. But I do also want to remind ourselves that when the General Assembly took this decision, it was one country trying to interfere and try to not that the GA would not take that decision, but all the others said, no, we are going to do this. So there is a sense of urgency, I believe, among member states. We must also remember that the pact is not legally binding, and its adoption does not guarantee implementation. So, we must think of how to build trust, and this implementation will require political will, national ownership, and also sustained cooperation. And this matters for trust. Agreements do not restore confidence merely because they are adopted. Expectations followed by inaction can deepen cynicism. Trust will depend on whether people actually see the pact producing meaningful change by 2028. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and I co-chaired the Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism. We called for a breakthrough for people and planet, and we argued that multilateralism must be judged not on the number of declarations adopted, but instead by its capacity to manage shared risk, deliver global public goods, and involve those who are affected by its decision. Club de Madrid has strongly embraced global public goods as an organizing narrative that would be capable of holding this agenda together. Because at a time of rising nationalism and protectionism, they remind us that even where trust is scarce and values are contested, countries retain a shared interest in outcomes none can secure alone. From peace, pandemics, preparedness to climate and financial stability and other issues, they provide actually a practical foundation for rebuilding cooperation around common interests and tangible delivery. So over the next two years, I think three priorities are essential. First, Member States should now translate the Pact and its political commitments into clear national and international actions, with responsibility, with resources, timelines and measurable indicators. So, the 2028 review must be based on credible evidence of what has been achieved, and also where progress has stalled and why so. The second is that implementation must deliver results that people experience in their lives. Club de Madrid's Global Commission on Democracy and Multilateralism concludes that democracy and multilateralism face an interconnected crisis of trust, legitimacy, and delivery. So progress must therefore improve people's well-being, while of course protecting rights, participation, accountability and the rule of law. Third, the implementation must be inclusive. So we argue that parliaments, civil societies, young people, local authorities, affected communities need meaningful opportunities to influence decisions, not just consultation without consequence. And greater fairness among states and a stronger voice for the Global South are equally indispensable. Now, the arrival of our new Secretary-General offers an important opportunity to make Pact implementation a central priority, align the UN system behind achievable outcomes, and report publicly progress. But the Secretary-General cannot substitute for the political responsibility of Member States. Governments must provide the leadership that is necessary. And I want to underline two things here. The current Secretary-General has done a tremendous job in forming these processes, making these processes move forward. So we should thank him for that. And I also want to underline, it is the member states. It's always the members of an organization that makes what the organization is. So member states must step up here much, much better than we've seen so far. So by 2028, the question will not be whether the pact expressed the right ambitions. It will be whether member states choose to act on these. We know that trust cannot be requested, it must be earned through delivery, fairness, participation, and accountability. And there is an expectation of this pack. Just watch outside this building. When you come here, you can sense people want to come here. People see this as a very, very important venue to go to. So I think we should bring that with us going forward. Thank you.

Thank you, former Prime Minister Lofven, for your leadership over so many years. Next, we have Dr. Katarina Stasch. Given Germany's experience as co-facilitator of the Pact for the Future, along with Namibia, We have a three in one question for you. No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. Why does the pact continue to wield? But still with five minutes. With five minutes. Still five minutes, not 15. Why does the pact continue to wield immense relevance now two full years into its implementation? Where can we point to initial tangible successes? And finally, what would be required in practical terms to ensure an ambitious high level stock taking of progress in September 2028?

