The United Nations just adopted the Pact for the Future, aiming to take action to present day's most pressing challenges that threaten humankind. Wow, I hope my 2020 piece got considered, or if not it's good the Organization noticed how its trespasses fail to solve issues. It did not elaborate its specific actions on implementing reforms and methods in tackling problems, and I let it up to the UN.
It did not come without opposition-- Vladimir Putin's Russia expressed reservations in the last minute and called for amendments to suit itself, to add "principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states", prompting the DR Congo to make a motion to reject such amendment. 143 states approved the motion.
The six other countries that supported the Russian proposal were Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus, the DPR Korea, the "Islamic Republic" of Iran, Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's Sudan and Bashar al-Assad's Syria. 15 more abstained, either they also have qualms with the Pact but are afraid of a backlash, or are fine with either version: Algeria, Bolivia, PR China, Cuba, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand. Others were absent either willingly or due to unwanted circumstances. This shows where states are aligned: to the multilateral order by the UN, or to the multipolar order by states like Russia and PRC.
The notion that multipolarity is libertarian came to me as libertarians also denounce the Pact due to the centralisation of global governance; they would agree with Putin upholding the non-interference principle; multipolarity is something akin to Trump's argument in support of rescinding the verdict on Roe v. Wade: legalising or criminalising abortion is "up to the states", and internal affairs are "up to the states". This non-interference is a cause of the inability of the international community to act; the libertarians and the UN are now at odds.
I would like to tell them that what they can only do at most is to cope and seethe, as I stress out that all issues are interconnected, that no human is an island, and that we as the human race should work as one team. Nonetheless, after reading the Pact (available here), despite my praise for the efforts to revitalise the UN, I still find myself wanting, some topics still missing.
Self-determination
The major theme of the pact is to "leave no one behind"; this is mentioned five times in the pact. "No one behind" means and shall mean all of humankind; it includes indigenous peoples and strives to protect the marginalised and uphold their welfare. Also in the Pact is the term "self-determination", mentioned in paragraphs 12 and 32.
It doesn't mean the right to self-determination, a right that remains contentious among member states as some of them are challenged by peoples believing in this right. Notable entities include Greenland, Puerto Rico, French Guiana, Catalonia, Western Sahara, Azawad, Biafra, Somaliland, Kurdistan, Balochistan, Kashmir, East Turkestan, Tibet, West Papua, Kanaky (New Caledonia), Hawai'i, Maohi Nui (French Polynesia) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Even against the will of member states, in order to follow the goals of the Pact, the United Nations should engage with these entities' peoples in order for no one to be left behind; their concerns shall be heard and addressed.
Animal welfare
Sadly, like all other United Nations documents, agreements, decrees and mechanisms, animal welfare is disregarded in the Pact; you cannot find the word animal even in paragraphs and Actions concerning the environment and climate action. This another shortcoming by the UN makes the Pact fall short. We have to recognise and emphasise the dependence of humankind on animalkind, and provisions on protection and promotion of animal welfare should not be limited to non-urban wildlife, but also to urban wildlife, pet companionship and livestock management.
It would be a pleasure if the UN acknowledges the recognition of the potential of animal sentience and animal welfare in instilling discipline among people, which is helpful in personal and consequently achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Expanding accountability
In contrast to animal, another word starting in A-- accountability-- is well-mentioned, as well as the word impunity (in par. 12 and Action 14 (par. 35) section g, and I am expecting the UN to improve present accountability mechanisms and have the staff of justice against perpetrators. This shall cover not only rights-violating states and extremist and terror groups, but also exploitative companies and entities, as well as malicious individuals. In order to leave no one behind, addressing existential risks involving human activity shall leave no evildoer unpunished, and the United Nations shall know its responsibility and power.
Permanent Five membership
Unfortunately, among the most powerful abusers are the Permanent Five (P5) members of the Security Council (UNSC). I understand why these states are not mentioned in the reformation actions, as the formation of the Organization depended on them, yet it is not operating properly and fails to uphold its own Charter due to this defect.
Action 40, however, welcomes models for the reformation of this body. Someone should recommend a model removing the permanence of states' membership in the UNSC. Hegemony and imperialism are two of the biggest impediments to the 2030 Agenda.
National governance interventions
I find countries like the Central African Republic, the DRC and Somalia as the most left behind. Especially the DRC, whose territory is wide and lush, teeming with resources. Its untapped potential is being ruined by conflict, governance problems, and exploitation by outside forces. Although it is not for the Pact to specify particular measures to take to solve particular challenges, in alignment therewith, since the Pact highly emphasises the welfare of Africa and the Global South, my suggestion to the UN is to intervene in these governments to ensure no Central African, no Somalian, no Congolese, nobody is left behind. System overhaul might be necessary, but the new system shall
- be comprised of locals; experts are encouraged to join the new system for efficient and effective operations;
- directly engage with the masses to know their sentiments and concerns and have them involved in formation and management of interventions; and
- empower the masses for them to gain the ability to make informed decisions, so every intervention is done by popular will.
