Key Points
- United Nations chief António Guterres on Wednesday called on political and business leaders to prioritize a global strategy dealing with the twin threats of artificial intelligence and the climate crisis.
- Despite the less-than-revolutionary outcome of the UN Summit for the Future, hope for much-needed change remains for Africans and the Global South.
- What Should Africa Expect from the UN Summit for the Future 2024?
Background
Everybody in the international relations arena is asking whether the African continent should expect something from the UN Summit for the Future, aiming to take incremental steps in the right direction, but mainly at the level of principles and reaffirmations of commitments already made toward the continent.
In other words, what Should Africa Expect from the UN Summit for the Future 2024?
- What’s the Pact for the Future?
The United Nations Summit of the Future took place in New York from 22 to 23 September 2024 in the absence of the leaders of the five UN Security Council permanent members. The focus was on revitalizing multilateralism and adapting UN policies to ‘the needs and interests’ of current and future generations. The Summit brought together over 4000 individuals from Heads of State and Government, observers, IGOs, the UN System, civil society, and non-governmental organizations. In a broader push to increase the engagement of diverse actors, the formal Summit was preceded by the Action Days from 20-21 September, which attracted more than 7,000 individuals representing all segments of society.
The UN describes the pact as a “landmark declaration” pledging action towards an improved world for tomorrow’s generations.
- Purpose of the Summit
Secretary-General António Guterres subsequently issued ‘Our Common Agenda,’ which identifies options to rebuild global governance cooperation and multilateralism within the United Nations and proposes convening a Summit of the Future “to forge a new global consensus on what our future should look like and what we can do today to secure it.” The overarching purpose of the Summit and the Pact centers around reaffirming the UN Charter, reinvigorating multilateralism, boosting the implementation of existing commitments, restoring trust, and coming together to address new global challenges.
Africa, a continent of over 1 billion people, was once again underrepresented across the summit, posing a serious challenge to successfully executing the Pact of the Future.
What Should Africa Expect from the UN Summit for the Future 2024?
“The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations open the door to new opportunities and untapped possibilities,” said the Secretary-General during his remarks at the Summit of the Future opening. The President of the General Assembly noted that the Pact would “lay the foundations for a sustainable, just, and peaceful global order – for all peoples and nations.”
Here are a variety of actions across major domains where changes are needed urgently:
- Africa expects a multipolar UN Security Council
The African continent, home to 54 of the UN’s 193 members, accounts for 1.3 billion of the world’s population and hosts most UN peacekeeping operations. By 2045, Africa will have 2.3 billion people, making up 25 percent of the global population. Yet, no African country has a permanent seat with veto power at the UN Security Council.
Structurally, the Security Council has remained largely unchanged since its founding in 1946, stirring debate among all United Nations members about the need for reforms. The Security Council has five permanent members—the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom—collectively known as the P5.
The P5’s privileged status has its roots in the United Nations’ founding in the aftermath of World War II. Many African critics charge that the Security Council’s structure does not reflect current geopolitical realities.
The United Nations is suffering from a legitimacy crisis. Sithembile Mbete, Senior Lecturer of Political Sciences at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, noted that younger generations are witnessing its failures in “real-time” on social media platforms. She described Africa’s experience of the UN system over the past 80 years as one of “misrepresentation and underrepresentation.”
General Jeje Odongo Abubakhar, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, said that despite being “the market of the world” and a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, Africa has been “unjustly excluded from positions of power and influence” in the UN Security Council. Indeed, a stronger presence will give Africa a much-needed platform for engagement with the international community as an equal and significant partner.
Although the prospects for reform are seen as slim, the Summit of the Future and its adopted Pact of the Future offer an excellent opportunity to enlarge the Security Council in a way that welcomes several African countries. Without the UN Security Council, the Summit of the Future and its adopted Pact of the Future will not remain transparent, and trust will not be restored in the international community.
- Africa expects a Strong Peace Diplomacy
Nearly half of all country-specific or regional conflicts on the UN Security Council’s agenda concern Africa, and “they are often exacerbated by greed for Africa’s resources” and further aggravated by external interference.
While Africa faces unprecedented conflicts and wars today in global governance structures, it is overrepresented in the challenges these structures address.
Enhancing Africa’s diplomatic efforts to bring peace to African nations is not just a question of UN principles; it is also a strategic imperative that diplomacy and dialogue be restored in Africa.
Many African States expect the Pact of the Future to assume a greater role in the continent’s peace and security matters.
Terrorism is on the rise in West Africa while the African Union becomes less and less powerful to fulfill its many founding aspirations. In the Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, Benin, Lounes Magramane, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of Algeria, pointed to the hotspots on his continent, from the security, development and humanitarian challenges.
- Africa expects a 50-50 representation of black women in higher UN positions
Misrepresentation of women of black descent in UN decision-making bodies remains alarmingly common across the world. African women have good reasons to expect change following a much-heralded global conference that set ambitious targets to transform women’s lives across the globe.
Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.
African women are highly educated, well-served, intelligent, and dynamic like their counterparts globally. They are shocked that opportunities have been limited in many UN decision-making bodies for decades and are pushing for the Pact of the Future to overcome these injustices and obstacles.
They remain at the bottom of the UN hierarchy, with poor access to development, advancement, and promotion. While having a seat at the table for women is not enough, the Pact of the Future can amplify women of black descent’s desires, voices, and aspirations to lead and speak at the table.
- Africa wants urgent participation in the 21st-century global financial governance systems
The global economic governance system, developed in 1945, does not reflect today’s realities. Many important economic actors—countries of the Global South, private sector, and civil society actors—feel excluded and not heard. However, the discourse among African technocrats, think tanks, regional organizations, CSOs, and development actors remains limited – particularly on the role of African financial institutions in this process. Another key challenge is creating appropriate instruments to address liquidity challenges in African countries. Africa’s low credit ratings, which deter the private sector and increase costs, are a third challenge that needs to be addressed.
African financial institutions have a history of innovation that can inform global financial architecture reforms. It is high time to accelerate the decolonization of the international financial architecture, bolster Africa’s response to global financial shocks, and build a multipolar global financial system that works for all.
Final Remarks
While all humanity applauded the UN Pact for the Future, Africa expects actual actions from it. Developing nations have been particularly vocal in demanding concrete commitments to realize the goals of the UN Pact for the Future. The UN Pact for the Future document does not mention how the UN will speed up reforms for Africa and the Global South in the years to come.
Despite the less-than-revolutionary outcome of the UN Summit for the Future, hope for much-needed change remains for Africans and the Global South in General.
Africa wants the UN to take incremental steps in the right direction, but mainly at the level of principles and reaffirmations of commitments already made toward the continent, not a technocratic vision with no concrete actions. The new generation of African leaders is following how the UN would make the UN Pact for the Future a reality for Africa and the Global South in General.
Disclaimer: The opinions of this publication are solely those of its author and do not reflect the viewpoint or policies of the organization, its leadership, or its other fellows.
About The Author
Jean Narcisse Djaha, Ph.D., is the Founding President and Chairman of the African Council on Foreign Relations. He is guided by Romans 8:30” And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”.