Thank you very much, and indeed, The Pact for the Future has been a milestone. And ever since, it has been really a guidance and a star and a vision for us here in the multilateral system. And we cannot highlight enough what almost a miracle it was, but of course it was hard work to get the pact done in times where so many people said, oh, you're never going to get it. Multilateralism is dead, but yes, we did it, and we did it all together. And yes, Germany is proud to have co-facilitated the Pact of the Future together with Namibia. And I only just before I came here, I spoke to Antje, whom probably most of you still know, who's now our PR in Geneva, and she sends her greetings. So what has happened since, to come to your second question, And I'd like to focus on the positive sides. So I want to highlight four aspects. Number one, I think the pact has really laid the foundation for what we see now in the UN80 process, which is an incredibly important process because I do really believe that the UN needs to reform itself in order to really be able to serve the people on the ground because this is what ultimately matters. And of course, we probably all agree that there's a lot of things to do. And my colleague just highlighted the division of labor, the relevance of the resident coordinators, and how the organizations really need to work together better on the ground, all the fragmentation. And I think this is really worth working for. I also want to highlight that we, together with a couple of other member states, have founded the of the supporters of the UN development system across regions from the north, from the south, from the west and the east. And we really listen to each other. And this is, I think, what also matters and to find common ground, how we together as member states, but as also the people, how we can reform the UN. My second point is the international financial architecture reform. We all met in Sevilla. And this was a very important sign, and I now know how important it is for most countries. And for me, it's also important to bring the Cevia into the MDB system, not to have it only here in the UN, but to really combine forces. And we did have an event here just yesterday together with Mexico, with Zambia, and Spain to look at what has happened in the Seville Compromise since one year. And we will carry it to Bangkok, to the World Bank meeting over to next year, because this is really also what matters, not only to produce paper, because this is very patient, but to put it into practice. My third point is the global digital compact, which we see now with the AI discussions raising how important it was and how visionary it was to have started that discussion. And my fourth point is the declaration on future generations. Now let me end with looking ahead. I think what we really need, we need to be very inclusive. Yes, Member States are important, but civil society, it's you we need. It's you we need in the discussion. We need to listen to you. We need to talk to each other. And this is exactly what I do hope, how we can engage together in the future, because I think it's absolutely worth to make the UN stronger, not that it's an end in itself to have the UN, but to really enable it to even better serve the people on the ground, because this is what we owe to everyone. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Dr. Stasch, for joining us. Thank you, Ambassador. Thank you so much, Dr. Stasch, for that mapping of the road ahead. But I also want to take a step back. Someone who was really in the trenches in the negotiations, one of the, you know, negotiators that had sleepless nights, and I see a couple in the room, is you, Pessel, as the negotiator for India on the Pact for the Future. So now looking back from India's perspective, how can the Pact for the Future contribute to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, another priority area for your country, and, you know, what In your view, as someone who was editing the document firsthand, what are some noteworthy PACT actions in that regard that bring these two agendas together?

Well, thank you very much for that reminder that I was in the trenches. I had forgotten, maybe that's PTSD suppressing some of my memories, but seriously, thank you very much, Nuthara, Richard, GGIN. for organizing this, for Namibia for the support. I think when we negotiated the pact, for India as a developing country, a leading member of the G77, I think developing countries worked really hard to keep development at the center of the outcome. From India's perspective, I think it's useful to recognize that some elements of the pact have already moved from negotiation to implementation, as was just highlighted by Dr. Stashan. Actually, you've stolen my talking points, so I might sound a little bit repetitive. But really, just to actually reinforce what you just said, I had exactly the same ideas to sort of highlight that For us, the important measure of the pact is really not just seeing whether we initiated processes, but whether the commitments are being translated into institutions and resources and tangible development outcomes. And in this regard, I think the GDC has really seen the most, I think, concrete implementation within just two years. The first would be, of course, the constitution of the independent scientific panel on AI, which has already produced an interim report, has been briefing the General Assembly, also presented some of its findings at the Global Dialogue on AI, which itself then is the second very concrete outcome of the GDC, which is an annex to the Pact. And I think This is important because the GDC links digital cooperation directly to sustainable development outcomes, and it recognizes the need to bridge digital divides, expand access to digital public goods and infrastructure, and strengthen capacity in developing countries and ensure that emerging technologies serve human development. And these sort of institutions which we've been able to establish really go towards, go in that direction. This same movement from commitment to implementation is also seen on financing for development. And in that sense, as you mentioned, the Compromiso de Sevilla is really an important outcome in that regard. We sometimes don't draw that direct link, but much of what what the compromise so contains was already broadly agreed in the Pact for the Future. So I think we often say that, heard so many delegations during UNAT reform discussions say that the pact was the what and the UNAT is the how. I would add that the CDA commitment is also a part of that, a piece of that puzzle. So I think finally, as we approach the 2027 SDG Summit and the 2028 review of the pact, this should be our benchmark, not how many commitments we can count, rather. And I know you asked me to point out specific actions, but as I said, PTSD, I've forgotten all of the numbers. But these are the broad ones that I think are most important, critical, and really concrete. But I think we have to see whether implementation has tangibly expanded development opportunities for the Global South. And I think we still have time before the review, and I think Much of this benchmarking will take place in during the 2027 SDG Summit. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Patel. Ambassador Herman, given the work the EU has been doing on human rights, democracy, the shrinking space for civil society, What do you see as the role of assessing the progress toward the pact, meaning in terms of translating into concrete actions for reversing these negative trends that we're seeing between and within many UN member states?