Realigning economic priorities
The economy is considered in the Pact, as this plays a major role in sustainable development; as mentioned in par. 10, "poverty in all its forms, including extreme poverty, remains the greatest global challenge and its eradication is an indispensable requirement" thereto. What made me raise my concern on the economy is the phrase "go beyond gross domestic product" in Action 53. The action's objective is to measure progress on sustainable development to complement and go beyond it, so it views GDP as an accompanying measure, and it's fine.
I however have a concern with GDP itself-- states and economics-related agencies and bodies focus on it too much, that the former become output-oriented, discounting welfare of the workforce. The Pact values human rights and dignity, but it fails to directly mention how misaligned economic priorities become hindrances themselves to achieving sustainable development. The Pact could have added an action that aimed to find new economic approaches which core is sustainable development, human rights and justice, for states and other entities to adopt.
Participation of individuals
"Act for our common future", the UN called to mobilise the general public. I was then led to an app where daily goals are set. I don't only want to contribute; I want to be engaged, and I want to be heard. The current setup is that select people are invited to participate, and Action 55 plans to increase engagement by the UN with the general public, notably relevant stakeholders (par. 85, section a). The whole humankind is a stakeholder, so all people should be given the opportunity to meaningfully participate.
Section b of the same action looks to "leverage existing channels and strengthen communications between United Nations intergovernmental bodies and civil society". An idea I have is for the UN to utilise new channels as well to encourage public participation and dialogue, so the Organization can receive feedback on current efforts and suggestions of future ones. Maybe by creating a public Facebook group, a Discord community server, a subreddit, and also strengthening present avenues. The Pact recognises the potential of the youth and even dedicated a chapter for them and future generations and included a Declaration on Future Generations as an annex; if the UN considers our potential, it shall hear us through any easily accessible medium.
Prenatal rights
Similar to self-determination and the fellow hotly-debated abortion rights, this is a highly contentious topic, though it should not necessarily be added. I forgive the UN for not including it; if "abortion rights" are cloaked in Action 8 (par. 27 section f) as reproductive rights, the latter doesn't necessarily imply so. But the following passage in the preamble of the Declaration I mentioned compelled me to include prenatal rights as a concern: "future generations are all those generations that do not yet exist and who will inherit this planet".
If the UN expresses concern for those that will exist, how about those already existing? The children, the youth, the adults and the elderly are all recognised, but the prenate is absent (maybe represented by the pregnant but not always). I shall reiterate the two of progressivism's core values are equity and inclusivity, and both encompass and shall encompass all humans of all life stages starting in the womb. Most, if not all, interventions the Pact plans to execute will uphold prenatal rights, there's no doubt in it, but the lack of recognition invites a risk to physical development, which can hamper personal development and subsequently sustainable development. That would violate the Pact's goal-- to leave no one behind.
Character development
In fairness, the Pact stressed the effect of human decisions in par. 2: "we are confronted by rising catastrophic and existential risks, many caused by the choices we make". Our character produces behaviour, attitude and thoughts, which produce choices and actions, which effect consequences. Sustainable development is hard to attain if governments and organisations do not work on people's character, but listening to the critics of character politics (i.e., interventions on character development) will bring the Pact down.
The closest passages on this are "right to development" (Actions 7 (par. 26 section a) and 46, Global Digital Compact principle c, Declaration on Future Generations guiding principle par. 2)), the role of the family (Declaration guiding principle par. 4), "lifelong learning" (Declaration commitment par. 22) and "critical thinking and life skills" (Declaration Action par. 25). The UN shall recognise and uphold the not-mentioned right to character development and self-realisation, as these are being violated by demagogues who caused the same societal declension and global deterioration in the name of their own power. Governments and organisations shall adopt a new governance approach that will defend this right for humankind to unleash its full potential. Badly developed character leads to bad behaviour and attitude, leading to the most heinous crimes and the backtracking from the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whereas a person realising their own full potential will give humanity the best contributions.
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Despite my concerns, I express full confidence in observing this Pact for the Future, acknowledging humans' common goal, recognising humans' common future. Our world needs to practise multilateralism that builds and empowers humankind, and reject multipolarity that implodes and disintegrates our race. I still want my recommendations to be noted, and hopefully they become policy. I wish the United Nations all the best.
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Article posted on 23 September 2024, 18:11 (UTC +08:00).
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