Russia isolated at UN summit after surprise bid to derail pact
GuardianSep 21
UN Adopts Pact to 'Bring Multilateralism Back'
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Above: UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during the Summit of the Future at the UN Headquarters in New York, Sept. 22, 2024. Image copyright: Angela Weiss/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
The UN General Assembly on Sunday adopted a "Pact for the Future" — a non-binding agreement that Secretary-General António Guterres described as a "step-change towards more effective, inclusive, networked multilateralism."
The pact contains 56 broad goals that countries pledged to achieve, including peace and security, global governance, digital cooperation, climate change, and sustainable development.
The Spin
Narrative A
Crises across the world have highlighted the need to reform the UN with greater multilateralism to improve its work for its members. This is a foundational pact that strengthens the UN's institutions and better prepares it for future challenges.
Narrative B
While it's an ambitious plan, there is skepticism about whether its non-binding nature will yield the results it promises, as UN member states are already violating the UN charter on a daily basis.
Pro-Russia narrative
The text of this pact was not fully agreed upon before its adoption, and the UN rejected key amendments that Russia had called for. Since this pact only represents Western interests, Russia will not be a party to this agreement.