I mean, Richard, first and foremost, thank you to you and the organizers for convening what I think is a really, really important conversation. And I think sometimes important to recognize that once we adopt these big things, really important to keep the conversation going, both on how we implement them, where do we get, what are the obstacles we meet on our way, and perhaps what are the sometimes the need for adjusting or finding sort of a different way around problems. I mean, I think on human rights, it's in many ways all in the opening, no? peoples. So I think for us, human rights are at the very core of the UN Charter and in many ways of the credibility of the multilateral order. And I think what we need to continue to remind ourselves is that they are in many ways also the foundation of resilient societies, of inclusive development, and ultimately lasting peace. I mean, you cannot imagine the UN and the multilateral system without human rights there. But I think It's been said many times before, but of course, words are not enough. I think Pact for the Future in many ways set us on the path to recognizing the need to resource this commitment. It requested the Secretary-General to assess this need and ensure that there was sufficient funding also for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. I have three points I want to make, and then I promise I'll make it at the end. The first is I really think that in the ongoing and never-ending discussion on UN reforms, and sometimes I think we shouldn't call it UN reform, but UN renewal, because that's actually what we need as much. I think incredibly important to treat human rights as an equal pillar of the UN, and recognize that a stronger UN requires a stronger and adequately funded and resourced human rights architecture, and in many ways, better integration of human rights across the whole work of the UN. And I think important that in this whole discussion around rationalization and efficiency, we don't end up cutting funding for the human rights pillar, which is already underfunded, because we will pay the price on so many other agendas. Second, and I think really, really important to remember and remind ourselves sometimes when you sit in this room, is that despite the mounting pressure on rights and democracy and freedoms, there remains an incredibly strong demand, popular demand for these things, for human rights, for democracy, for rule of law, accountable governance worldwide. And I think civil society plays an absolutely vital role in this respect, bringing that voice into these discussions. And civil society actors, now human rights defenders, of course, continue to look at the UN. They also look at the EU and many other member states, of course, in this room, to continue to stand up for these rights, but actually also to put them into practice. Now, my third point is, and I think, and you said it a little bit also, is let's also communicate and showcase also the many positive stories around multilateralism. And that also goes for the transformative power of human rights as an indispensable enabler of peace, of security, and of sustainable development. Let's not be swallowed by the doom and gloom. I think we really need to rally also the positive messages around multilateralism. And I think, so when we have the review next year, Let us not only focus on all the things that we did not manage to do, but let us also really shine a light on all the things that we managed to do. The promise is that the EU will remain a steadfast partner for all those who are seeking to build a world where justice, freedom, equality and human dignity are upheld for all. That's also why we support the Global Alliance for Human Rights, launched, I think, by the High Commissioner for Human Rights officially yesterday. And that's also why we are right now in the midst of preparing sort of our next seven-year action plan on human rights and democracy. And seven years is a long time, but let's recognize that these things are important, these things are difficult, and they require both patience and perseverance. And I'll stop there. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ambassador. And thank you also for your leadership as permanent representative of Denmark during the negotiations as well. We really appreciate it. Now, many of you may know there's a saying, you either leave government or you stay long enough to become a think think tank, and Professor Ibrahim Gambari stayed to become a think tanker. Your think tank, Savannah Center, was part of the Global Governance Innovation Network's pact monitoring toolkit, which shows that 56% of sub-action indicators show some progress, while 30% no progress, 50% show regression. Based on these findings, what are the most important actions member states can take to accelerate progress on the pact and the 2030 agenda?

How many minutes, sir? Well, first of all, thank you, Richard, and your truly indefatigable colleagues for organizing this very important and very timely conversation. I think the PAC monitoring toolkit gives us a very useful starting point. The fact that 56% of sub-actions indicators show some progress is encouraging, but the 30% showing no progress and 14% showing regression tell us that pledged commitments alone are not enough. The question is how Member States can turn this evidence into focused political action, because this commitment will not self-implement. So, three points. First, Member States need to put implementation and prevention at the center of multilateral agenda. Action 16 is a good illustration. The majority of this severance of actions, covert cooperation, mediation, peacemaking, and peaceful settlement of dispute, so minimum to no progress. Conflict escalation, repeated ceasefire violations, the growing role of non-state armed groups, and high military expenditures are placing enormous pressure on the international system and undermining confidence in international law. and the UN Charter. It's a bit encouraging that we met with the contenders for the position of the Secretary General, and all of them in the statement before the African Union at a meeting convened yesterday, show a commitment to, if and when elected, to push member states so that they put mediation at the central focus. Everybody talks about prevention, mediation, but you look at the commitment, you have Security Council, resolution 2719, for example, that commit resources to African peacekeeping operations. And people are clapping, and I clap along. But how much are the resources they're going to put into mediation and prevention? This is where to really talk about results, not just commitments. Also, member states can accelerate progress by championing the preventive diplomacy and good offices of the Secretary-General, developing national prevention strategies that are connected to existing national frameworks and affirming the peaceful settlement of disputes as a central commitment of the UN Charter. And this is important because progress on peace and prevention is an enabling condition for progress across the Pact and the 2030 Agenda. Conflict makes it much harder to advance development, protect human rights, address humanitarian needs, or achieve the SDGs. And again, I'm happy that this, the path and the 2030 agenda kind of resonates with the African Union, which as you know, African states are the biggest single block of nations, member states here. And their 2063 agenda is very much in line with this emphasis on mediation, prevention, and prevention. Second, member states need to address the financial gap. Action 4 and actions 47 through 52 on international financial architectural reform is fundamental to whether the pact and the SDGs can actually be implemented. The little reductions in development assistance, multilateral lending, and funding for international organization are constraining progress. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 makes the broader challenge clear. Only 36% of the 139 targets with trend data are on track or making moderate progress, while 49% are moving too slowly, and 15% have regressed below their 2015 benchmarks. I see one minute. Well, so I've just kind of give you the headlines. So, member states should scale up concessional and multilateral development financing, including increase regional development bank lending capacities, and mobilize private sector funding for the SDGs. Member states should also build directly on successful recent multilateral outcomes, such as FfB4, to further strategic non-governmental convening. Third and lastly, because I respect the sign, one minute, right? Third, we need to use monitoring to focus political attention, not simply to measure progress, but to draw attention to where we are falling behind. And finally, because the Pact innovation forums work, we know where progress is happening, we know where it is stalled, and increasingly, we know where it is going backwards. So, the task now for Member States is to translate that evidence into political priorities, mobilizing financing, strengthening prevention and peace making, and concentrating partnership and innovation where they can have the greatest impact. And this is where we have to mobilize civil society, NGOs, think tanks, including like mine, because governments don't act often except with prodding. And we have to work with those who actually influence from behind. And also make sure that private sector actually becomes partners, because of course, we have to make it clear to the private sector that without peace, which is the primary focus of this organization, they will not be able to make their profit. And the true business of business is to stay in business.

Thank you, Professor Ghamari, your legendary leadership here at the United Nations over decades. We asked our panelists to involve in a lightning round, 30-second responses. We're going to actually narrow that down to one word that would describe what that would be a wonderful achievement in 2028. It can be a specific reform, a specific impact you'd like to see. One word, but one last question for our colleague from Croatia, Ambassador Rogic. Croatia has been involved from day one, one of the leaders in the negotiations, and now it's implementation phase. From your perspective, what do you see as practical measures needed to safeguard continuity these next two years?

Thank you very much. I'm already scared of the sign. I thank Namibia, of course, the global governors, the coalition for bringing us together. Indeed, Croatia was involved from day one, is still involved and will continue to be involved. And I'll tell you why. It's very simple. Croatia believes in multilateralism. Now, as our prime minister in the GA said, not because we are naive, but because we're prudent and because we share a lot of problems and challenges that many of states assembled here at the UN share. We're a small country in terms of population and territory, but we have, for instance, one of the longest coastlines in Europe. We're also a Mediterranean country. So climate change will hit the Mediterranean region among the hardest, for instance. Sea level rise will threaten, of course, our friends and partners across the Pacific or Caribbean, but will also threaten Croatia, our UNESCO protected historic cities. So just to give you a few examples why this matters for Croatia. Now, of course, the real question is how do we keep the momentum? And I'll try to give you a couple of points and measures that we consider essential. Now, first, the pact should not be standalone reporting exercise running alongside ordinary businesses of the United Nations. Its commitments should be systematically reflected in the mandates and outcomes of relevant resolutions and processes across the system. Second, we need predictable follow-up architecture. So we welcome, of course, the high-level steering committee, the thematic groups. and a dedicated capacity within the executive office of the Secretary General. For this architecture to hold over the next years, we need clear timelines and deliverables ahead of the processes in front of us. What will be critical, and maybe in this phase, is sustained, at least ministerial level attention. We should not limit ourselves only to technical meetings, in our opinion. Third, we need a transparent, measurable monitoring and genuine inclusiveness. Croatia supports regular stocktaking built on indicators Member States can track and be held accountable to. And we believe, of course, that the Pact's credibility will be judged by its coherence with the UNHCR reform process and whether, of course, it remains inclusive of regional organizations, the civil society and young people, And as you remember, we promised them a seat in shaping the future. So finally, let me finish saying that the negotiation phase succeeded because delegations, including my own, treated it as a shared responsibility. And Croatia is also, by the way, a candidate for a Security Council seat for the term 2030-31. And should we be elected, we will carry this spirit of cooperation also into the chamber. So, thank you very much.

Thank you so much, and a special thank you to your colleague, Erina, and colleagues from the Croatian mission for making today possible. Quick, one word of what you would like the summit to be remembered for two years from now, starting on my far left, Petal, please.

It just has to be one word.

Delivery. Delivery.

Excellent. Setting a good example and a high bar.

Ownership.

Ownership.

Confidence.

Financing.

Financing.

Intergenerational dash. Intergenerational dash decision making.

You worked a hyphen in there, smart, I like that. Professor Gbagbo.

We have a stronger role for the peace building commission.

Excellent, peace building, there we go.

Credibility.

Credibility. Thank you once again to our panelists. We now welcome our second segment wonderful uh group coming up to the stage stand tight in your uh chairs you don't want to miss it thank you.

Thank you so much as well Richard for uh being my co-moderator for this portion to our very distinguished but also very friendly member state representatives who show up when we as civil society bully them to do so. I am delighted to now welcome an expert panel. You've heard from member states, we're now going to talk to experts who have been analyzing and thinking about this situation. I am delighted to introduce and welcome Natalie Samara Singer, Executive Director of the Vibe Fund, Linda Bonyo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Lawyers Hub Africa, and Myra Folly, Executive Director of Plataforma CEPAL. And next to me, Adam Lippel, Executive Director of Coalition for the UN We Need, who will be my co-moderator for this segment. So if we can have you spaced out. And then, following our expert interventions, we will also be joined by the UN system, the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and UN University Center for Policy Research. So we have the member states, the civil society, the UN system. We're hitting the trifecta here. And we have Daniela Vergas from the Executive Office of the Secretary General, Civil Society Focal. If you are civil society and you don't know who Daniela is, this is your moment to get to know her. She is the reason that we get to engage in many of these spaces. And Dawit Chalali, who is the Project Lead and Director on Future Generations at UN University Center for Policy Research. They have an exciting announcement as we close out the panel. Okay. Without further ado, Adam, over to you.

Sorry, sorry about that. We're just going to jump right in, Natalie. We had a conversation about the need to focus on the members of the organization, the members responsible for delivery, but if the pact is fundamentally an agreement between member states, delivery, as we just were talking about, is going to require a more multi-stakeholder approach. It will require resources, experimentation, partnerships well beyond governments. From your experience in philanthropy, which we often don't necessarily talk about, we depend upon often in civil society, but we don't talk about them as actors as much, where can philanthropy add the most value to PAC implementation, and how can it support innovation and accountability?

Thanks so much, Adam, and to everyone who organized this. It's great to contribute today. I think the first thing to say is it would be great to see the contribution of philanthropy as more than just capital, so not just providing money. Philanthropic engagement with the UN has really evolved significantly over the past three decades. It's a much more institutionalized, multifaceted, and kind of strategic component of multilateral cooperation. I mean, today you have, you know, foundations, high net worth individuals, corporate philanthropies and networks. They do everything from the more kind of traditional financing development programs at the country level to supporting research, outreach, events, providing in-kind support through staffing and expertise. I think, you know, this week we saw OpenAI and Anthropic brief the Security Council. I mean, they have corporate philanthropies and foundations that have provided, you know, financial support, but also API credits to support the Sustainable Development Goals. So there's a huge range of participation. And, you know, I'm definitely not someone who would argue for more to be in the pact. There is a lot about everything in the pact already. But I do think it is a bit of a shame that it only makes two passing references to philanthropy in the context of investments. I think that is really odd at a time when the Gates Foundation is basically the single largest contributor to the WHO. So it's a missed opportunity. And that links to my second point. My second point is that the UN's capacity to engage philanthropy, even purely in terms of actually receiving money that foundations would like to give, hasn't kept pace with the development and kind of in how philanthropy now engages across the system. Some agencies are really good at it, they're really good at fundraising, others are not. The mechanisms for absorbing funding and engagement are just lacking. I think staff don't necessarily have the mindset or the experience to know how to leverage and talk to potential funders. And I think we've also seen a few occasions where the UN has had philanthropic partnerships, but it hasn't put the guardrails in place to actually ensure that that capital has been doing what it should be doing and coming from the right sort of sources. So that is something that maybe we can add to the very, very, very long list of tasks for the next Secretary General. But I do think it's important. There's going to be an influx of philanthropic capital from AI generated wealth. There's going to be a huge generational wealth transfer from, you know, between families and within foundations. This is an opportunity. Third, I'm really sorry to say for all the pact aficionados on the table, but I don't think funding the pact as a whole is an attractive proposition to any foundation. Most foundations fund in verticals. They're focused on a single area, a single constituency, a single outcome. I'm not saying that's right. It is how it is. Many also take a very quantitative approach in terms of, say, you know, number of vaccinations, but also kind of what investment investments will have the most impact. My fund, we work intersectionally on climate governance and rights, and I'm still asked by my climate donors, what impact is supporting this local community group going to have in terms of emissions reductions? That is, there is a narrow lens. So I would pick out the outcomes that are the most amenable from the pact to that approach. But fourth, that can also be complemented to other activities, research, data, surveys, tools, data platforms, things that the UN I know would like to do and is developing its capacities, we could really help to boost that. And then of course, civil society. We support so many different types of organizations that are crucial for implementation and for accountability and that link back to the people. And finally, I think philanthropy could play a really important role in helping the next sector general to experiment. and innovate. We say we want that, but within the budgetary constraints, needing consensus approval, I mean, it can take time or it doesn't happen at all. I think foundations can provide funding that is catalytic, innovative, flexible, and much, much more risk tolerant. We are prepared to try things and fail. So for the next Secretary General, this could be a way to test some ideas, pilot things, try out initiatives, and dare I say, give her a little bit of breathing space to actually do things outside the churn that's going to hit her from day one. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Nathalie, for packing so many different pieces. We were trying to take notes very quickly, but I will bother you about it later to dissect this a bit more. But no, that was really helpful. Thank you so much, and helpful to hear the philanthropic point of view on this. Speaking of one of the things you mentioned, there's going to be a lot of money coming from AI now, and the Global Digital Compact was one of the big pieces of the Pact for the Future that was agreed. And it does speak to AI, it does speak to guardrails, it does speak to safeguarding. But Linda, how do we move from the consensus moment to implementation? And importantly, how do we ensure that the responsibility and the opportunity that this technology can give us is shared globally?

Excellent. Thank you very much. I was part of the conversations on the Global Digital Compact. We were privileged to be involved at the Lawyers Hub, from Europe to Africa to Asia, and we appreciate that opportunity. And the consultations really spoke to the ambitions that many different people had at that particular point. And our objective five committed the United Nations to govern artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. And it's committed all of us, you know, to fully engage, especially a representation of developing countries. At the Lawyers Hub, we've been working to track what AI governance means across the African continent, looking at AI strategies across the continent. We did produce the Africa AI Governance Index this July. And one of the key findings from the index was the mismatch between ambition and capability and implementation. Many African countries are ambitious around artificial intelligence, but lack the funding, but also the institutional frameworks to be able to govern artificial intelligence. We did launch this report at the first global dialogue in Geneva, which is one of the processes that emanating from the digital compact in this case. Also, too, it's important to realize that many of the funding is going into events and convenings, but not really supporting frameworks that we need to govern artificial intelligence. I think some of this funding really needs to be directed towards stronger institutions that will also sort out the, you know, human rights concerns that have been, you know, mentioned here before by Ambassador. But I also want to introduce that at the Lawyers Hub, we were, I had the opportunity to work within the mechanisms of the GDC. I co-chaired together with Spain's Minister of ICT. We co-chaired the human rights cluster at the Global Dialogue. I would want to highlight one of the conversations that went on there was about representation. And it goes together with my speech on 2024 Future Dialogue, as we talked about. The visa issue and the mobility issue still has to be raised. We'll talk about the Global Digital Compact, but even at this summit, we have missing voices who are not in this room, who are not part of these conversations. In 2026, we must figure out mobility because technology cannot move faster than humans. We must fix it to ensure that the Global Digital Compact can ideally be implemented across all states without discrimination. Secondly, I would want to talk about the capacity building. The GDC talks about capacity building, but there aren't enough resources to ensure that the capacity that states need to implement this is capacity without dependency. We have big tech companies building capacity around artificial intelligence, but it is towards their tools, their frameworks. That means that there's little global digital sovereignty in this particular case. I would recommend that states look at innovative financing options around capacity building that will not create dependency. At the Lawyers Hub, we've been running AI summer schools and making sure that regulators from Ghana to South Africa to Kenya to Chad and Botswana, that regulators ideally know what it means to govern artificial intelligence for humanity. Finally, Chair, I would want to talk about, I think, the framing around innovation, which I think has been highlighted by the Gates. I take the opportunity to ask for the funding on this platform. But I would want to say, as we walk towards the high review. I think we need a very specific index on implementation by different countries. Many of the indexes cover, you know, the global north without really being inclusive of, you know, the global south. I think it will be useful to look at this. And representation means funding for travel. we have at the global dialogue, there were no human rights advocates, very little representation, but not a single AI worker in this particular convening. I think it will be useful for us to be able to engage them. At the Lawyers Hub, we are working together and hope that, you know, we'll put together things that will prevent fragmentation, which is especially emanating from this. Thank you very much.

Excellent, thank you so much. We go from AI to climate, not unrelated. Myra, we wanted to ask you, climate change cuts across all of these issues, cuts across many of the pact's commitments, yet global climate governance remains fragmented across the UN. F triple C with specific challenges to climate financing, we've talked about financing a bit earlier. Where in your mind can implementation of the pact add real value to the existing climate governance architecture rather than duplicating it? And what should member states use the next two years to change or strengthen ahead of the 2028 review?

Well, thank you for the question, especially for asking about climate, because it's not a very popular topic these days. And in fact, it's a bit of a shame that within the G7 presidency, the G20 presidency, for instance, the issue has almost completely disappeared. But when we think about the challenges to implementation, because I only have three to four minutes, I would highlight two main barriers that we see today. The first one relates to the fossil fuel conversation, and the second one, finance. On the first issue, even though science has been telling us for decades that fossil fuels are the core of the problem, we all know that it took about 28 years for member states to finally make the first reference to fossil fuel in a COP decision, and the pact fortunately was able to retain the language. It didn't really advance much further, but at least it retained that. But ever since this word has disappeared, mitigation is not even in a COP decision anymore. But that doesn't shouldn't really stop us from trying to think of creative ways to advance implementation. And I think the concept that the Brazilian COP 30 presidency has been pushing for on the two tier multilateralism can provide a little bit of a vision on how we could do that. Because on the one hand, the tier one, which is like the consensus based negotiation, this has already provided us with the sense of direction, right? You know, the countries did agree that we need to transition. Now it's time for tier two. In other words, the coalitions, the champions to come and help us accelerate implementation. And in that sense, I think there is an interesting opportunity there with the process that has been created on the voluntary roadmaps on the transition away from fossil fuel, was something that COP30 initially championed ever since there's been like dozens of countries supporting it. We had a conference in Colombia to address that, and we have some major economies like Germany, who yesterday just released the roadmap, which is essentially adding more indicators and deadlines and mapping finance needs to accelerate the transition internally. So I think bringing this framework of the roadmaps into the architecture of PAC implementation could be an interesting contribution and one second on finance. As you know, the pact does refer to the new collective quantified goal on finance that has been set at 3 billion per year by 2035. COP30 has said that we need to scale that further to 1.3 trillion, but the reality is that the money is not coming. And of course, we should be repeating and asking for those commitments, including the provisions of the pact to be implemented. But if we can't do that, I'd say that at least what the pact, implementation architecture should help us with would be to at least try to remove the barriers to finance. So addressing more seriously the issue of cost of capital, the barriers to access technology, which is essential to the transition, trade restriction, illegal tariffs, all of those easy tasks. So in a nutshell, those two issues, fossil fuel and finance, should be at the core if we want to advance implementation on the climate front. Thanks.

Thank you so much, Mayara, for that long to-do list that you've given the folks in this room. We see many, many member state representatives also present here with us today. We are going to do the same kind of lightning round question to everyone sitting here. So start to think of that one word for you that is success in 2028. But first, I built up some suspense around an announcement from EOSG. We also want to give a word to EOSG, who are really the kind of driving force behind a lot of what the Pact for the Future achieved. Many sleepless nights and dark circles around eyes were involved. I'll leave the tears part out of it, Daniela. Over to you.

Thank you very much, Nudara, on behalf of the MacArthur Award director, but also you as your writer, who you may know, of course. But I would say also as a veteran, maybe, or survivor, as we call ourselves, of the PAC days, I'm really thrilled to see these conversations happening, the energy that the PAC still generates. And I have to thank GGIN, C4UN, Nudara, Adam, and all of the partners for making that happen, because you have been the best spokespeople, I would say advocates of the pact, but also the best partners to work on this together, not only for the EUSG, but also for the member states. I think you have been, your relation with member states have been, have been also critical because they are, as we know, the decision makers are the ultimate responsible of, of pact implementation. Today, We find ourselves in a kind of a midpoint, two years since the pact was adopted, two years for the review to go for the review. So I think it's a very, very important moment to start reflecting on how do we want to really build this review and build towards this review. We are increasingly seeing, and this is very positive from our side, that we are moving, all of us, member states, civil society, UN system, from talking about the pact implementation in terms of awareness and awareness raising and advocacy to real concrete practical implementation. We don't always communicate it in the way we should, but we are actually seeing many things happening at different levels. At the global level, we have had things like even from Sevilla or all the things happening around AI, the global dialogue, et cetera, that come from or at least receive a real push from the pact, but we are also seeing these things at the national level incrementally. I would say I agree with you, Natalie, that philanthropists work a bit more concentrated or directed to specific elements and/or specific topics. The same happens, I think, across the board. Member states and countries also have different priorities. And the fact that we have a consensus document and a universal, let's say, agreement on different things doesn't mean that operationalizing it has to happen in the same way in every place. So we are seeing different countries and different governments being champions and being leaders in specific pact actions that align with their priorities. And I think we have to be more mindful of that and communicate those things better, because we are not that good always at showing or highlighting the good examples. And we need to definitely take a look at what's happening at the national level, at the global level, and monitor those things. And on that, what you are doing with the PAC Innovation Forum and the different tools that you're working on, I think it's going to be very helpful for what we want to do later in 2028, because I fully agree with what former Prime Minister Lofven was saying. I think the trust that we want to see, again, in this multilateral system would depend on whether we see or people see real results and actions beyond the global commitments and the global discussions that we have. And on that line, I want to really conclude because I want to give the floor to my colleague from UNU, Dawit Shalale, to talk precisely about one concrete area in which we have been working to translate these pact commitments into concrete practical support for member states. That's the United Nations Handbook on Long-Term Governance. So with that, Dawit.

Thank you very much, Daniela. I have been given the task of speaking about that in two minutes, which is going to be impossible, so I'm going to divide this in two.

Okay.

But in any ways, I had prepared two things I wanted to showcase. But in the two years of the pact, I just wanted to go back to the very principle of the pact and its and how it was born, actually, from the Our Common Agenda to reconnect with the Charter and the principle that we needed to save succeeding generations from this scourge of war, which is in the very preamble. And I think this principle of intergenerational responsibility is how we reconnected the principles of the Charter to the pact and then to the implementation. Just to showcase one thing, and I know it's not possible in this room, but I'm hoping that with the screen you'll be able to see it, but it's the IPCC SPM.1 graph that showcases the differential impacts on climate change on different generations. And in the pact, actually the annex, the declaration on future generations, addressed directly this differential intergenerational impacts by member states committing, recommitting to the charter and committing to duty of prevention, committed as well to look at the intergenerational impacts of their policies and programs. And since two years, we have been working closely with EOSG mapping these practices that actually do exist within member states and within countries, regions, and also at the multilateral level. So we have been mapping, starting with this mapping that you can find on futuregenerations.online about all the institutions, constitutional articles, legal frameworks that protect future generations. And out of that, we wanted to give you a little bit of analysis about these best practices and how to move forward for the next two years and how to implement them. So how you do that? And I want to give you two concrete examples that you can find in this map, but also are further analyzed in the handbook to be published very soon. The first one, which is coming from the Pact for the Future and the declaration, is moving beyond GDP. And you will find in the high-level expert groups report indicators that are trying to look at the differential generational impacts and balancing sustainability. At the national level, I cannot resist to talk about the Kenyan Senate Caucus for the Future, which is scanning laws through the lens of future generations. And a third example, which would be Norway, that straight after the Summit of the Future conducted a very interesting conversation on how to reform the sovereign wealth fund on future generations. So two ways to move forward for the two next years to come. So first of all, and I'm sitting at the very place where Ambassador Wallace was, but talking about joining the group of friends on future generations, it's a multi-stakeholder group that looks at the cross-generational impacts, but also discusses how at the multilateral level this can be taken forward. And we are going to present with this group of friends as well the long term governance handbook that we've been preparing for you as a guidance for how to move forward the Declaration on Future Generations. And we're hoping that many of you will join us in this journey. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Dawia, especially for the work that you've really put in to map out what's out there and help make it and socialize it for folks to take advantage of. We're going to do the lightning round question again with this group. So I'm going to start over there with Daniela and ask you, what to you in one word, Daniela, does success look like in 2028?

Can I answer what do I think we need now to get there?

Sure.

Political will.

Political will, okay. Marata.

Easy, money.

Speaking of, Natalie.

Partnership.

Linda.

Coalition building, I think.

And Dalia.

Future generations representation.

Hyphenated as Ambassador Wallis did as well. And before I hand over to Adam, who's going to close this out, I'm going to answer that question myself. For me, it's belief, because I think it's really hard to keep believing in the system and keep pushing the boulder up the hill again and again. But look, if we can get 12 speakers with two rounds of questions done before 2:30, you can believe that we can implement the Pact for the Future. Adam, over to you.

Amazing, thank you. Yes, incredible. I have to admit, when I saw this agenda, I was like, we're not getting through it. But when you have Nudar Yusoff in charge here, you get through things for no certain. So I think what I've heard in many ways in this conversation, success of the pact will will require that we understand that this is an ongoing process. This is not something that happened in 2024 and that is suddenly going to reappear in 2028. It's on, it's ongoing and we have to prepare ourselves and member states for that and thus multi-stakeholder approaches, civil society, everybody in this room is incredibly important part of that. So my one word would be multi-stakeholder and I'm going to add one more, shared vision and that will bring us there. And that shared vision, leads me to thank yous very much. I really want to thank our co-sponsors today, Croatia, Jamaica, the EU, and Germany. I really also really want to thank Becca Snyder here, who's in the front, who you got your, maybe you got your pass from. She was tireless in getting this all together. And the whole GGN Fellows crew, who really have been the engine behind this, all this, and Richard Ponzio as well. Thank you all, it's been a pleasure, thank you so much.